​The Poe Asylum

Productions:
Las Vegas, NV, 2023
Tacoma, WA, 2023
LaPlume, PA, 2018
Scranton, PA, 2016
The Poe Asylum is a theatrical adaptation of short stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe. One patient recounts their imprisonment and torture. A mother calls out for her lost child, only to be answered by an enigmatic raven. Another patient fights with the irrational desire to commit murder. The audience will have to ponder if these individuals are really patients in a mental asylum, or if they are simply trapped in their own minds. And then comes the greatest question of all: where is hope? 
Featuring The Raven, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, and The Premature Burial, The Poe Asylum can be performed on a traditional stage or as an immersive experience. You can read The Poe Asylum on New Play Exchange or request a free perusal copy here.

UPDATED! The Poe Asylum now features an adaptation of The Cask of Amontillado, which can be performed in addition to or in place of any of the above scenes at no additional charge.

Characters: 

PATIENT 1, a mother who has lost her child
FIGURE, the child's father, or else a raven

PATIENT 2, a sufferer of PTSD
FIGURES, their tormentors

PATIENT 3, an alcoholic 
FIGURE, their wife, or else a black cat

PATIENT 4, a sufferer of paranoid schizophrenia
FIGURES, their internal demons

PATIENT 5, a sufferer of taphophobia
DOCTOR, their doctor, or else their tormentor
DOUBLE, the patient as they were or could have been
PATIENT 6, a victim of sexual assault
FORTUNATO, a drunken fool
REVELERS, party-goers
The Poe Asylum is made up of five to six short plays which can also be performed individually or in any combination. Feel free to contact me directly for a free perusal copy to see what version of The Poe Asylum is right for you!

Productions

La Plume, PA 2018

Directed by Rachel Luann Strayer for Keystone College

Cast: 
​
Patients - Michael Calabro ("The Black Cat"), Colin Franko ("The Tell-Tale Heart"), Samantha Layne-Perkins ("The Premature Burial"), Dalton Nixon ("The Pit and the Pendulum"), Aleigh Smith ("The Raven")

Figures - Jasmin Cone ("The Black Cat" & "The Tell-Tale Heart"), Timmy Dempsey ("The Raven" & "The Tell-Tale Heart"), Michelle Romano ("The Pit and the Pendulum" & "The Tell-Tale Heart"), Felicity Rudden ("The Pit and the Pendulum" & "The Premature Burial"), Jessica Troy ("The Pit and the Pendulum" & "The Premature Burial")

Hope - Eileen Walsh

Interactive Cast - Laura Doyle, Dana Jackson, Jillian Alyse Kemmerer, Qwintin Krenitsky, Aaron Leety, Karin Mappes, Alex Nebraski, Meg Oyer

Scranton, PA 2016

​Directed by Jeremy J. Kemmerer, Jonathan Strayer, and Rachel Luann Strayer for Ghostlight Productions

Cast: 

Patients - Grace Doolittle ("The Tell-Tale Heart"), Laura Doyle ("The Premature Burial"), KK Gordon ("The Tell-Tale Heart"), Jeremy J. Kemmerer ("The Pit and the Pendulum"), Jillian Alyse Kemmerer ("The Tell-Tale Heart"), Jonathan Strayer ("The Tell-Tale Heart"), Rachel Luann Strayer ("The Raven")

​Figures - Joel Gardoski ("The Premature Burial"), Crista Gaskill ("The Premature Burial"), Dana Jackson ("The Premature Burial"), Julia Risitano ("The Premature Burial"), Luke Sayre ("The Raven"), CSU Acting Students ("The Pit and the Pendulum")

Interactive Cast - Nikki Lucier-Denison, Karin Mappes, Cecilia Sayre