ESU Theatre Students Not Scared by Service Learning Project

Whether you meet Little Red Riding Hood or Freddie Krueger on the trail around East Stroudsburg’s Zacharias Pond Park this Saturday night, October 22, you’ll be meeting a Warrior.

More than 50 members of East Stroudsburg University’s two student theatre groups, Stage II and the Musical Theatre Organization (MTO), will be portraying characters for two different versions of the Stroud Region Open Space and Recreation Commission’s Haunted Trail—a Friendly Trail from 6-8 p.m. and a Scary Trail from 8-10 p.m.

“This project has become a service-learning project for the two organizations,” said Rebecca Roeber, president of MTO. The senior from East Stroudsburg who is majoring in theatre is the student coordinator of the project.

“I love Halloween,” said Cherval Royster, a junior from Philadelphia, Pa., who is majoring in musical theatre. Royster will be portraying Little Miss Muffet in the friendly version of the trail and an inmate in an asylum in the scary version of the trail.

“I also like working with children,” Royster added. “Since I don’t know the local area very well, this event gives me a chance to explore a park that I didn’t know about.”

Senior William Barreto, a theatre major from East Stroudsburg who is playing the Mad Hatter and a mad scientist, said, “This will be an exciting experience for me because, even in my first improvisation class in high school, I loved playing crazy characters.

“It’s always fun to be unpredictable,” Barreto added, “and I get to play two different characters, one frightening and one loony and funny.”

The two explained that all the performers did a walk-through of the trail last weekend where they learned what characters they will play and where the performance areas will be.

Later this week the performers will have a run-through on the trails, with the technical elements and costumes. “I can’t wait to see the costumes,” Royster added. “Frazetta’s, a partner for the event, always creates such wonderful outfits.”

“The actors in the scenes are treating this as an improvisational experience,” Roeber said, “because they will be making up scenes and dialogue on the fly while the trail is happening.”

As the student coordinator of the project, Roeber is in charge of “planning the trail, casting the scenes and figuring out what materials are needed to create scenes along the trail.”

East Stroudsburg University’s participation in the project was coordinated by Kelly McKenzie, Ed.D., from the university’s Department of Academic Enrichment and Learning.

Other ESU groups involved in the project include students from the First Year Experience classes and from Kappa Delta Rho Fraternity for a total of 87 students, according to Roeber.

Roeber, one of eight National Stage Management Fellows of Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) and a two-year stage management intern at the Berkshire Theatre Festival, added, “The project has shown me a new side to stage management and event planning which has proven to be both challenging and rewarding.”

Parking for the Haunted Trail will be at East Stroudsburg High School South, 279 N. Courtland Street. The Monroe County Transit Authority, another partner in the project, will provide shuttle service to Zacharias Pond. The first shuttle will leave at 5:45 p.m. and the last at 9:30 p.m.

Tickets may be purchased in advance online at http://www.srosrc.org/ or at 15 Day Street, East Stroudsburg. Advanced admission is $5 for ages 12 and under, and $8 for ages 13 and above. Admission at the event is $8 for ages 12 and under and $10 for ages 13 and above.

Groups of 10 or more may purchase tickets in advance for $5 for all group members or at the event for $8 for all members.

The rain date for the event is October 23. For more information, log on to sroscrc.org.

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