Get Set for a Night of Frightening Fun With “Shriek Night”

After a sold-out showing of Drunk Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Middle Kingdom Creatives (MKC) are back with Shriek Night, a series of Halloween themed short plays. As with any MKC produced show, there's bound to be plenty of fun and surprises in store, so what better way to embrace spooky season than grabbing yourself a ticket to one of their three performances (from Oct 21-22) in the lead up to Halloween?

To find out a little bit more about what we can expect from the show I talked to Shriek Night producer Ryan Usher. 

Hi Ryan, so great to speak with you! Firstly, can you explain a little bit about what Shriek Night is and what you have in store for us?
It’s great to speak with you as well! Shriek Night will be a night of short plays, produced by Middle Kingdom Creatives, all centred around a Halloween theme, some spooky, some funny and some dramatic. Plus, there will also be opportunities to win some awesome prizes!

Where did the idea for Shriek Night come from?
Last February, MKC partnered with Date Night China to put on a night of short plays that centred around the theme of love and it was so much fun that we wanted to try it again with a different theme. Of course, with it being that time of year, we all thought that Halloween would be a perfect fit.

How can people buy tickets and when will they go on sale?
What an important question! People can scan the QR code on our poster [see bottom of article] to get their tickets and should do so fast; our last three shows sold out in under 4 days! [Tickets went on sale yesterday Oct 9].

How did you find the cast for the show?
We put the word out on our MKC WeChat group asking people to submit a short monologue and were overjoyed to have such an amazing amount of talented people submit auditions!

Is this your first time producing a show like this or have you produced other shows in the past?
I have produced many different kinds of shows in the past, however, I have never produced a show with such an emphasis on collaboration. With six different directors and six different plays, there are a lot of moving parts. Thankfully, all of our directors are doing a phenomenal job and, of course, so are our actors, meaning it has been an absolute joy to produce!

How did you first become involved in the Beijing theatre scene?
During the quarantine, a group of like-minded friends and I all met up with the mission of making art here in Beijing. We talked about how we know so many talented people here in the city: actors, writers, directors and so on, who are, for the most part, starving for a place where they can express themselves. So we created Middle Kingdom Creatives as a way for those looking to perform or produce to have a community where we can make great things together!

Do you have any other events planned following this one?
Absolutely! Over the next few months, we will have a “theatre club night” where people can come and meet members of MKC while also participating in an engaging acting workshop. We are also starting our “Musical Theatre Club” where musical theatre nerds (like me) can meet up and sing! Next year, we will have a Panto (a comedic play with acting, singing and plenty of outrageous over-acting) that will be a hilarious parody of Robin Hood, as well as a dramatic one-act play called Happiness. 

How can people get involved in future events or performances?
By adding the Middle Kingdom Creatives WeChat (ID: MKCreatives)! We post regularly, informing our members of upcoming auditions and events. We are always excited to add new, talented people to our team!

"Shriek Night" will take place on Oct 21, 8pm, Oct 22, 6:30pm and 9:30pm  at 金尚 JinShang, tickets are RMB 120, scan the QR code in the poster above to purchase them.

JinShangYuan 金尚源
B1, 20 Xinyuanlixi, Chaoyang District
朝阳区新源里西里20号B1

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Images: courtesy of Middle Kingdom Creatives, Unsplash Ssabina Music Rich, David Menidrey