After an unusual dream, a 140-page script and five years of editing, local physician Chris Poor brings his horror play, “The Yellow Sign,” to a live audience.

Poor has been a resident of Murray for 25 years and works in the Emergency Department of the Murray-Calloway County Hospital. Outside of the hospital, however, Poor has dedicated much of his time to the arts.

“I love the arts in general and think that this is a great way to contribute to the community,” Poor said. “I love to see what happens in live theater, both the synergy of all of the talented people working together to create something more than they realize and the interaction with the audience to produce [the feeling of] community.”

Poor has been involved with many productions led by the local nonprofit theater group Playhouse in the Park through acting, set construction and costume management.

“The Yellow Sign,” which is Poor’s first time producing a play, is an independent project that aims to strike fear into audiences while exploring the medium of theater.

“A few years ago, I started thinking about how a play could inspire fear in the audience, as compared to a movie or a written story,” Poor said. “The idea took hold, and ‘The Yellow Sign’ is the product. Through a combination of audience interaction and innovative use of the theater space, I am endeavoring to make the audience feel that I am standing right behind them, whispering in their ears.”

The creative process for his play, Poor said, was kickstarted by a dream.

“People don’t believe this when I tell them, but it is true,” Poor said. “I woke one morning about five years ago, and I simply had to write. Forty-eight hours later, I had a 140-page first draft.”

Following the completion of his script, he distributed it to friends and competitions. He eventually hosted a live reading for his script at the Playhouse in the Park.

One of Poor’s biggest influences for “The Yellow Sign” was the writing of American author Robert W. Chambers.

“‘The Yellow Sign’ is based on the book ‘The King in Yellow,’ published in 1895 by Chambers,” Poor said. “It is a series of stories about the effect of a play … on the people who are exposed to it. They are all driven mad, in various ways, and the stories hint at a greater reality that they have been exposed to.”

Poor said “The Yellow Sign” will follow the story of a journalist who will be writing a review about “The King in Yellow” play, but his interactions with the director and cast cause him to question reality.

Poor is hosting auditions for “The Yellow Sign” on Monday, Sept. 5, Tuesday, Sept. 6 and Sept. 9 at the Playhouse in the Park Annex. There are three male and two female roles open, in addition to 4-8 roles for background dancers.

“The audition itself will involve reading lines from the play,” Poor said. “People will be given the lines and have an opportunity to read through them and prepare for as long as needed. Readings will be done in groups – we want to see actors interacting with each other, not just monologuing.”

Those interested in attending a performance of “The Yellow Sign” can purchase tickets at www.theyellowsignplay.com. “The Yellow Sign” is scheduled to be shown at 7 p.m. on Nov. 11-13 at the Playhouse in the Park venue.

“My hope is that everyone who attends a performance will discover something of value in themselves that will stay with them—haunt them—for the rest of their lives,” Poor said. “We hope that this will be a memorable experience, and we are not responsible for any cases of insanity that result from viewing the play.”

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