Zombies take Saddleback by storm

A horde of zombies were chased by protestors through the quad as part of a guerilla street performance at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. Photo by: Matt Corkill

Unexpected visitors showed up at the Career Fair held in the Business and General Studies Quad at Saddleback College on May 7. At approximately 1 p.m., a horde of zombies and protesters stormed through the quad holding signs and shouting political slogans directed toward zombies.

“Save the zombies! Kill the zombies!” protesters shouted. 

The horde distributed small pieces of paper that indicated there was a zombie screenplay being held in the Fine Arts Quad and spectators were welcome to attend. Most people disregarded the invitations, but some students gathered their things and headed over to the Fine Arts Building to watch the show.

The screenplay was called “Zombie Dearest” and was almost two hours long. It featured many different characters including two performers decorated with zombie makeup. The writer of the story was Doc D.

Even though the story was about zombies, the themes of the tale were more about family values than scares and spooks.

“The main message of the story is family,” said Administrator of the South Orange Community College District David Bugay. “It’s also about the legal rights of zombies.”

Without revealing any spoilers, the plot of the story revolved around a family whose mother and father suffered an accident at a lab which changed them into zombies. Consequently, the public became divided on how to deal with zombies in their society. One side was pro-zombie and advocated that the principles of human rights be applied to the undead parents the same way they’d be applied to anyone else. The other side saw them as sinful abominations that should have been dealt with more harshly.

“There might be a movie made out of this one day,” Bugay said. “This is the first time it’s been performed as a screenplay.”

Sadie Oatman, a freshman entertainment theater technology major, played the roll of the teenage daughter, Maggie Dawson. Oatman said she loved that the story humanized zombies and that they were just ordinary people who had something bad happen to them.

“The message is that zombies need love too,” Oatman said. “Don’t treat people based on how they look.”

Sophomore and theater technology major Patrick Grovich played the character known as Beefy Officer.

“The story is about acceptance,” Grovich said. “It’s about going through rough times and struggling to stay together as a family.”

For more information about “Zombie Dearest,” students can ask members of Saddleback College’s theater department.

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