2023 -2024 Main Stage Season

February 14th - 22nd

The Nightmare Story by PigPen Theatre Company. Here’s a bedtime story that might just give you nightmares. A modern twist on classic fairy tales that draw out the darkness in these age-old stories. “It’s not like a haunted house — we’re not trying to scare the audience — but it is dark,” said PigPen member Arya Shahi,  “We’re dealing with death and ghosts and what a nightmare is, and why it scares us.” The play is based on Ukrainian folk stories — so you can expect the usual big bad wolves and terrified kids. PigPen’s rendition follows a small boy who sets out on a journey to find a cure for his coma-stricken mother, who suffers from chronic nightmares. But on his journey, his mom’s nightmares come alive to haunt him. “The nightmares that have trapped his mom in her mind have come out into the real world and are torturing him,” said Shahi. The subject matter is certainly sinister, but Shahi said it’s still safe for the kiddies. “We wrote these plays for people our own age, but we realized it works really well with kids,” he said. “Maybe not 5-year-olds, but definitely 8.”