The first Hammond Horror Festival began with the performance of “Seven Deadly Plays Made in a Day,” which were written, rehearsed and staged within 24 hours. The roughly 10 minute performances were held in Augustine’s Bar located in downtown Hammond on Oct 22 at 7:30 p.m. Each play was themed with one of the seven deadly sins: greed, gluttony, envy, sloth, pride, wrath and lust. Each performance ranged in theatrical style, from the absurd to psychological.
The actors, writers and directors consisted of mostly Southeastern students, alumni and faculty, but also included others from the surrounding areas. Alumni from Louisiana State University and the University of New Orleans were also involved.
“It was a chance for students to get a taste of theatre outside of a school production,” said Chad Winters, instructor of theatre and director of the Greed-themed performance “Nothing Left To Be With Undeserved Fortune.” “As a director of a 24-hour show, you have to trust your gut. You have seven hours to rehearse and then you’re in front of an audience.”
The performances were not held on stage, but throughout the entire bar, forcing the audience to become a part of the show and heavily influencing the writing of the scenes and the performances of the actors.
“Augustine’s is a bar, not a theatre,” said Jim Winter, assistant professor of acting and directing. “I’ve told the writers and the directors that they are free to use the entire Augustine’s environment when these pieces are staged. You might be shooting pool and suddenly a horror play erupts next to you, or you might be sipping a beer at the bar next to Freddy or Jason, or you might walk out of the bathroom and find yourself besieged by a woman fleeing from the living dead. The sky’s the limit, I suppose.”
Winter hosted the event with alumni Drew Zeringue, though Zeringue did most of the talking as Winter played the part of Seymour Butts, a grunting mute lab assistant who wore only a bloody lab coat, boots and boxers.
“My adrenaline was pumping so I wasn’t cold, I was sweating,” said Winters, who strips down during the show. “I was wearing briefs just to ensure there wouldn’t be any accidents. Anyway, I’ve done five of these now and this was by far the smoothest one.”
Zeringue played his master, Dr. Quinn, descendant of Dr. Michaela Quinn the medicine woman.
“I think the shows were a hit,” said Zeringue. “We kept an entire bar of people quiet through every scene, I really hope that we get to do this again.”
Zachary Boudreaux, a senior mass communication major and award winning student playwright, attended the performances.
“It felt like an old Roman theatre with everything being in the same place and how the actors kept everyone engaged,” said Boudreaux. “Some stood out more than others, but that’s to be expected. I think that now that they know what people are into, they’ll have an even better show next year.”
While the performances were well-received by the crowd, the absence of Augustine’s owner, Louis Mocsary, who suffered a stroke days before, hung heavy on the spirits of the crew. According to Winter, the proceeds of admissions to the bar that night would have originally gone solely to help support the Tangi Humane Society, but that plan soon changed. Half of the proceeds will now go towards Mocsary’s medical bills.
“We’re all very heart-broken,” said Winter. “It sucks that he wasn’t here. He would have loved to see it go down. We decided to split the proceeds to help with Louis’ medical bills. We felt it was the least we could do.”
The Hammond Horror Festival will continue this week with a performance of the play “Wednesday” by Ian Winterton. The performance will be held on Oct. 26 and 27 at in Tope La Catering Hall at 11 p.m. Tickets are available at the door for $5.