For Immediate Release: September 13, 2006
Media Contact: Amy Watson Bish, Delaware Theatre Company, 302.594.1104 x244

Delaware Theatre Company’s series of audience enrichment events, Connections: A Community Conversation, kicks off for the 2006-2007 season on Saturday, October 28, 2006 with “Delaware Ghost Stories.” This event is presented in conjunction with the theatre’s production of The Turn of the Screw by Jeffrey Hatcher from the renowned tale by Henry James. This entertaining round-table discussion will examine the folklore of local ghost stories and ask the question, “Why do we like to be scared so much?” The Connections forum will follow the 2:00 p.m. matinee at approximately 4:00 p.m. and run about 90 minutes. The event is free and open to the public and is partly funded by a grant from the Delaware Humanities Forum, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For more information call 302.594.1100.

This enlightening discussion will feature local artists, folklorists, and historians, including John Wattenbarger (director of the film The Stone House), Patricia A. Martinelli (author of Haunted Delaware), and Lee Jennings (Delaware State Parks historian).

John Wattenbarger of Rehoboth, DE is a writer, filmmaker, and producer. The Stone House is his first feature film, and Wattenbarger was responsible for the script, as well as producing and directing the work. The film was produced, cast, shot, and edited entirely in Delaware, in and around Milton, Milford, Georgetown, and Laurel. The Stone House tells a chilling story about Rick Berlinger and his wife, Joslin, who move from their busy urban life to a small and quiet town. Shortly after their arrival, people begin to disappear. This brings to mind the local legend of the mental hospital, which burnt down in the late seventies, leaving the unaccounted patients to haunt the woods around the hospital building, the Stone House. The Stone House is set for release this fall.

Patricia A. Martinelli of Vineland, NJ is an historian, professional archivist and freelance author who specializes in American and regional history (particularly Delaware and New Jersey). Her current book is Haunted Delaware: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the First State, which features unexplained phenomena in Delaware and includes information on ghost tours in the region. Ms. Martinelli also currently serves as historian and archivist for the Cumberland County, New Jersey, Division of Archives and Records Management, charging her with records that date back over 150 years.

Lee Jennings of Middletown, DE is the founder of the Fort Delaware Ghost Tours. Joining the Division of Parks and Recreation in 1993 at Fort Delaware, he designed and wrote the living history programs that served as the catalyst for the massive preservation efforts of the Division. In 2000, Mr. Jennings received a Governor’s Tourism award for the African American education program at Fort Delaware, the same year in which he became the first State Parks Historian. Mr. Jennings has published two works: he co-authored Images of America Fort Miles with Dr. Gary Wray, which documents the rise and fall of a powerful seacoast fortification on the Delaware Shores, and has recently completed a History of Delaware State Parks.

“Delaware Ghost Stories” will take place at Delaware Theatre Company, 200 Water Street in Wilmington. The event will follow the 2:00 p.m. matinee performance on Saturday, October 28, 2006, beginning at approximately 4:00 p.m. Admission to all Connections events are free. For more information, please call 302.594.1100.

Connections: A Community Conversation is partially funded by a grant from the Delaware Humanities Forum, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Delaware Theatre Company’s 2006-2007 season is sponsored by JPMorgan Chase. Corporate Co-Producer for The Turn of the Screw is Alico, and Media Sponsor is WRTI. Artist transportation provided by Amtrak. Programs are made possible, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency committed to promoting and supporting the arts in Delaware. The Delaware Division of the Arts provides technical and financial assistance to artists and arts programs and serves as a clearinghouse for information on the arts.

Delaware Theatre Company, Delaware's premier professional theatre, is located at 200 Water Street, on Wilmington’s exciting Riverfront. Delaware Theatre Company is a member of the League of Resident Theatres, Theatre Communications Group, the Arts Consortium of Delaware, the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia, the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, and the Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau.

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