Ghostly play is more scary with non-traditional stage

The room is dimly lit.

In the center of the room there is a large flat space that is home to a single chair. Surrounding this space are about 200 seats evenly separated around all four sides.

The lights dim to blackness and another light turns onto the center of the room to illuminate one man standing, who begins to tell us about a young woman's manuscript and her horrifying tale, a ghost story.

This young woman was hired by a handsome bachelor to take a position as governess for his niece and nephew for whom he now gardens. She quickly finds that the previous governess no longer works for the bachelor because she had killed herself.

"The Turn of the Screw" is currently being performed by the Irish Classical Theatre Company at The Andrews Theatre. The performance, running through Nov. 13, is a spine-tingling ghost story that is sure to give the audience chills.

In this production, the actors who portray the characters might look somewhat similar as the show goes on. This is because the show only has two actors. Carolyn Baeumler, a Western New York native who has performed in numerous off-Broadway shows, plays the governess. Vincent O'Neill takes on the challenge of playing the rest of the characters.

Playing multiple roles is not the only challenge of this production. The Andrews Theatre has an arena stage, which is exposed on all sides to the audience, having no backstage and relying entirely on entrances in the auditorium or from under the stage.

"Any performer that performs on an arena-type stage must be a very talented one," said Kristi R. McIntyre, a theatre professor at Coastal Carolina University. "The actor must be aware of what they are doing every second that they are on stage because they can always be seen from every direction."

"The Turn of the Screw" is a short novel written by Henry James and originally published in 1898. It was adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher into a theatrical production. The story is about a young woman who is put in charge of two children who lost both of their parents, and were left in the care of their uncle, who cares for them, but does not have the time to take care of them.

After Miles, the young boy, is expelled from boarding school and returns home, the governess decides to begin to teach Miles along with his younger sister, Flora. Shortly after Miles returns, the governess begins to see a man and woman around the property.

She comes to learn from Mrs. Grose that these two people are former employees, Peter Quint and Miss Jessel, who are now dead. These two people had had a sexual relationship with each other. However Quint had also molested other members of the household, including Miles.

Before their deaths, Miss Jessel and Peter Quint spend most of their time with Flora and Miles, and the governess is convinced the two children are secretly aware of the presence of the ghosts.

"The woman and the man delineate, on a fairly bare stage, without benefit of elaborate sets and props, a whole world, different locations, characters, relationships and moods," said Fortunato Pezzimenti, the producing director. "And it's really, really scary."

Although the cast and set are limited for this show this does not mean that the average person won't be able to understand or enjoy it.

"I am really into scary things like books and movies," said Stephanie Koeppel from Lancaster. "This was my first time seeing a show where there was really no set. But the way that these two people made you understand where they were and what they were doing without coming right out and telling you was very intriguing."

Upcoming performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays and 3 p.m. Saturdays.

Tickets are $38 for adults and $34 for seniors and are available at centerstageticketing.com, irishclassicaltheatre.com, at the ICTC Box Office at 625 Main Street, or by calling (716)853-4282.

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