Aurora University puts on Poe satire this week

The Aurora University theater department will present the world premiere of Chicago-based playwright Sean Graney's "Fuller (and Edgar) in the House of Usher" at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, Feb. 15-18, at the school's new Theatre Studio Lab, room 119 in Stephens Hall, 349 S. Gladstone Ave. in Aurora.

The production is free and open to the public; however, seating in the Theatre Studio Lab is extremely limited. Patrons will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis.

"Fuller (and Edgar) …" is an adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's 1839 short story "Fall of the House of Usher."

Graney's wild and irreverent take on the horror classic has Poe himself joining the 19th century feminist and Poe 's friend Margaret Fuller on a visit to the Usher family home.

The result is "a bit of a farce and a satire on Poe" which incorporates references to and comments about a variety of his literary works, according to John Curran, chair of the art and theater department.

Stacy Parker Joyce, assistant professor of theater, is directing the work, which was workshopped on campus during the fall semester.

Graney, together with Joyce and an AU student cast, "rewrote it, improvised, and did all kinds of things" to arrive at a final script, he explained.

"It's been a nice excursion for us," he said. "It's not often that students get the chance to work on new plays."