Times Weekly, news
As the scary season approaches, it brings forth “Dark Places” – a new drama experience at Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park and Theatre. Victorian-era macabre unfolds on the indoor stage this Friday and Saturday, September 23 and 24 at 8:00 pm. General admission tickets are $5.00 and are available online and at the door. Light refreshments and a cash bar will be available. The lobby opens at 7:00 pm. Come early to enjoy the pre-show taking place in the lobby: a reading of Percy B. Shelley’s “Ozymandias,” a poem about the fragility of human power over time.
Writer and director of “Dark Places,” Jamie Novotny of Lockport entwines chilling historical events and fearful literature with his own creative writing. Jamie has always been a fan of classical dark tales and poetry, especially Edgar Allen Poe’s “A Tell Tale Heart” – which he presents himself. Some of the other pieces performed will be “The Conqueror Worm,” a poem by Edgar Allen Poe, “Darkness” by Lord Byron and “Goblin Market” written by Christina Rossetti.
Jamie’s creative writing jumps into action with two of his original stories. One tale taps into the penny dreadful stories, the cheap and popular horror pulp fiction series of the nineteenth century. Jamie resurrects the penny dreadful character, Spring-Heeled Jack, who came from 1838 England and supposedly could leap over high walls, was super-humanly quick and agile, spat a blue flame and had metal claws for hands. Fiction bled into reality when people started reporting actual sightings of Spring-Heeled Jack. With a gleam in his eye, Jamie notes “He turned into an urban legend that Victorian parents would warn their kids about. I thought I could use the actual newspaper articles to tell this story.” Jamie was intrigued to research a similar character who spread true terror 50 years later: Jack the Ripper. In the second act, Jamie presents both characters in his original works: “True Fiction: Spring-Heeled Jack” and “True Fiction: Anonymous – A Jack the Ripper Story.”
Novotny has over thirty years in theatre, which includes performing at Improv Olympics and Second City. He has performed in many local productions. In October, Jamie becomes zombie “Stan,” a favorite with those waiting in line for Lockport’s Hayride of Horror. Love of theatre runs in Jamie’s family, as his mom and dad have over 60 years with Joliet Drama Guild. “Dark Places” is somewhat of a family affair with Jamie’s family members either on stage, like nephew Zane Carmine and sister Carrie Lee, and others helping behind the scenes like sister Lori Carmine with costumes and his mother Jan Novotny on props. Jamie is grateful to his dedicated cast of twenty-five and crew on this new theatrical journey into the macabre.
The Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park Theatre is located at 201 West Jefferson Street, Joliet. Free parking is available within the park. Access the park from the Jefferson Street entrance, as work on the Cass Street bridge is still underway. For more information, visit the park online at www.bicentennialpark.org, social media or call 815-724-3761.
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