BSU Professor Bob Bartlett’s “Lykos Anthropos” Breaks New Ground

Theater Goers Will Watch a Horror Play Performed in the Woods

 

MEDIA CONTACT: David Thompson, dlthompson@bowiestate.edu, 301-860-4311

(BOWIE, Md.) – Watching a play in the woods may sound strange to some people but that is exactly what you’ll do if you attend the werewolf horror play “Lykos Anthropos” written by Bowie State Theater Professor Bob Bartlett which officially opens this Friday in a clearing in the woods outside of Davidsonville, Maryland.

The play has already captured the attention of the local theater community and the Washington Post which published an online article Playwright Bob Bartlett on his scary new play in the woods, 'Lýkos Ánthrōpos' - DC Theater Arts on Monday about “Lykos Anthropos” with the print story slated to appear in the newspaper later this week. Professor Bartlett said his intention was to work on three or four projects while on a research/writing trip in Greece this past summer funded by the Board of Regents Faculty Award and support from the university, but that he became consumed with creating Lykos Anthropos.

“Writing a horror play to be performed on stage can be challenging but having the production occur in the woods at night can create a natural fear of the unknown which is normally associated with horror giving the audience a totally different feeling,” said Bartlett. “I wanted to develop a project that will take the audience on a meaningful exploration of what it means to turn into a werewolf once a month and show the connection between the moon and earth.”

There are only two actors in the 75 minute play which begins when a young man meets a stranger outside of a bar and the plot rapidly accelerates into evil and death. The play could be performed on a traditional theater stage or in an outdoor amphitheater but Bartlett feels totally comfortable with the current setting in the woods.

Lykos Anthropos is a play for adults and not children. There are a number of gruesome werewolf scenes that become accentuated since the production occurs in the woods at night which will give outside theater goers a true since of eerie. Bartlett has produced other plays that were performed in site specific locations including a record store, coffee shop, and laundromat.  He says performing plays at site specific locations is a topic that all of his BSU students are exposed to and encouraged to experience.

“Everyone in theater loves the challenge of site specific work,” he said. “Each semester I require my students to perform in a non-traditional venue to demonstrate the vast possibilities that theater can provide on a stage, street corner, or anywhere.  A play can be performed at any location at any time and Lykos Anthropos performed in the woods epitomizes that notion.”

Bartlett said the play has gone through a radical transformation since he first began writing the production in the summer and that he is constantly modifying the script. He said he would have to make major changes to the play if it is adapted for the big screen.

The play will only be performed in the evenings on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from October 21 to November 6, at 8:00 p.m. in a clearing in the woods at 215 Emily’s Way in Davidsonville, Maryland. Seating is limited to 20 attendees per performance.  For more information, go to www.Bob-Bartlett.com

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