Join us at the District Theatre for a captivating dramatic reading of Ray Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree, performed by Ben Asaykwee. Over three nights—October 18, 19, and 20—experience the magic and mystery of Bradbury’s Halloween classic, brought to life through Asaykwee’s engaging storytelling. This event is part of the Festival 451indy programming, celebrating Bradbury’s legacy with a tale that explores friendship, time travel, and the origins of Halloween. Perfect for fans of all ages, this reading promises to be a spellbinding experience!

Dates:
October 18, 7:00 PM (Doors open at 6:30 PM)
October 19, 7:30 PM (Doors open at 7:00 PM)
October 20, 4:00 PM (Doors open at 3:30 PM)

Run time: 1 hour

Tickets: $20 General Admission – $10 Senior/Student/Military | Tickets available at indydistricttheatre.org

About: The Halloween Tree is a 1972 fantasy novel by American author Ray Bradbury, which traces the history of Samhain and Halloween. The novel was adapted as a 1993 film, and an annual Halloween Tree has been exhibited at Disneyland in California since 2007.
The Plot: A group of eight boys set out to go trick-or-treating on Halloween, only to discover that a ninth friend, Pipkin, has been whisked away on a journey that could determine whether he lives or dies. Through the help of a mysterious character named Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud, they pursue their friend across time and space through Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Greek, and Ancient Roman cultures, Celtic Druidism, the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Medieval Paris, and The Day of the Dead in Mexico. Along the way, they learn the origins of the holiday that they celebrate, and the role that the fear of death, ghosts, and the haunts has played in shaping civilization. The Halloween Tree itself, with its many branches laden with jack-o’-lanterns, serves as a metaphor for the historical confluence of these traditions.

Background: The novel originated in 1967 as the screenplay for an unproduced collaboration with animator Chuck Jones. Bradbury later wrote and narrated Hanna-Barbera’s 1993 feature-length animated version of the novel for television, for which he won an Emmy Award. A longer 2005 limited-edition “author’s preferred text” of the novel was compiled and edited by Donn Albright. This edition also included both the 1967 and 1992 screenplays.[1]
Bradbury dedicated The Halloween Tree to Man’ha Garreau-Dombasle (1898–1999), a French writer and translator who was the maternal grandmother of the actress and singer Arielle Dombasle and the wife of Maurice Garreau-Dombasle, a French ambassador to Mexico.

FESTIVAL 451iNDY IS A CELEBRATION OF THE HUMANITIES — a campaign that will encourage lifelong learning through a variety of public programs, collaborative workshops, performances, and other events throughout Indianapolis.

THE DISTRICT THEATRE – In 2017 with a desire to ensure the space on Mass Ave was preserved as a theatrical venue and an important cultural hub in the community, Central Indiana Community Foundation took over the building and recruited a founding Board of directors who incorporated a new 501(c)(3) and supporting organization of CICF known as The District Theatre. The new leadership enshrined in The District Theatre’s mission a commitment to preserving the bold, status quo-challenging, and fearlessly diverse history of TOTS. In furtherance of that mission, The District Theatre has adopted a strategic focus of helping resource and incubate new professional resident equity theater companies, beginning with a Black resident professional equity company. https://indydistricttheatre.org/history/