To kick off the Halloween season early, the Wayne State College theatre program held performances of “Frankenstein” in The Black Box Theatre Oct. 3 through Oct. 7.

The play acts as an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel, “Frankenstein.” Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant scientist, finds himself obsessed with the concept of resurrection after his mother passes away. In a misguided attempt to bring back his mother, Frankenstein gives life to a deformed corpse that he pieced together, though he immediately rejects his hideous creation. The events that follow cause Frankenstein to fall into a downward spiral as he finds himself and everyone he loves at the mercy of the monster he made.

Freshman Jack Osnes and senior Ben Bjorklund portrayed Victor Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s creation, respectively. Both of these actors felt they had creeped out their audiences in time for Halloween.

“I just really like the sort of energy that the cast brings,” Osnes said. “I loved [portraying Frankenstein]. I loved every minute of it. I was hoping for [the audience] to be scared. It’s a scary play, and I think we accomplished that.”

“There’s a lot of violence in the show, and I never got to do stage combat before,” Bjorklund said. “It was a short production, but it was a lot of fun.”

Several audience members, like freshmen Alexis Hrbek and Mark Albers, believed the cast gave them a great scare, with Albers describing the play as, “resurrecting.”

“I thought this play was really cool,” Hrbek said. “I’ve seen college plays before, and this one was top notch. I think my favorite moment was when [the ensemble] were spookily chanting, ‘Alone.’ I thought that was really cool.”

Jeanne Tiehen, the play’s director, felt she had done her job well in instructing the cast and crew.

“At this point in terms of production, I, as a director, don’t do much,” Tiehen said. “I’ve done all my work. At this point, they, as actors and as a production team, need to feel ownership over their performances, and I think they really do.”

I can say without a doubt that “Frankenstein” was a play worth seeing. The Black Box Theatre’s convenient setting provided an intense atmosphere, and the emotional story had me clinging to the edge of my seat the entire time. I loved how the story equally focused on both Frankenstein and his monster, and I felt pity for both of them.