THE ALCHEMIST'S ELIXIR

CAST
(in alphabetical order)

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ILENE DYLLER (Her Majesty, the Queen) burst upon the scene as Madame DuVive in Séance at Midnight, reprising that role the following year in The Medium and the Message. She served as narrator for The Curse of Anubis, played Adler, the second-in-command astronaut, in 3001: The Shadow Planet, and was Marta, a night watchperson, in Night of the Golem.

 

PAT McMAHON (John Vernon-The Alchemist) finally steps into a speaking role after three years of playing heavily disguised character roles, beginning with the Dementor inHogwarts for Sale! and continuing as the Alien arm and miniature spacecraft puppeteer in 3001: The Shadow Planet and the Golem inNight of the Golem. He is also an indefatigable member of our group's setup crew.

 

TIM VERDUIN (Edward Fuller) starred as Professor Ludvic Lowe in Night of the Golem and was Perkins, the jittery astronaut in 3001: The Shadow Planet.

 

CREW

(in alphabetical order)

ANGIE COOPER (tapestry artist) also painted the exquisite hieroglyphic designs for The Curse of Anubis.

 

DANIEL EFRAN (illusion worker, assistant producer, associate director, scriptwriter) has been involved in all facets of the Halloween productions since 1974, most prominently directing and acting as well as designing sets and special effects. He starred as the hero in The Lost Temple of the Maya, made a memorable impression as the poignant yet violent Rat Boy in Side-Show Spectacular, and has co-directed and co-written most of the shows since 1988, doing much of the work long-distance, commuting and communicating from Pittsburgh. He has also written original music for several of the shows, created costumes, and been the videographer for a number of productions. Sometimes described as having a Cecil B. deMille complex, he was saying things like "All we need is a laser" (eventually borrowed from a physics lab for Space Pod) long before lasers were readily available for a few dollars at Staples.

 

ELSA EFRAN (associate producer) is primarily responsible for candy, catering, costumes, critiquing, crowd control, data, editing, errand running, graphics, painting, papier-mâché, publicity, research, supplies, and last-minute odds and ends. She is still hoping that someday there will be a Nobel Prize for gofers.

 

JAY EFRAN (producer, director, scriptwriter) has been involved in stagecraft and magic since his youth. Little did he know that turning brown wrapping paper into "rocks" in order to create a witch's cave in a hallway in Rochester, New York, in 1968 would lead to masterminding more than 30 years of Halloween productions. He is legendary for resurrecting a number of arcane ways of making people and objects appear, disappear, emit smoke, and burst into flames—often simultaneously.

 

RICH GENGA (illusioneer) has constructed a number of magical devices for various productions, including the frame for this year's show. Pam Genga ably assists him.

 

BRUCE LORIA (illusioneer), a new volunteer, built the alchemist's magical laboratory table.

  

MIKE REMSHARD (illusion worker) began his career with the company doing sound effects for Aladdin's Dream; the following year he stepped onstage as the Peasant Boy in The Enchanted Forest. Two years later, he again assisted backstage, this time preparing chemical effects for Rite of the Undead. After several years in the Midwest, he returned to play Zito, a nightwatchperson, in Night of the Golem.

 

BRENNA ROSENBERG (illusion worker) was the carnival employee who took pity on the Rat Boy in Side-Show Spectacular.

 

JORDU SCHELL (Golem design and construction) created the Talking Head in 1985 and made memorable masks for Aladdin's Dream, The Curse of Anubis, and Side-Show Spectacular. For 3001: The Shadow Planet, he designed, constructed, and operated the Alien. A native of Mt. Airy, he regularly returns from California—where he designs creatures for the movies and teaches sculpting—to assist with Halloween shows and enjoy the changing of the seasons.

 

MARK SCHENKER (sound effects) narrated A Knightmare to Remember and came into his own as Parkins the Butler in Séance at Midnight. Mark was the dry-ice wrangler for The Medium and the Message and has been a staple of our outdoor crowd-control force for many years. He is also the father of two of our actors—David Kornblith (Arthur) in A Knightmare to Remember and Molly Schenker (Krakkit the House-Elf) in Hogwarts for Sale!

 

MOLLY SCHENKER (illusion worker) debuted as Krakkit the Elf in Hogwarts for Sale! and has helped with porch duties in other years.

 

 

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