From Friday, October 23 through Sunday, November 1, Westchester Collaborative Theater (WCT) will present Terror Tales, chilling stories of the macabre, for its annual Halloween Short Play Festival.
A group of six original plays and monologues, ranging from creepy and comic to spine-tingling and spellbinding, written by WCT playwrights, will be performed and directed by company members. A ghoulish host will introduce the tales in true somber and scary style. The Halloween theater-fest, an annual event since its successful launch in 2024, is the brainchild of WCT writer/producer/director/actor Lori M. Myers (Nanuet), author of Crawlspace, a collection of dark fiction and horror, who is co-producing in tandem with WCT Executive Director Alan Lutwin (Ossining). Terror Tales will be held at WCT’s black box performance space at 23 Water St. in Ossining, NY. Allison Schneider (New City) is the stage manager, Phil Helmers (Ossining) is the lighting operator.
The Terror Tales are:
The Beast I Chose by MC de La Cruz, directed by Kim Chandler (New Rochelle) featuring Chasity Perez (Ossining).
• Everyone knows Belle chose the Beast. Years later, she tells us what happened after.
Temporary Residence by Misha Templar Sinclair (Greenburgh), directed by MC de La Cruz, featuring Brenda Hettmansberger (Ossining), Brian Bagot (Ossining) and Randy Stone (Mamaroneck).
• Everyone has a secret. Theirs has a face.
Breaking Bread by Pat O’Neill (Woodlawn), directed by Howard Lipson (Tarrytown), featuring Michelle Smith, Hassan Akua (Bronx), Sergio Argüelles Catare (Stamford, CT), and Lorelei Velez (Ossining).
• The night takes a turn for the strange as a tired couple await their takeout order.
The Princess and the Mummy by Tara Meddaugh (Harrison), directed by Shawn Kennedy Cribari (Yorktown), featuring Michelle Smith, Sandy Oppedisano Rooney (Dobbs Ferry) and D. Scott Faubel (White Plains).
• A mummy is after a princess, but which one is really the monster?
Ghost Hunters written and directed by Mario Giacalone (Croton-on-Hudson), featuring Samantha Darling (Croton-on-Hudson), D. Scott Faubel (White Plains), and Eric Percival (Mohegan Lake).
• Ghost and Ghost Hunters get a surprise.
The Tree of Sool and Kword, by Eric Percival (Mohegan Lake), directed by Robert Ansbro (Mahopac), featuring Sergio Argüelles Catare (Stamford, CT), Hassan Akua (Bronx), Julian Hargrove (Sleepy Hollow) and Samantha Darling (Croton-on-Hudson).
• On a quiet night in the depths of the 2003-2011 Iraq War, three wounded US soldiers confess harrowing encounters with the paranormal in the deserts of a strange and ancient land that wants them gone.
Terror Tales will run on Friday, October 23 and October 30 at 7:30 pm; Saturday, October 24 and October 31 at 2pm & 7:30 pm; and Sunday, October 25 and November 1 at 3pm. There will be a talkback with the production team following the Saturday, October 24 matinee. Tickets are $25 general admission; $20 for seniors/students/WCT members.