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DELIRIUM FROM THE DIRECTOR AND PLAYWRIGHT:

Delirium began two years ago in the fall of 2012. I was in my freshman year of college at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. In short I wasn't happy at the time with where life was taking me and so many things built up that added to me beginning to lose myself. One day, my only way out was just to write. I blew all of my frustrations onto a piece of paper. It just so happened I was writing a scene between a woman to comes in to speak with a young girl who's a murderer and is being consumed by an illness that made her become this monster. It was super cliche at the time and I didn't think anything of it until my friend got a hold of it and read from off my laptop. She expressed interest in it and suggest I expand upon it. So it eventually grew into a two act play. I decided to put it into a workshop mode to see how it would look on it's feet.  I gathered a few friends to read through it and help me fix it. One of the first to sign on was the extraordinarily talented Ellie Anne Margolis. She became attached and helped to originatee the story and even originally play the role of Jennifer Mullins in the WSU production. The show was an instantaneous success. 

A year later, after I transfered to Columbia College Chicago, I approached Jacqueline Wills about putting it on full out for the Chicago public with a fresh new cast and an updated script. She agreed, auditions were held for Columbia students, and the Chicago production was underway.

From the beginning, this story was never about the intention to scare, I believe that if you focus so much on scarring then it becomes comical, unrealistic, and you lose the audience's attention. We approached this just as William Freidkin approached directing The Exorcist (1973), by presenting it as if it were a documentary--with some theatricality. We have the audience embrace the facts of watching someone really begin to lose their sanity, and in return, they too get lose their sanity. Their discomfort becomes their ecstasy. Overall, story, character, and realism were our prime focuses in the process of this production. 

The cast took on the challenge and delivered an extraordinarily original and stunning performance. I couldn't be anymore thankful for how much passion and energy they gave to this production. It's an amazing feeling to watch what they do...though granted most of it is disturbing. It is beautiful. What they do is so breathtaking. I genuinely believe that people will not only walk away from this with utter shock, but complete awe with how much commitment, trust, and life there is in the spirit of this  cast. They are a treasure to have--truely. They will make the audience remember...

--Jacob Huddilston