Never say Macbeth in a theater; always use “break a leg,” never “good luck.” Superstition has gone hand-in-hand with theatre since Shakespeare was spouting sonnets — and with those superstitions whisperings of the supernatural is always present.
Producer Steve Maihack began shooting the pilot episode of Project Ghostlight Monday night in the Boston University Theatre. Ghostlight, a new “docu-reality” series, follows up-and-coming actors as they spend sleepless nights in some of America’s haunted theatres.
“We explored all parts of the theatre with cameras,” said Ghostlight star Stephanie Carey, a BU College of Fine Arts School of Theatre alumna. “If you watch the episode you’ll see what we found.”
“I was nervous because I’ve had some interesting experiences here in the past,” she continued. “So I knew what some of the possibilities were.”
Carey, who stayed in the theater Monday night, has appeared on The Education of Max Bickford, a CBS series that aired from 2001 to 2002.
CFA School of Theatre alumnus and Ghostlight director Michael Cohen said he decided to make the BU Theatre the documentary’s first stop.
“I think that really what we’re exploring is energy,” Maihack said. “Theaters are not only some of the oldest buildings in America, but they also have had extremely high volumes of foot traffic, and all that energy continues inside of the theatres.
“I believe that tapping into the energy that is around us, and allowing your mind to believe that this energy exists, sometimes allows your eyes to see what sometimes fails to be seen,” he continued.
The complete series is ultimately going to explore 13 different theaters with three different aspiring actors in each episode. The producers hope to top it off with the final episode in the Paris Opera House — the setting for The Phantom of the Opera.
“Tension was a little high after what they had told us had happened in these hallways and rooms,” Ghostlight star Ryan Serhant, an As the World Turns actor said.
Originally known as the Repertory Theatre of Boston, the BU Theatre was established in 1925 by founder Henry Jewett and his wife. The ghost of Jewett is said to haunt the theater, having first made its presence known in the early 1990s. Rumor has it that Jewett may have hanged himself in the theater, but there is no proof of this, Huntington Theatre Company Director of Education Donna Glick said.
“Our theory is that Henry Jewett wanted to check up on the theater and see what we were doing,” Glick continued.
Glick said she has been involved in the theater for more than 17 years and is considered “the official ghost-teller” of the theater, recounting this past summer’s recent haunted affairs.
She said at least three paranormal happenings have occurred, including mysterious changes in heavy equipment, lights turning off on their own and even one account of a woman saying she felt as though something had moved through her.
Many actors said spending the night in the theater was frightening but, because the show has not aired yet, were unable to go into detail due to a confidentiality contract.
