VANCOUVER, Wash. – John Barber, professor in the Creative Media and Digital Culture program at WSU Vancouver, will direct a live radio drama, “Halloween Fright Night,” at the Kiggins Theatre in downtown Vancouver on Oct. 30, the night before Halloween. Featuring local voice actors and sound artists, the radio drama will be performed once only. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the performance begins at 7 p.m.

“Halloween Fright Night” samples episodes from the popular fright and horror Old Time Radio dramas “Lights Out,” “Quiet, Please!,” and “Suspense,” all from the 1930s and 1940s. The performance is part of Re-Imagined Radio, a project led by Barber that provides live re-creations of radio dramas.

“We plan five acts,” said Barber, “each designed to send a delicious shiver of fright up one's spine. It is, after all, the night before Halloween.”

Tickets are available for $10 in advance online at kigginstheatre.com, or for $12 at the door the night of the performance. Concessions, beer and wine will be available for purchase before and during the show.

Re-Imagined Radio is a partnership among Barber; Kiggins Theatre; KXRW Radio, which streams the performance via the internet; Metropolitan Performing Arts, which provides the voice actors; and the Creative Media and Digital Culture Program at WSU Vancouver.

Future performances are planned for Nov. 27: "In Flight with D. B. Cooper," about the local legend who jumped from the rear of a hijacked passenger airplane on Nov. 27, 1971, never to be seen or heard from again; December, "A Christmas Carol”; January: "The Maltese Falcon”; February: a celebration of Valentine’s Day; and April: a celebration of Earth and Earth Day.

About the collaborators

The Kiggins Theatre has been a landmark in downtown Vancouver since 1936. It is owned and operated by WSU alumnus Dan Wyatt, Jr. Metropolitan Performing Arts is a nonprofit organization providing performing theater arts education and community theater for Southwest Washington.

KXRW-FM Radio is an independent, volunteer-based, Vancouver radio station dedicated to delivering quality programming and community building in Southwest Washington and beyond.

About WSU Vancouver

As one of six campuses of the Washington State University system, WSU Vancouver offers big-school resources in a small-school environment. The university provides affordable, high-quality baccalaureate- and graduate-level education to benefit the people and communities it serves. As the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington, WSU Vancouver helps drive economic growth through relationships with local businesses and industries, schools and nonprofit organizations. 

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