"You've got to be sh*tting my dick right now"
-Every Character at Some Point
"I never once
gave a shit about Shakespeare, and look, he hasn't haunted
me once. Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth."
-Teddy, moments before being haunted
Not Even Over My Dead bODy...
Every actor knows that you aren't supposed to say the name of The Scottish Play in a theatre. It's bad luck. Cursed even. This superstition is the premise behind The Haunting Is You! Why fear the curse, when you are the curse?
A local theatre company is putting on a production of Macbeth at a historic theatre. The theatre manager, Finley, addresses concerns that the theatre is going to close. Parts of the building were already bought up to make room for a Panera, and the theatre sits on prime downtown real-estate.
However, the theatre is protected as a historic landmark and the Finley refuses to sell it to the many corporations clawing at the door. Even as the block is swallowed up by corporate enterprise and soulless chain restaurants, Finley stands firm... Until tragedy strikes.
Just before the curtains open on Macbeth, there is an explosion that kills Finley and the entire audience. Now, their spirits haunt the theatre unable to leave. The inevitable happens and the theatre is acquired by a group of young venture capitalists, fresh from College.
"$wag-coin! It's the future of currency!"
-Teddy
"It's unfinished business. you know, ghost rules"
-Mark
"Jesus... it does retract."
-Daniel, after the retractable knife did not retract
It was an Accident i Swear...
Teddy's father is a billionaire real-estate baron with high expectations. As a graduation gift, Teddy received the burned down theatre and a small loan of a million dollars to start his own business. Teddy's big idea is $wag-coin, a cryptocurrency employees can receive instead of regular money.
Mark, a recently graduated computer scientist, is the brains behind $wag-coin's blockchain. Mark is also the punching bag of the friend group, constantly thrown under the bus by his more popular peers.
Sarabell is Teddy's girlfriend. She is constantly holding herself back to preserve Teddy's ego. This creates mounting frustration that she takes out on Mark. She knows that her popularity is dependent upon her ability to make others feel smarter than her.
Daniel is Teddy's best friend and college football star. He had to sit his senior year out due to an injury and his prospects for NFL recruitment are not looking good. Instead, he's joined Teddy's tech startup in hopes of striking it rich on the coattails of his friend.
Mackenzie is Daniel's girlfriend. Brutally honest and confrontational. Mackenzie constantly fights to prove herself. Dating a himbo like Daniel gives her lots of opportunities to correct him and prove her superiority.
These 5 toxic friends find themselves locked in the burned down theatre and they soon discover that they are not alone. The ghosts begin manifesting curses within them, causing chaos and hilarity. As they attempt to put the spirits to rest by completing the production of Macbeth, it becomes clear that the ghosts are not the only threat.
PrESs
"It’s a free-wheeling romp and the topsy-turvy nature of the production encourages actors to flex their improv skills without feeling self-conscious."
-The Utah Review: Eighth Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival concludes on several impressive notes
"with The Haunting Is You, audiences get more than they paid for."
-Utah Theatre Bloggers: Don't Boo For The Haunting Is You!
