Trio of Terror at The Palace Theater

Hello folks. My name is Chris Bilecki. For the past 4 years, I have done The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe at the Glassblowing Amphitheater. I have had the privilege of working with some great guys back there (including David Gilmore whom you all know and love!).

I just wanted to introduce myself to you all and invite you to come check out the new and improved Trio of Terror at the Palace Theater this Halloweekends.

As many of you have heard, David will not be back this year. It was sad for us to see him go but we continue what he started many years ago with great respect. Starting this year, I will be performing The Tell-Tale Heart. Anthony, whom many of you might have met last year when he filled in for Tim on The Raven, is taking over The Black Cat. And Tim is back to do The Raven.

At first, we were apprehensive about this change in venues. The Glassblowing Theater may have been cold, dark, dreary and damp, but it was home. Our opinions were quickly changed when we started working in the Palace about a month ago. Yes, part of this is because we have heat and air conditioning now, a microwave and a fridge, and two (that's right TWO) bathrooms which means we don't have to walk through the Fright Zone every time we need to relieve ourselves now; but we mostly fell in love with the place when we realized the amount of potential it gave us to work with these shows and make them better. A whole new venue breathed new life into these classic and timeless tales.

So although change is sometimes hard to get used to, we think once you come down and check out our new style at The Palace, you are going to like what you see. Needless to say, we are nervous for this opening weekend but we are more than ready to give you one heck of a show.

So please, come on down to The Palace and be enthralled and amazed, and hopefully scared, once again by the work of one of America's greatest literary giants. Come on. We dare you...

We look forward to meeting you all! Thanks for the support!

Sincerely,
Chris Bilecki

PS.
For you hardcore Poe fans, pay close attention to Stage Right...We are expecting a visitor.

Hey I would like to see it, but sadly I can't make it to Cedar point anytime soon, but good luck with it... :D

Er uh...you mean, "Break a leg" with it!
;-)

I'll miss the Glassblowing theatre...it was a terrifically frightful venue for this trio of shows. But I'll be eager to see it in the Palace. Or should I say, "Lusty Lil's?"

;-)

Are they having any shows in the Glass Blowing Theatre this season?

I hope to attend a couple of the Poe shows tonight. I liked the glass blowing theater because it was cold and damp, but let's move on to the Palace.

Will there be the usual tables or will they be gone and seats arranged near the stage?

I liked the cramped closeness of the old venue. To me the Trio won't be the same if it's done in a club setting where people are munching popcorn etc. I'm not saying that's how it will be, I don't know yet. It's that's the way shows usually are at the Palace.

I'm looking forward to the shows.

^ - I agree with that. Part of what made the glass blowing theater good was that the stage was right on top of the crowd AND it was at crowd level, not 4 or 5 feet up.

I'll definitely check out all 3 shows and am looking forward to them living up to the reputation created over the last 11 years.

To answer a couple of questions:

1. No, there will be no shows in the Glassblower's this year.

2. The tables have been taken out of the Palace and only chairs remain. This makes it very much like an intimate theatre setting and not a dinner theater. The bar inside the theater will not be open so it will be separate from the restaurant.

3. Yes, the Glassblower's was nice because the stage was almost ground level and thus we could get very close to the audience, but there was still a wall there. At the Palace, there is no wall. We may be up a little higher but trust me, we don't stay up there the whole time. That's all I'm giving away! ;-)

See you guys this weekend!

-Chris

I'm glad to see the tables are gone. That should provide the right setting. On with the shows.

Over the weekend I saw The Tell-tale Heart and The Raven. The actors did a fine job. The Palace gives them more room to move around. This really benefits TTH, Chris got out into the crowd on occaison. If I have a complaint with the new set up , it would be that I thought it was too bright. while it was dark they could turn off some of the lights and use only a spot on the actor. The crowd is dimly lit and chairs are arranged in a U-shape around the stage, I had a tendency to look across at the people in the crowd during the performance which distracted me. Plus, I'm used to the darkness of the old venue.

The sound during the Raven was a little muffled. I thought maybe the actor may have needed to reposition his microphone.

Overall the chairs are an improvement over the benches and the view is better. If you ever sat at far ends at the old site this is much better.

I know this is kind of late, but I was just wondering if anyone else got a chance to come see our shows and if so, what did you think?! We were very proud with how the 2008 season went and are always looking to make improvements. And your comments are the best way to do that! Thanks!

-Chris

Chris, I think the Trio of Terror is the highlight of Halloweekends. Just an excellent, excellent show. I was thinking at first that the Palace theater may not create the atmosphere that the Glass Blowing Theater did, but that was not the case. I really enjoyed the show, good use was made of the runway in front of the stage to get close to the audience, and the Palace was much more comfortable than the Glass Blowing Theater.

Great job, and I'm looking forward to seeing the shows again in 2009.

This was, and still is the highlight of Halloweekends for my wife and I. We love all of the shows especially the Tell Tale Heart. One suggestion would be to set it up so that nobody can enter the show late, and require people to leave after every show. On some of the busy days the random people going in and out were distracting. Sometimes it was difficult to grab a seat even if you were the first in line for the next show because nobody would leave. Again keep up the good work.

The Trio of Terror is one of the highlights of my experiences at Holloweekends. No matter how many time I listen to the poems or read, I never get tired of hearing you guys act and recite them. Keep up the good work.

Love the Trio of Terror. It's also one of our highlights at Halloweekends every year. I wasn't sure about the change in locale from the Glass Blowing Theater... I suppose both places had their hits and misses - I really liked how before the actors were almost on top of you - there's a bit more distance at the palace. That slightly claustropobic feel helped lent itself well to the poems. Also, we were towards the back of the Palace, and the people coming in and out/working in the resturant were a bit distracting. All in all don't get me wrong... you guys do an amazing job - I just think that the previous location served the material better.

I really dig the show(s), but leaving the door wide open had people moving in and out, shuffling chairs, even walking in front of other people - way too many distractions. Poe is so subtle, if you miss a line, it's easy to get confused in the story - you need a captive audience.

I also noticed that the audio didn't cut very well. In the other venue, it didn't matter because you were close enough to hear it from the stage. Perhaps a better mic or better placement, as mentioned earlier.

Thanks for asking... you guys do a great job, and being in the entertainment industry myself, I know how valuable good critisizims can be.

Keep up the good work