Theater students at St. James High School are preparing to perform a series of popular horror stories reimagined as a live-performance radio play. The production, titled “Dead Air: a Horror Trilogy,” will adapt three iconic stories: “The Twisted Tales of Edgar Allen Poe,” “Dracula” and “Frankenstein.”

The cast and production team are composed entirely of students who are working both on stage and behind-the-scenes under the direction of Practical Arts Teacher AJ Prawitz. Students aren’t just getting the opportunity to perform in front of live audiences, but are also earning class credits. This fall production is entirely curricular, meaning that all rehearsals occur during regular school days.

Prawtiz said that this series is a fresh take on classic horror stories that audiences are already familiar with. The setting for all three productions is a typical American home of the 1930s or 40s. The gothic tales themselves will be told through the framing device of a classic radio play — a throwback to a popular form of home entertainment from before television sets became common household luxuries.

The radio play style of production is also a fresh experience for students, who will do live voice acting and create sound effects using foley techniques, recreating sound effects using everyday objects, in their performances.

Alissa Tolie, a junior who is voicing three different characters, said that doing live voice acting and creating foley effects onstage in three different radio dramas has brought its own set of unique acting challenges.

“One of the hardest parts is definitely trying to create that character’s voice. You really have to take into account where they are, who they are and what they are,” Tolie said. “All of our characters have to sound a little different. We’re just trying to make your voice sound different for a long period of time and being able to distinguish each different character.”

Tolie added that the experience, despite its challenges, has been a rewarding endeavor.

“This whole entire production this fall is a great experience and a great opportunity to build how you can act. Instead of just choosing how you present yourself, it helps us understand how we can act with our voice also,” Tolie said.

Another unique feature of “Dead Air” is that students will perform live sound effects throughout the three dramas. Students Megan Michel and Gwenny Daniels are serving as stage managers for “Dead Air” and have spent rehearsals hard at work creating the sound effects that audiences will hear during performances. Daniels said that the process for designing the contraptions used for live sound effects involves “a lot of tapping on things and googling.”

Some of the creative solutions for sound effects that the crew has come up with include retracting and extending an umbrella to recreate the sound of flapping bat wings and rhythmically tapping a glass tube covered at one end with a rubber balloon to recreate the sound of a beating heart.

All three dramas are based on scripts adapted by Philip Grecian, a writer of stage and radio plays. The works are being produced through a special arrangement with Dramatic Publishing Company, of Woodstock, Ill.

Performances will be across two nights on Nov. 12 and 13 at the St. James Performing Arts Center at 7 p.m. The first night’s performances will include “The Twisted Tales of Edgar Allen Poe” and “Dracula.” On Friday, Nov. 13, students will perform “Frankenstein.”