Teenage ghost stories

October starts the season of the scary, spooky ghost story. But B Street Theatre’s The K of D: an urban legend doesn’t spotlight the ghost; rather, it casts a long shadow on the survivors, or more specifically, Charlotte, the twin sister of a skateboarding teen tragically killed by a reckless driver in a small Ohio town.

In The K of D (short for “kiss of death”), playwright Laura Schellhardt explores the tantalizing twists and turns of urban myths, especially as told by teens, who relish in the power of the telling. The myths pop up soon after the teen’s death and show how tragedy can change a family, a pack of friends, a town and the future of those affected, especially a young girl who is burdened with the image everyone has of her kissing her dying brother goodbye. It’s the power of this kiss that becomes the focal point of this strange, compelling and suspenseful story of emotional pain and angry revenge.

The K of D was written as a one-woman show containing more than a dozen characters. However, B Street has taken the solo show and divided the parts between two talented B Street regulars—Jason Kuykendall and Tara Sissom—who both deliver tour de force performances in their portrayals of characters that range in age, gender, backgrounds, dialects and temperaments. These two perform gymnastic acting feats as they leap and twist at dizzying speeds to capture conflicting characters—sometimes with one actor portraying both people in a conversation. There are some characters that are more believable and resonate more with the audience, but all are compelling—with credit also going to director Jerry Montoya for keeping all the plates spinning in the air. Montoya’s fast pacing in the first act keeps the action moving, which lets us enjoy some of Schellhardt’s slower, poetic language that would have otherwise bogged down the story.

As with any ghost story, it’s the atmosphere and mood that adds to the suspense, and in this production, the eerie beauty of a small lakeside town is captured by the set, sound and lighting. B Street’s recent addition of stage manager Anthony Poston is paying off (as seen in the production values of Red and now in The K of D), where the setting and atmosphere meld into a character in itself—a looming presence that leaves as lasting as an impression as the people who inhabit it.