Canyon Theatre Brings ‘Frankenstein’ to Life : The horror classic haunts the Saugus stage for the Halloween season.

Along the sparsely inhabited Sierra Highway in Saugus, after a curvy, seven-mile drive east from the Soledad Canyon Road intersection, the Canyon Theatre pops up like a ghost.

Once the site of a Wild West show, the cream-colored, adobe-style building is still decorated with Native American figures, designs and totem poles.

Nestled against a backdrop of quiet mountains, with winds whistling around its corners and the looming legend of its own ghostly inhabitant, the theater seems an apt setting for the Canyon Theatre Guild’s annual Halloween production--this year a staging of the classic tale “Frankenstein,” adapted by Victor Gialanella. For eight years, the theater has been home to the 25-year-old theater group, which is producing the play as a retrospective event in honor of its anniversary.

Just two days before Friday’s opening night, cast and crew of the Canyon Theatre Guild (CTG) were painting and hammering the final touches on one of the sets, an elegant sitting room.

In between taking reservations for the play, longtime guild member Barbara Huntington, stage manager for this production, swirled water and powdered iced tea mix in a fancy decanter.

“There, that looks like brandy,” she said proudly, holding it up to the light.

Director Ingrid Boydston, still waiting for bags of fake blood and a dead dog prop, inserted metal rings into a lengthy canvas upon which guild member Frank Rock had painted a thick stand of forest.

“I believe in the K.I.S.S. theory: ‘Keep it simple, stupid,’ ” Boydston said of the uncomplicated yet effective technical elements of the show, including the laboratory’s colorful flashing lights and an operating table that seems to glow when Frankenstein’s creature comes to life.

CTG members said that the “bells and whistles” may account for the past popularity of the Halloween shows, which have ranged from the spooky, such as “Dracula,” to the spoofy, such as last year’s melodrama, “I Only Have Fangs for You.”

“Here’s the creature,” announced Boydston, pointing to Michael Collins, who stands shyly holding the makeup kit that will transform him from man to monster.

But Collins has taken his role seriously, experimenting for weeks to create the face and body--complete with rubber scars--of the creature. Collins said his portrayal is in part inspired by Robert De Niro’s performance in the 1994 movie adaptation of story.

“This monster was sort of thrown together, created by Victor Frankenstein mainly to see if his theory worked. It didn’t matter what the creature looked like or if he was in pain,” Collins said.

Boydston said the final test of the creature will rest with the audience.

“They should feel very sympathetic toward him,” she said. “This whole story is about taking responsibility for something you have done.”

Last year, the audience numbered about 10,000 for the guild’s eight productions, which include a yearly Christmas show, two children’s productions and other comedies and dramas, Boydston said. The Canyon Theatre’s stage is rarely dark.

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Some of the guild’s history can be seen hanging around the theater--even in the bathroom, in the form of framed collages of photographs and programs from each play. The Canyon Theatre Guild began in 1970 with a production of John Kirkpatrick’s “Vacancy in Paradise,” at the William S. Hart High School Auditorium.

The troupe was somewhat nomadic for a while, holding productions at St. Stephen’s Church in Valencia, a storefront in Canyon Country and Placerita Junior High in Newhall. The current location is leased from the widow of Robert Callahan, who in the 1960s hosted shows a la Wild Bill Hickock.

Callahan’s ghost is rumored to haunt the theater. Guild members have heard and seen some strange things over the years, such as slamming doors and apparitions appearing in photographs. Guild member Brad Peach says his 2-year-old daughter once came running from the theater restroom, screaming she had seen a man with brown hair. Some believe it was the ghost.

Still, Peach and others are somewhat reverent toward the specter in their midst.

“He was an amazing man,” Peach said. “Hopefully he’s happy with what we’re doing here.”

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DETAILS

* WHAT: “Frankenstein.”

* WHEN: Performed at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 4, with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Oct. 24 and a performance at 7 p.m. on Halloween.

* WHERE: Canyon Theatre, 13660 Sierra Highway in Saugus.

* HOW MUCH: Tickets are $7 for adults; $4 for students and seniors.

* CALL: (805) 298-0058.