Laura Lucas

Bride of the Monster is playing at Main Street Pub this week. The play is an adaptation of the movie by the famous world’s worst director Ed Wood.

“There is a theatre company in Portland, Ore., that specializes in adapting public domain films to the stage by making verbatim transcripts,” said director Nick Harris.

The play is about a mad scientist who creates monsters. One of the monsters has been cited as the cause of disappearances. So reporter Janet Lawton, played by Hannah Bowman, and police officer Dick Craig, played by Will Reinbold, a junior communications studies and theatre major, go off and try and find the monster.

There are only seven actors in this production. Each member of the cast has to play two roles. They wear all black and add pieces of clothing to distinguish their character.

“Because of the limited space, we do not have the space for a set,” Bowman, a communications studies and theatre major, said. “Therefore we are also furniture and inanimate objects. Which makes this experimental theatre.”

Since the play is being shown at the Main Street Pub, there is limited space.

“We did a show a year and a half ago here,” said Harris. The show was No Exit. The group liked the intimate feel you get with the audience being that close and how they were able to interact with the cast.

“Theatre doesn’t need a big budget to be good. We only spent about $100,” said Harris.

The production is 45 minutes long and relies a bit on audience participation. There is a special table reserved for “the monster”. During the play the audience members in that seat get to interact with the cast as the monster in the marsh.

Performances for all ages are Nov. 4 and 6, while performances for 21 years of age and over are Oct. 31 and Nov. 5. The doors open at 7 p.m. and the performance begins at 7:30 p.m. There is a $5 cover charge.

“You get to over-act on purpose,” said Bowman.

Bride of the Monster is one of the more popular movies Wood has done. The movie features well-known actors, including Bela Lugosi and Tor Johnson.