Cody Sires and Kalee Broussard perform in “Mac B-Witches,” a drag queen take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Nate Callaway/The Lion's Roar

Alpha Psi Omega hosted “7 Tales From The Labyrinth” during the annual Hammond Horror Fest. Participants had 24 hours to prepare all elements of a production for seven plays. The plays included topics ranging from drama to comedy and topics of social relevance.

For the last few years, APO has been performing plays as a part of Hammond Horror Fest. On the last night of the festival, Oct. 15, they performed “7 Tales From the Labyrinth,” a play that was written the night before. It was composed of seven different, smaller plays, like skits, each with its own theme and tone. 

The process of a 24 hour play was something that the performers did enjoy.

“Oh the speed of it is so cool,” said Tyler Meyer, an actor in the show. “The process of it and having to do it all quick, it kept me on my toes and the level of improvisation that went on during the rehearsing was major and things just change all the time.”

 The first was titled “The Mac B-WITCHES,” which was a take on the three witches from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” The characters had strong New Orleans accents and were dressed in drag. APO then introduced the more serious scenes. “Together” was about a friend introducing her best friend to her new boyfriend. Little did she know that he was the man who raped her at a party before. This was an unexpected theme to the show that some of the actors were surprised to see included, yet were pleased to see such a relevant and important issue discussed in a public play.

“When we received our scripts, it’s all a surprise because it was written the night before,” said Briana Rogers, a sophomore general studies major. “So, we had no idea that we were going to be talking about the subject until we got there that morning. To be honest, I didn’t have a problem with it because it is such an issue. Most people that have an assault don’t even know how to handle it, and it’s just something that needs to be said.” 

“Together” was followed by “Fate/Choice,” which brought up the idea of free will and whether the decisions the characters made were really their own. 

As the cast from all seven plays lined up on stage and took a final bow, the audience applauded the conclusion of another series of Hammond Horror Fest performances for the 2016 year. 

 

Evey Lution and Briana Rogers act in “Together,” the fourth play of 7 Tales From the Labyrinth which incorporated the topic of sexual assault into the narrative.
Nate Callaway/The Lion's Roar

Alfred Harper talks to the audience about ideas of fate or free will in “Fate/Choice.” The cast took turns addressing the crowd about each of their individual lives, and how if maybe they had  been born under different circumstances, they might have had it a little better off.
Nate Callaway/The Lion's Roar