At Medford’s Nightmare Chamber Haunted House, an actor has just seconds to frighten someone walking through a scene. At Ashland’s Oregon Cabaret Theatre, “Dracula” aims mostly for laughs.
Both draw on the theatrical possibilities of Halloween, a season that brings haunted attractions, supernatural comedies and costumed celebrations to Southern Oregon and the South Coast. This year’s offerings include a new interpretation of “Blithe Spirit” in North Bend and an undead toga party in Talent. For Nightmare Chamber, the season also marks an ending: After 17 seasons, financial pressures are bringing the attraction to a close.
Nightmare Chamber’s final season in Medford
The Nightmare Chamber Haunted House combines live actors with animatronics, electronics and computerized scares at Front and Third streets in downtown Medford.
Creator Robin Downward said performers spend about two weeks learning how to scare visitors. Their characters have backstories and personalities, but actors have only about five to 10 seconds to convey them as people pass through each scene. Those brief encounters rely heavily on improvisation.
The attraction raises money for Curtain Call Collective, a nonprofit Downward leads that focuses on theater arts programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. But he said covering the haunted house’s own expenses has become increasingly difficult.
“The last few years, it’s just been more and more difficult to raise the funds to just keep the building, pay for the utilities and power and things like that,” Downward said.
Five actors bring “Dracula” to Ashland
At Oregon Cabaret Theatre, “Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors” uses five actors and simple stage effects to tell a sprawling vampire story on a small stage.
Managing Director Rick Robinson, who produced the show, described it as more concerned with laughter than genuine fright. Olivia Carbone directed the production.
The actors’ quick costume changes, ladder climbs and entrances depend on coordination among the cast, stage manager and backstage crew.
“I think that good theater is like a finely tuned watch,” Robinson said. “It’s a million different little pieces.”
Robinson said live theater lacks some of the tools filmmakers use to frighten audiences, which can make broadly drawn horror comedies a natural fit for the stage.
A different balance of power in North Bend
John Bacon’s production of Noël Coward’s “Blithe Spirit” at the Liberty Theatre in North Bend shifts attention toward the women in a household disrupted by a ghost.
The comedy centers on Charles, whose dead wife, Elvira, returns while he is married to Ruth. Bacon said he came to see Charles as a man who treats the women around him as objects serving his vanity.
Without changing the dialogue, Bacon worked with the actors on their delivery to give Elvira, Ruth and the medium, Madame Arcati, more power and agency.
Bacon described the production’s approach to lighting and sound as “Burton-esque.”
An undead anniversary party in Talent
Art Bop Beer Co. will celebrate its sixth anniversary on Halloween with an undead toga party.
Co-owner Kimber Parris-Bartman said the evening will begin at 6 p.m. with Bop Sabbath, a Black Sabbath cover band started by musicians from Mountaintop Sound. Mountaintop Sound will follow with bluegrass later in the evening.
Parris-Bartman and her husband, Dave, are musicians as well as brewers. Their business combines beer, art and live performances, including open mics featuring original songs.
“Our local musicians and our local programming really is what keeps us alive these days,” she said.
Guests
- Rick Robinson, director, Oregon Cabaret Theatre in Ashland
- Robin Downward, director, Curtain Call Collective, creator of the Nightmare Chamber Haunted House in Medford
- John Bacon, director, Blithe Spirit, Liberty Theatre in North Bend
- Kimber Parris-Bartman, co-owner, Art Bob Beer Company in Talent
- Dave Jackson, music director and host of Open Air, JPR
