By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
The performing arts are alive and undead in Hays.
The Halloween season brings an opportunity to showcase the wide variety of performing arts and local talent in Hays with live presentations tonight, Friday and Sunday.
The Hays Arts Center is hosting a black box theatre event in the Founder's Gallery, featuring a one-act play for the spooking season.
"Cheating Death," a satirical comedy, is under the direction of Cheryl Glassman, who's directed many performances of the Hays Community Theatre.
"I'm truly excited about this performance," Glassman said. "It's quite an awesome cast. It took them time to find their characters."
There are six patients in a psychiatric hospital and the seventh character, the Angel of Death, comes for one patient but is hurried. Not all the details are in order.
"The patients each tell about a historical event in their life. Everyone in the audience is going to be touched in some way by these stories," Glassman said.
Other performances include two young actors in "Hansel and Gretel" and the poem "The Old Buzzard Tree" is brought to life by another peformer.
There are also readings of three different genres, each with an eerie Halloween-themed undertone.
The "Twisted Tales" are sponsored by Chemistree Tree, Lawn & Landscape, Hays.
Doors open at 6:45 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 1:15 p.m. Sunday. The evening shows start at 7:30 p.m. and the matinee is at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $7 each for general seating.
Prior to the performances of ghost stories, eerie poems and tales, the audience has the opportunity to meet with representatives of performing arts groups in Hays.
"You can find out what shows they have coming up, how to get tickets, or even how to volunteer with these groups, perhaps as a set designer or something else," Glassman said.
"We're all one big happy family in my mind," she said.
Scheduled to participate in the performing arts open house are Hays High and Thomas More Prep-Marian schools, Hays Community Theatre, Fort Hays State University Encore Series, Hays High School orchestra, Hays Middle School, and the historic Fort Hays re-enactors.
"It's nice to bring them all together at one time, and make sure people recognize and celebrate them," said Brenda Meder, executive director of the Hays Arts Council. "There are so many entities and groups that do performing arts in this community."
Upcoming events include:
Oct. 20 and 21-Hays Community Theatre Hays City Historic Haunted Tours
Oct. 27 and 28-"Rocky Horror" by Hays Community Theatre
Oct. 26, 28 and 29-Thomas More Prep-Marian musical "The Music Man"
Oct. 28-Old Fort Hays Graveside Conversations
Oct. 29-Hays Symphony Children's Halloween Concert: Symphony in Space
Nov. 9 - 12-Hays High School musical "Sweeney Todd"
The free 45-minute open house before each show will also serve as the opening for the new Hays Arts Council exhibition, "Along the Santa Fe Trail" by Cally Krallman.
"This beautiful collection of paintings not only captures the beauty of the historic Santa Fe Trail, but also includes information on the individual sites and the trail itself," Meder said.
The exhibition will run through Nov. 21.