World Debut at the Twin Cities Horror Festival:

1920’s St Paul. It was an easy heist, a simple score for this crew. One mistake and they are trapped in a cave that was supposed to be their hideout.

Will they find honor among thieves and and with it their salvation? Or will they succumb to the shadows that lurk in the Wabasha Caves?

A tale of betrayal, paranoia, survival, and fractured alliances.

Tickets, showtimes, and more at the Twin Cities Horror Festival Website.

Cast and Crew

Rachael Dosen

Charlie
Rachael Dosen is a writer, actor, and podcaster, and these are frankly the least of her sins. She is delighted to be appearing in a Hot Chocolate production for the first time, and pleased to return to the stage after Phoenix Theater's "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "Norse Play" earlier this year.

Bridget Foy

Bertinelli
This is Bridget Foy’s first Production with Hot Chocolate Media and also her first time in The TC Horror festival. She graduated high school in 2017 from Main Street School of Performing Arts HS (now PIM Academy) with her arts endorsement and Completed an AFA from Minneapolis College in 2022. She has done several Shakespearean roles with Classical actor’s ensemble (such as Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet”, and Hero in “Much Ado About Nothing”), and with her own theater company, Thin Air Theater (formerly Church Basement Shakespeare), as Miranda in “The Tempest” and as Perdita in “The Winters Tale”. She is next scheduled to Play Ophelia in an independent production of “Hamlet”.

Ileri Okikiolu

Haggins, Fight Captain
Ileri is a first time TC Horror Fest participant, hadn’t even heard of it before BUT, it is now a staple in their October! They’re incredibly excited to be a part of this premiere and to hopefully catch some other horror fest shows! Ileri recently returned to the stage, after a pause to reflect on why they stand under lights and tell stories and what the value of that is. They have a clearer answer and a new perspective so think of this like their first show! Ileri has dedicated their artistic intention toward projects that center and uplift marginalized communities.

Maddie Ripperger

Fitz
Maddie is excited to be making her TC Horror debut! Although not a devout horror junkie, Maddie has a lifelong obsession with the Scream Franchise. Twin Cities credits include Portia in Something Rotten (The Phipps Center for the Arts), Harriet in Miss Woodhouse Presents (Aethem Theatre Company), and Yvette in Clue (Lakeshore Players Theatre.) Maddie received a BFA in Musical Theatre from Drake University. By day, she serves as the Education and Programs Manager for Children’s Performing Arts, where she teaches, directs, and plans educational programming.

Denzel Belin

Director
Denzel Belin is a Minneapolis-based writer, director, actor, producer, and improviser. Belin is a longstanding cast member and writer at The Brave New Workshop and a staff writer for AWF magazine. He serves as the Artistic Director for Threshold Theater, whose mission is to "produce fresh LGBTQ works." He currently writes and performs for “Queer Window,” an all-queer sketch show based in New York City. Denzel has appeared on TPT Almanac and created work for the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus and Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce. He presented a longform collection of solo sketches and storytelling, “With Love, From Washington” for the Blackness Is… Festival in Minneapolis. With Threshold Theater, he is currently leading a play reading series that will provide playwrights the opportunity to workshop their play with a director and team of actors that concludes with a staged reading that is open to the public. You can learn more at https://www.thresholdtheatermpls.com. Learn more about Denzel at https://www.denzelbelin.com.

Kyle B. Dekker

Writer, Producer, Stage Manager, Sound Design, Set Design, Costumes, Blood FX
Kyle is a writer, storyteller and a Horror Festival superfan. He has previously worked on TCHF shows Sleepy Hollow and Charcoal Moon with Rogues Gallery Arts. Previous Hot Chocolate Media shows Remy Raygun and Waiting For Gygax debuted at the Minnesota Fringe, and he's carved out a solo storytelling career with his shows He-Man is the Devil and Audacious Ignatius, touring Fringe festivals around the US. He loves the collaborative nature of theater and is thrilled to bring you this new original production created by a group of amazingly talented cast and crew.

Jacob Gulliver

Writer, Graphic Design, Animations
Jacob is a writer, filmmaker, and all around geek recluse. His past theatrical writing credits include “Remy Raygun”, “Waiting for Gygax”, and the anthology series “Dead North” & “Blight Christmas”. He earned a BFA in Filmmaking while attending MCAD, and is thrilled to be involved with the Twin Cities Horror Festival.

Nell Tempest Blackwoodson

Fight Choreographer

Kate Peters

Fight Choreographer

Amy Dekker

Costumes, Props, Set Design

Amy is a visual artist, paper, and screen printing wizard. She graduated from Minneapolis College of Art and Design with a MFA in Fine Arts specializing in Print, Paper, and Bookmaking. She has been the design maestro of props, costumes, and more on every Hot Chocolate Media Production as well as every solo project of her spouse Kyle. In short she’s a creative superhero.

Special Thanks

The Phoenix Theater, Center For The Performing Arts, Jordan Johnson, Natasha Krentz, Hedy Rand-McKay, Amanda Celeste Jaeger, Jay Kistler and Dangerous Productions, Convergence Decor Team, Laura Cannata, Malcolm Dekker, Freesound.org, all the staff, board, and volunteers, and fellow artists of the Twin Cities Horror Festival.

Producer Notes

This show was first conceptualized as a eldritch horror tale set in the historic Wabasha Caves. Jacob and I submitted a rough pitch to the Horror festival in 2021. Though not selected, the idea would not die. And this year we revamped the pitch, refined the story and brought on Denzel Belin to the core creative team to develop the show. I knew Denzel was essential to putting a POV onto the play that would evolve it to something more than I could ever imagine. At it’s core Shadows Under Wabasha is a tale of what happens to friendships and teams under extreme pressure. Most of us have experienced a hostile work environment, but what if there was something more, something sinister stirring our deepest, darkest emotions when we butt heads with people - bringing up those repressed thoughts and impulses to the surface? Some of the best horror exposes the sins that live within our own souls and bares it for the audience to see. I’ve had an amazing experience creating my first ever piece of horror theater, this cast and crew are first class and the Horror Fest audience and community can’t be beat.