GRUESOME GIVING
Korda Artistic Productions cast of Evil Dead hosts blood drive
Amber Thibert knows how important it is to have a good supply of blood on hand, because she spends a lot of time spraying people with it.
The local production of Evil Dead: The Musical wastes a lot of blood onstage — don’t worry, it’s actually fake — so cast members thought doing a blood drive for Canadian Blood Services would be a nice gesture.
“I kind of pitched the idea because we’re spraying all this fake blood at people throughout our show,” said Thibert, who plays the hero’s ill-fated girlfriend in the current show at the Kordazone Theatre.
“We have a splatter zone. I said we’re wasting so much blood onstage, we’d love to help collect blood offstage.”
The musical closely follows the plot of the gory 1981 cult classic movie The Evil Dead. Five college students on spring break head to an abandoned cabin in the woods, where they unleash a demon. After that it’s up to Ash Williams, a housewares employee at S-Mart, to save the world. Things get bloody.
For example, Thibert plays Ash’s girlfriend Linda, who turns into a demon before getting her head chopped off. The show is so gruesome there’s a splatter zone in the audience where people can expect to be sprayed with fake blood. You have to pay extra for that.
Given the bloody theme of the show, said Thibert, promoting a blood drive seemed like a good fit. On the back of the programs handed out at the show, there is a call to action asking people to donate.
On Wednesday, cast members showed up in costume to donate blood at the Canadian Blood Services clinic on Grand Marais Road. They got noticed.
“It’s definitely different,” said Luke Van Hooren, who was donating blood for the 24th time. “I was entertained while I was doing it.”
He started giving blood in high school.
“I could miss a day, get a on bus and go give blood,” said Van Hooren. “I did that and I just kept going.”
Thibert said she hopes more people follow Van Hooren’s example.
“We’re asking local community members in Windsor and Essex County to get out and donate when they can and help save lives,” she said.
After you donate blood, reward yourself by checking out the show. It runs two more weekends at Kordazone Theatre at 2520 Seminole St. You can still catch it Thursday to Saturday and July 20 to 22. Showtime is 8 p.m. each night.
Tickets are $20 for general admission and $25 for reserved splatter zone seating. Splatter zone tickets are only available at the door because of limited seating. July 14 is a pay what you can show.
You can buy tickets at Nancy Johns Gallery & Framing at 4755 Wyandotte St. E. or Cardinal Music at 2569-B Jefferson Blvd.
I kind of pitched the idea because we’re spraying all this fake blood at people throughout our show.