What most excites you about this production? 

This will be among the first pieces in my nascent life of directing which is both exciting and terrifying. I'm also getting the chance to work with actors that I know and love as well as a couple who I am just getting acquainted with, both very exciting things for an actor/director. 




What is the greatest challenge you face with this show?  You are putting together 17 scenes from 3 different playwrights... 

These stories are real, they exist out there in the world and each have their own voice. It's easy to preach tolerance, equality and the kumbaya aspect of these stories but we'd be missing the bigger point. Each and everyone of these people have their hopes, fears, and dreams, what is challenging is keeping these stories true to their core and not allowing them to slip into the absurd. 

What kind of research are you doing to prepare? 

The research for this production has surrounded me and has been a part of my life. I worked with New Conservatory Theatre Center and their YouthAware Program for a number of years and did extensive research and work for diversity education, homophobia prevention and awareness, HIV prevention, safety and respect education for children. 

What have been some of your favorite previous roles (or productions you have been involved with)? 

Hijra - NCTC, A number of Sheherezades that I've had the utmost pleasure and honor to be a part of, Snapper in Arrivaderci Roma (picture below) and the Spooky Cabaret where I got to act and direct!

Since this play is about the right to marry what are some of your personal feelings regarding marriage that you would be willing to share?
   
I personally don't believe in the institute of marriage. At least I didn't. In my younger years I was content being a confirmed bachelor, bounding from gig to gig, falling into relationships that suited me, going along with whatever interests me most. I've reached a milestone in my life and with that milestone come a reexamination of the place I've come to in my life. We cannot move forward without first looking into the mirror. I've achieved a lot in my life and reached a place where I'd like to achieve more, but with somebody. My upcoming nuptials to my longstanding girlfriend, life partner, partner in crime is just that: my partner in greatness. We bring out the best in each other, allow each other to reach for the stars and get a little closer than we could alone. That's what marriage means to me. Not some contract or archaic property law. It's a connection. A connection that enhances the quality of life of both parties and the people surrounding them. 

What do you hope audiences will take from this production? 

DOMA has been ruled unconstitutional and Prop. 8 is now left in the hands of individual states to decide upon. We stand on the cusp of change and change is a painful process. With that change comes the drama and truth of our everyday lives that we continue to lead. Amid the euphoria of supreme court rulings, rallys, celebrations, and the steps leading from this historic date there are still people out there who will tear others down, react with fear and prejudice. 

It is my hope that we meet fear with understanding and compassion instead of prejudice and antagonism. That we attempt to make a connection, no matter how small, in the interest of progress - for the greater good or for personal gain. It is through our shared struggle with humanity, battles with phobias - shared or private, our pain that binds us all together. 

We thrive on conflict, we are rash, quick to judge and slow to change. Today we displayed all of those traits of our humanity in all of it's beauty and flaws. I hope we reach for each other in times of triumph or fear. I hope we can connect and reconnect with those people who are important to us. I hope that we continue to move forward, continue to change what it is to be human and reach beyond the limitations that we impose upon ourselves.

WESLEY CAYABYAB is a core company artist with Wily West Productions Wesley is thrilled to direct this pertinent collage of plays with an ensemble of amazing local actors. Wesley just finished as an ensemble member for the sold-out SHEHEREZADE 13 production and played Snapper in the world premiere of ARRIVEDERCI ROMA, another Morgan Ludlow work of art and appeared in Spooky Cabaret as well as directed for the play and music festival.  Wes comes to us with an extensive background in the technical theatre arts and has worked for numerous professional theatre companies in the Bay Area.   As Wily West's technical director he has built sets and set up lighting for SAN FRANCISCO STORIES, NYMPH O’ MANIA, RUTH AND THE SEA, JUNO EN VICTORIA, PEACHES EN REGALIA, ARRIVEDERCI ROMA, BELIEVERS andSHEHEREZADE IX, X, XII, XII, XIII. 

What most excites you about this production?

Playing an icon and wanting to meet audience expectations, but being able to bring something new to the field. And working with the fab people who are a part of Wily West. Thanks to Brady, Ryan, Wes, Quinn, and all the gang! And especially Morgan for the role!
And of course, the jewelry!

What is the greatest challenge you face for this show?

OH MY GOD JOAN CRAWFORD!   

What kind of research are you doing to prepare? 

My research has been looking at old film clips, but mostly clips of her as herself...interviews, moments where she is on camera--not as a character, but as herself.  And reading articles about her--how others saw her....

Susan, you are a teacher, actor, director, and award-winning playwright...what came first?   Who have you played before?   

Acting came first (the witch when I was 15--perhaps a precursor to Joan?) and then directing, then playwrighting.  I have portrayed many famous women--Thomas Wolf's mother, Stevie Smith--British poet, Dorothy Parker, Jackie Kennedy--and I wrote a play about Rock Hudson and his wife, so I knew a lot about the references/movie world of Joan. 

Since this play is about our public and private selves or personas - what parts of you as an artist are very public and what are some more private or personal interests that you would be willing to share? 


Public and private--I'm on Facebook, so I have to be careful as my students read the messages.  As a teacher, I am sometimes overly cautious about the distinction between me as a person and me as their instructor.  And then there are days that I bring donuts and they fill me in on the latest slang.   Sometimes we let our guard down to complete strangers--tell them things we would never tell another living soul.  The expectations people place upon us as teachers, writers, actors, and famous stars...

What do you hope audiences will take from this production? 

A new way of looking at what we thought we knew...

SUSAN JACKSON has performed leading roles in W;t, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, An Inspector Calls, Six Degrees of Separation, and understudied with Theatreworks.  Her most recent performance was on the New York off Broadway stage—with Altruistic Theatre Company, performing a piece produced by the Southern Railroad Theatre Company, with her co-producer, Diana Brown.   As a playwright, she won a Bay Area Theatre Critic’s Circle award for BLESSING HER HEART, which went on to win top ten at the SF Fringe.  Her plays have been produced in San Jose, Mountain View, Napa, Santa Cruz, Sydney--Australia, South Carolina, and San Francisco. As an actress, she has performed with many theatre companies—Pear Avenue Theatre, Women’s Will, Palo Alto Players, and various roles with the Southern Railroad Theatre Company. She is an alumni of Playground, a member of the Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Playwright’s Center of San Francisco, Pear Writers Guild, and San Jose City Light Source.  She teaches theatre at City College of San Francisco. 

What most excites you about this production?

I think I’ve been excited about this pretty much since Morgan first told me about it.  I love the idea of old Hollywood and getting to see the under belly of it, so to speak.  I’m also big fan of documentaries and biographies so that really sparked that part of my interest.  And then in February when we had our final reading and Susan and Ryan read, I think all of us in the room were just blown away.  With no rehearsal, they were able to capture the heart of both of these characters.  All of us left that reading with a sense that this was going to be something really special and that is honestly a director’s dream.  On top of that, this is my first production where I really get to delve into mixed media, so that is exciting.  I really enjoy a challenge and being able to learn new skills.

What is the greatest challenge you face with this show?

I think on a technical level, it will be the introduction and implementation of the slides and video footage of Joan’s movies.  It really is a third character in the play, so figuring out at what times it distracts and the times when it engages I think will be the biggest challenge.

What kind of research are you doing to prepare?

All of us started off reading the book that inspired the play and then from there, we have been focusing more on watching footage of Joan in her later years.  Susan and I have been making observations about the toll being a heavy smoker and drinker has on one’s body.  Also, playing with the idea of where she feels weighted, where her voice resonates from and the little behavioral gestures that seem to be her hallmark.  We want to stay true to the script and the Joan that Morgan has written, but at the same time make her recognizable to an audience.

What have been some of your favorite previous roles (or productions you have been involved with)? 

I moved to San Francisco about three years ago and just love this community.  Everyone has been really welcoming and there is so much new work here to be a part of in a myriad of ways.  I’ve been lucky to be a producer and director with some wonderful theater companies in the area.  And I feel particularly lucky to be working with Wily West as a director for Sheherezade 13, Gorgeous Hussy and Hope’s Last Chance.  Quinn and I actually looked at each other during Sheherezade and got so excited that we get to spend the year together making plays and having fun!  In between shows with Wily West, I’ll be assisting in editing and directing a documentary film, which is a brand new venture for me.

Since this play is about our public and private selves or personas - what parts of you as an artist are very public and what are some more private or personal interests that you would be willing to share? 

We’ve been talking a lot about the “mask” of Joan Crawford.  The idea that there was this external thing that demanded absolutely everything of the farm girl Lucille LeSeur to the point where she had nothing left of herself or for herself.  It defined everything that she did in her life and when it started to fade, she didn’t have any idea who the woman behind it was.

I think that every artist, on some level, struggles with the personal vs. the private self. We inherently need our personal lives to inform our art, but where do you draw the line?  How much of yourself do you give to your art in time, energy and definition of who you are? And for each person, it’s different.

What do you hope audiences will take from this production?

I think that most people are going to come into the show expecting Joan to scream, “No more wire hangers!!” and make Roy scrub every inch of the bathroom with a toothbrush or something.  That is really the Joan that lives in our imaginations when we think of her.  We think of Faye Dunaway and this woman with these big eyes, huge voice and hellish personality.  I even have a picture of Joan Crawford that says at the bottom, “Don’t Make Me Go All Joan Crawford on Your Ass!” But that is the mask and I think that Morgan does a beautiful job at showing us our own stereotypes and letting us, through this chance interaction, challenge them and ourselves to dig a little deeper. 

BRADY BROPHY-HILTON is a freelance theater director and producer in the San Francisco Bay Area. She began her directing career in Seattle, directing a number of shows with Book-It Repertory Theatre, Cornish College of the Arts, and Groundwork Theatre. In the Bay Area, she has directed It's All in the Mix for All Terrain Theater, Sheherezade 2011 for PCSF, Boys Clinging Together for the SF Fringe Festival, readings of The Cocktail Plays, Ashtad and Dardanos, and Love in the Time of Zombies for Wily West Productions and "TGIF" Monday Night Foreplays for PianoFight. She has served as a producer for Sleepwalkers Theatre and is the Staged Readings Producer for the Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco (PCSF). She was the Education Director for Teatro ZinZanni for a year and a half where she developed and ran their circus educational program Camp ZinZanni and she worked as the Education Associate for Book-It Repertory Theatre for three years. Brady graduated from the Cornish College of the Arts with a BFA in Original Works, cum laude and trained with the Young Conservatory at ACT.