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The Dark - A Halloween Radio Play

What Scares Us and Why?

The scary, uncontrollable spirits, ghosts and witches that terrified mankind over millennia had lost their grip by the middle of the 20th century. Yet Halloween just wasn’t complete without things to scare us – and the entertainment industry was ready to fill that need with haunted house theme parks, terrifying movies and unforgettable horror stories in books, magazines and TV serial shows. This final installment of the Halloween story will look at why and under which circumstances we enjoy being scared – and what story elements scare us.

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The Dark - A Halloween Radio Play

Modern Day Halloween

Much of the evolution of Halloween celebrations after the Second World War took place in America since most of Europe was focused for many years on economic recovery from near total destruction. Halloween costumes of every imaginable sort could be purchased and parties with amazing baked treats became commonplace. Scary Halloween movies were widely enjoyed and major theme parks created popular spooky haunts to terrify adults and children alike.

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The Dark - A Halloween Radio Play

From the British Isles to America

By the early years of the 19th century, much of the religious fervour around Halloween caused by the Reformation had been replaced by games and parties throughout the British Isles to celebrate the end of the harvest and beginning of Winter. The suffering and starvation of millions of people caused by the Great Irish Potato Famine created a flood of immigrants to the United States – immigrants who brought their Halloween celebration customs with them and made them part of the American culture.

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The Dark - A Halloween Radio Play

Evolution of Halloween by the Medieval Churches

The story of Halloween took a darker turn in the Middle Ages with the splintering of the Catholic Church and the start of the Reformation. Luther’s refusal to recant his Ninety-Five Theses at the Diet of Worms resulted in his excommunication and the creation of the Protestant Church. Many of the elements of Halloween celebrations we enjoy today began as horrible tortures of women wrongly accused of practicing witchcraft.

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The Dark - A Halloween Radio Play

The Christianization of Halloween

The Western Roman Empire was a hostile environment for the early Christian Church until the conversion of Constantine and the Edict of Milan. With that guarantee of religious tolerance, however, the Church expanded rapidly throughout Europe and into what is now the UK and Ireland and encountered once more the Celtic celebrations of the dead. The way in which the Church adapted their customs and festivals to Christian celebrations makes up the next fascinating chapter in the story of Halloween.

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The Dark - A Halloween Radio Play

The Celtic and Roman Origins of Halloween

The end of summer, the harvest, and the beginning of the long, dark, cold days of winter were terrifying times for ancient people. The ghosts of ancestors could return to the land of the living and no one could be sure of surviving until warmth and the sun returned again the following Spring. For people completely dependent on the whims of an unpredictable, natural world, they sought comfort in ceremonies and festivals. This is a bit of their story.

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EpisodesThe Dark - A Halloween Radio Play

Episode 6 – Finding Life Through Theatre

Danny Strike is an English-born actor, director, playwright, philosopher and poet. During the 35 years he lived in Germany, he founded two different theatre companies (one of which was Entity Theatre), taught English, Philosophy and Drama at the European School, and made Entity a major force in the Munich and Europe-wide theatre scenes. He then returned to England to cofound yet another theatre company, Pilot’s Thumb, that has launched a series of highly successful plays. In this fascinating interview, Danny talks about what he has learned, some of the mistakes he has made, and how theatre helped open the doors for him to a richer and fuller life.

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EpisodesThe Dark - A Halloween Radio Play

Episode 5 – Bringing Team to Theatre: It’s More Than Acting

Even when you are on stage for the first time as an actor, it is very clear that success is only possible if the entire cast works seamlessly together as a team. But what does that really mean? Tracy Tollmann, the Chair of The Bonn Players Committee, asserts that it is much more than just acting – that it requires a focus on the needs and interests of the entire membership. You will want to be ready to take notes as she shares her ideas and experiences with making team the core principle of managing amateur theatre.

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EpisodesThe Dark - A Halloween Radio Play

Episode 4 – How Can Improv Make You A Better Actor?

Jodi Pfleghar has applied her Education degree for more than twenty years to developing powerful tools which facilitate teaching and learning. Her passion for drama and the arts is reflected in her work editing screen plays, recording voice-overs for TV and film, and leading Improv workshops and performances. In this episode Jodi talks about how Improv has helped her become a better parent, teacher and actor – indeed how to be more fully be present to life. If you want to be a better stage actor, you won’t want to miss what she has to say!

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