An actor at the University of Maryland writes about his experiences performing in a Grand Guignol production on campus:

“I’m very thankful for this opportunity to explore such an obscure artform, one that is seldom done anymore. Grand Guignol is such a melodramatic, overly-exaggerated way of theatre. It definitely goes for shock value, using realistic scenes of violence which result in puddles of blood all over the stage every show. Why would people like to see this onstage? I don’t really know.”

Information is scarce on the UM website, but The Lab: An Experiment in Grand Guignol appears to be an adaptation of Andre de Lorde’s play Laboratory of Hallucinations. It will have its final performance on Monday, April 2, 2007 at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s Laboratory Theatre. Admission is free. Seating is limited.

Congrats to the cast and crew. Sounds like M. de Lorde would be proud.