Theatre--Performance

The Chamber Theatre Company, in conjunction with the Heymann Center, will present Encore!! on Wednesday, March 19th at 10:30 am.

ENCORE!! An Original Two-Act Play

Each of the five stories in our ENCORE!!™ collection has a flavor that highlights the versatility of five great authors: Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, W.W. Jacobs, Guy de Maupassant and Mark Twain. Their timeless glimpses into the human experience are brought to life on the stage.

The Tell Tale Heart
Poe, the master of the macabre, presents a story of the irrational hatred and fear of a psychopathic mind. A wildly disturbed personality commits the “perfect” crime only to be undone by the workings of a fevered imagination.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Fantasy and reality are cleverly combined in this entertaining story from the pen of Washington Irving. This fanciful yarn relates the hilarious misfortunes of the great, gangling schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane, and his fateful midnight rendezvous with the legendary Headless Horseman!

The Monkey’s Paw
One of the best stories ever written on the theme of being granted three wishes. W.W. Jacobs explores the belief that fate rules people’s lives and that those who tamper with it do so to their sorrow. In this tale, the sequence and consequences of the three wishes are deeply tragic.

The Necklace
With telling irony, Maupassant offers a dark jewel of a tale. Mathilde Loisel dreams of the finer things in life and is not content with her secure, middle-class home. The price she pays for a single evening of elegance is a life-time of drudgery and despair. This poignant story is staged with touching symbolism.

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
This is perhaps the best-known of all Twain’s tales. It is a good, old-fashioned yarn which typifies the brawling, risk-taking, highly competitive society that was frontier America in the nineteenth century. The resilient Jim Smiley and his champion frog, Daniel Webster, are among the most memorable and endearing of Twain’s creations.

For over 30 years, Chamber Theatre Productions has provided students and teachers of literature, drama and language arts with original adaptations of classic short stories. Touring rural areas as well as major cities across the country, CTP has performed its innovative works for thousands of middle and high school students, many of whom might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience live theatre. Up to four national companies tour the country throughout the school year, employing as many as 65 actors, directors and technicians. The cast and crew of skilled professionals travel as self-contained units, equipped with all the scenic, costume and lighting elements necessary to create the magic of live theatre!

The productions are specifically designed to complement both middle and high school curricula, and are offered as field trips during school hours. Rather than present only one story per performance, CTP has developed a unique format of presenting five separate short stories by five different authors within a 90-minute time frame, allowing the company to offer a broad range of styles and genres for teachers to highlight within their classroom. Besides being used as a valuable teaching tool, the productions provide students with a field trip experience that is both educational and entertaining.