The actors of the Poplarville Academy of Performing Arts are gearing up to perform everyone’s worst nightmare during their annual Scare House, an event to be held this year at Dixon Theater in Poplarville.
Mary McKay, one of the organizers of the event, said this group began performing their haunted theatrics in 2011, setting up shop in various venues, including the old Movie Star building and the Holliday Castle.
Themes include “Fangs: The Ultimate Vampire Experience,” and this year’s “What’s Your Phobia, 2.0.”
Each year, the group chooses a different organization to donate its profits to. In the past, organizations such as the DARE program, the Poplarville High School baseball team and Pearl River Community College benefitted, McKay said.
This year, however, the Scare House is raising funds to get its organization back on its feet and continue performing popular theater acts in the community.
“The main goal is to bring it back alive…and get more people involved,” McKay said.
Since 2010, PAPA, a nonprofit, has been performing theater masterpieces and holding workshops in the Poplarville community.
The workshops are typically free to children in the community and held when school is not in session, McKay said.
“I’ve seen the change in the children…they blossom,” she said. “They come out of here with a different sense of self-esteem.”
Their active members, consisting of about 15 people, perform plays like Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and Christmas specials like the Cajun Night Before Christmas.
In the spring, the group plans to perform a three part series entitled, “Mommalogues,” McKay said.
In everything the group does, “we try to involve the community as much as possible,” she said.
In the past, they have held fundraisers and clothing drives to donate to local organizations and give back to the community, McKay said.
Last year, they screened “The Lego Movie” and asked moviegoers to donate Lego toys, which were provided to the Department of Human Services, McKay said.
The Dixon Theater opened a few years ago under the supervision of the Dixon family to serve as a home for the group, she said.
Jeannie Dixon is described as the “matriarch” of the group.
The Scare House opens Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. and will continue on Oct. 22, Oct. 27-29 and Halloween night.
Tickets will go on sale at 6:30 p.m. each night. Groups of five will be admitted at a time. Tickets are $15 for regular admission or $25 for VIP front of the line admission. Oct. 27 is a $5 discount night for students, military and first responders.
Concessions will also be available for purchase beginning at 6:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 31.
Children under the age of 11 should only attend at parents’ discretion, due to the implementation of some mild adult humor in the show, McKay said.