An Afternoon of Gothic Horror

“Nevermore”—Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”


The room was captivated by the one man standing at the stage in the front of the room. His voice inflections, different tones for characters, and exaggerated pauses held every audience member in the palm of his hand and on the edge of their seats. Joshua Kane, a New York City actor, was on West campus Wednesday afternoon performing several readings of Edgar Allan Poe in celebration of the poet’s 200th birthday. Kane started the event by giving a brief description of how he got started in the business of “gothic horror” and one man shows—“perverted grandparents.” According to Kane, his grandparents bought him the complete works of Poe, which he read over and over again. They gave him his inspiration he needed to heavily consider a career in acting.


An English and history double major at the University of Bridgeport, Kane dropped out three months into studying to pursue an acting career. He started off reciting Poe’s poems in college and university libraries which he still does to this day. Kane then shared his history of being in a “macabre” magic show as a teenager and “interning” with the late Vincent Price. At twenty-five, he graduated with both of his degrees.


Starting with “Alone” and reciting several well known poems such as “The Tell Tale Heart” and “The Raven,” Kane performed highly emotional and personalized renditions of the poetry. In “The Raven”, Kane requested for audience participation by whispering the word “nevermore” at his cue. It “lended breath to the piece,” causing a somewhat eerie effect. The last performance was “Annabel Lee”, the only piece that he started off by singing.


Kane tours the country performing Poe as well as Shakespeare in addition to teaching workshops; he also does a few commercial voiceovers. The workshop he taught at Valencia was his “Imaginary Tool Kit,” his remedy of how he got through writer’s block while in college. Kane is planning to start producing his own CD recordings of his shows; his website www.joshuakane.com currently has several twenty minute clips of video from previous shows. His upcoming engagements are at a theater in Tampa, as well as the Kravitz Center in West Palm Beach.