Poe Evermore

Last night we got to take a group of  teens on a field trip to see the fabulous and frightening Poe Evermore Show. The show was amazing and the teens had a great time! Read on to find out what famous Edgar Allen Poe stories were told, how the teens reacted, the benefit of doing a program like this and how you could do something similar!

The works read during the show included an opening by Edgar Allen Poe reading some of his poetry such as A Dream within a Dream, To One in Paradise, and of course The Raven. 
Next, the audience was divided in groups and directed to other rooms within the mansion that the play took place in. Each group was in a different room and being told the same story, which was a unique way to handle a play. The story was the bizarre tale of Berenice and her ghastly teeth. After this riveting tale we went on the the last and most horrific story, The Tell-Tale Heart. This was masterfully told and has us all on the edge of our seats!

After the show, the teens were really excited and asked to do this again! They said they were actually scared and that it was really spooky. (Later they said it was super cool and only "spoopy") They also indicated that they wanted to look into more of Edgar Allen Poe's works.

The benefit of doing a program like this is that it builds connections to other events in the area, encourages literacy in teens in an engaging way, and gets the teens places that they may not be able to attend otherwise.

If you are thinking  of doing something like this, be sure to plan well in advance! Create a permission slip that covers all eventualities (see if there is someone within your library who can assist you with this), make the spaces limited with registration required, and be sure to take another adult! Teens will be excited for this event and it will help to have another set of eyes. Make sure your deadline for all of this is early, so that you have time to order tickets. If this is not something you think you can do, look into the local theater companies or high school acting groups that might be interested in providing something like this at your library! Please feel free to email me with any questions! dstates@yorklibraries.org

Dawn states: One of my favorite Poe stories is The Black Cat. What is yours? Leave a comment!