It takes a certain kind of confidence to stage one of the worst movies ever made.
Live Oak High School’s theater department is embracing the cringe with its staging of “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” an adaptation of the 1957 science fiction film by Ed Wood renowned as one of the worst films ever produced. Performances run March 19-21 at 7pm and March 21 at 1pm in the Live Oak theater. Tickets are available at lohsdrama.booktix.com.
The show is directed by drama teacher Shannon deMelo, who chose the material deliberately and with full knowledge of its reputation.
“The original film is widely considered to be one the worst films ever made,” deMelo said. “The concept and story are actually a really good idea; it’s just the execution that is so spectacularly bad. That’s exactly why I picked it. I wanted to do something we could have a lot of fun with, something that would give the cast space to really play and come up with bits and jokes.”
The story concerns a group of extraterrestrials who have grown alarmed by humanity’s accelerating weapons development. Having watched humans progress from firecrackers to nuclear bombs to hydrogen bombs, the aliens fear that the next technological leap will be a doomsday weapon capable of destroying the universe.
When the humans ignore their warnings and deny their existence, the aliens resort to Plan 9: resurrecting the Earth’s dead into zombies.
The plot grows only more convoluted from there, said Chloe Grotz, who plays Paula, the distressed wife of airline pilot Jeff Trent, among the first humans to witness the alien invasion from his aircraft.
“It’s very complicated,” Grotz said. “You’ve got to see it to believe it.”
Grotz’s character is abducted by the aliens early in the story, setting much of the plot in motion. Ella Smith plays two roles, the first of which to appear is Vampira, a staple character of campy horror films from the 1950s.
“Vampira is a character that has appeared in a lot of different movies,” Smith explained. “She’s the first of the risen dead. I’m mainly lurking and watching everything. I’m part of the alien undead army.”
Smith’s other role is as the alien ruler, a cruel despot with a misogynistic streak.
“The ruler is the one who had the whole idea and sent the soldiers to Earth, while he stays safely on the ship,” Smith said. “He’s got a lot of authority and barks a lot of orders.”
Beneath the absurdity, deMelo said, the original script contains a genuine theme about the dangers of unchecked technological progress, a lesson that has not lost its relevance since Wood first put it to film nearly 70 years ago.
“There is a larger message about not letting progress outpace wisdom,” deMelo said. “It’s a decent message, but it’s buried under a lot of shenanigans.”
Those shenanigans, the cast makes clear, are very much the point. Rehearsals have already produced moments that have become company legend, including a scene in which Chambless delivered a line of concern to a fallen Grotz in an accent so unexpected it brought the room to a halt.
There is also a prop skeleton, borrowed from Smith’s personal collection, that has achieved a kind of life of its own, and a stage direction involving lawn chairs and a wind effect that spawned its own recurring bit: nearly every death and fainting spell in the show now ends with the afflicted actor spinning offstage, furniture in hand.
In addition to the student cast, history teacher James Malfatti will appear in the production as The General, adorned in an appropriately historic military uniform he provided himself.
Every set piece and prop in the production was designed and built by students, from gravestones engineered to stand upright to the interior of an alien spacecraft.
“It’s been amazing watching them do arts and crafts every week,” deMelo said.
The cast’s pitch to prospective audience members is straightforward.
“If you’ve been stressed lately, take a night off,” Smith said. “It’s cheaper than a movie ticket and probably funnier than whatever comedy is showing.”
“You’re going to come out with a stomachache,” Grotz added, “and you’re probably going to have an inside joke living in your brain for the next month.”
Tickets for “Plan 9 from Outer Space” are available at lohsdrama.booktix.com. Performances run March 19-21 at 7pm, with an additional matinee March 21 at 1pm, in the Live Oak theater, 1505 East Main Ave.
