Wily West Productions
Visit our Facebook page!
  • Home
  • Tickets
  • About Us
  • The Company
  • Submissions
  • Press Room
  • Auditions
  • Mailing List
  • Gallery
  • Past Productions
    • Season 2015
    • I Saw It 2015
    • Season 2014
    • Zero Hour 2015
    • Un-Hinged 2014
    • Drowning Kate 2014
    • 2013 Productions
    • 2012 Productions
    • 2011 Productions
    • 2010 Productions
    • 2009 Productions
    • 2008 Productions
  • Wily Westings Blog
  • Join the Company

Playwright Rod McFadden shares his excitement for the upcoming premiere of his new ghost-mystery-comedy, Hope's Last Chance, in San Francisco!

9/23/2013

2 Comments

 
Picture
Rod McFadden in China
What most excites you about this production?

I'm incredibly excited to see how the special effects and intense physical action of the play come together -- there's so much visual theatricality in the play, and that can never fully be realized in a staged reading.  Also, it's exciting to be working with such a creative and talented cast -- right from the initial read-thru, I could see how much depth they were bringing to the characters.   

How did Hope's Last Chance start?  What was the inspiration?  And what was the process you went through to get this play finished?

I set out to write a scary 10-minute play for a Halloween showcase.  It began with a married couple hearing screams at a bed-and-breakfast in the night.   But 7 or 8 pages into it, I knew there was a lot more story opportunity than would fit in a short play, so I began to explore the history and the mystery of what happened in this haunted B&B.   Since fright and laughter are both cathartic, I wanted to have a play that was funny and scary at the same time.   The play had two staged readings during its one-year development, and the audiences responded well to the simultaneous sensations of fear and fun, sort of like on a roller coaster.   
Picture
Scene from Rod McFadden's play BEYOND WHERE THE HORIZON LIES, which got a People's Choice Award in Toronto!
What guidelines or principles of playwriting help you the most to finish a play?

Hope's Last Chance has two clear questions that propel the play forward:  "will Stan and Angela survive?" and "what the heck happened to cause the haunting"?   Because the answers to these questions are related, they almost act as one.  I felt my main job as playwright was keeping the characters focused on pursuit of the answer, and this helped me keep the plot tight throughout.  But I also wanted the characters to have some strong inner (sometimes secret) needs, so that they could make additional discoveries about themselves as they unravelled the larger supernatural  mystery.
 
What influenced you most as a writer?  Was it another playwright?  A teacher?  A work of art?  

For Hope's Last Chance, there was definitely some influence from Japanese horror movies, because they often have creepy little ghost children in them.  But also plays like Blithe Spirit, or  Arsenic and Old Lace, where a character like Mortimer can still make funny quips in the middle of a murderous situation.  I like that 1940's romantic comedy feel, but then layering on a more sinister element of danger, so the audience is always a little off-balance as they take it all in.
 
Picture
Ben Ortega, Edward Kimak, and Wesley Cayabyab in "Of Machines and Men" by Rod McFadden directed by Ann Thomas which was part of Wily West's production of Sheherezade an annual short play festival by members of the Playwrights' Center of San Francisco.
If you look at your body of work as a whole (so far) what do you think are themes or genres or stories you most try to write toward?  What subjects excite you the most to write about?

I guess I'm drawn strongly to the theme of personal risk and trust -- that is, characters overcoming the innate tendency to self-protect at the cost of experiencing life.  I don't consciously set out to explore this theme, but it shows up in alot of my plays.  The other theme I often explore is Secrets and Honesty  -- how characters hide and/or reveal themselves from others.   Sometimes this leads back to the other theme of trust, so maybe its all one.  In Hope's Last Chance, both these themes are key elements of the characters and the story. 

What do you hope audiences will take from this production?

I want audiences to leave feeling entertained and a little exhilarated.  Do I care if they're discussing any deep themes or truths that the play inspired?   There are a few philosophical messages in the play, so it's a bonus if the audience thinks they're worth discussing.  But it's essential that they leave thinking they had a great time.  
Picture
ROD MCFADDEN (PLAYWRIGHT) Rod has received awards in national playwriting competitions for his plays, Love Birds, Counting on Love, and Getting the Message, and was chosen as the People’s Choice award at the 2012 inspiraTO Festival in Toronto.  After receiving his BA in English literature and Playwrighting from UCLA in 1982, Rod McFadden embarked on a tragically successful career as a retail executive which lasted 26 years.   But in 2009, Rod McFadden returned to writing plays full-time.  In addition to successful productions at theatres around the country,  Rod’s plays have been well-received by Bay Area audiences of Broadway West, The Playwrights Center of SF, Wily West Productions, The Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Fringe of Marin, the Masquers, and PlayGround SF. Hope’s Last Chance is Rod’s second full-length play, and he is thrilled to be working with the talented people of Wily West Productions. 

2 Comments

    Wily Westings
    Production Blog

    Our production blog features a dynamic blend of the the professional and the personal.  An original "web cocktail" infusing business and behind-the-scenes snap shots with first hand detail about the energy, commitment and perseverance to develop truly independent world premiere plays in San Francisco!

    Archives

    June 2017
    July 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    February 2013

    Categories

    All
    31 Years Of Marriage
    Actors
    Alina Trowbridge
    Arsenic And Old Lace
    Boa
    Brady Brophy Hilton
    Brian Martin
    Bridgette Dutta Portman
    Cast
    Celebration
    Chekov
    Director
    Ella Zalon
    Ellen Chesnut
    Ensemble
    Executive Producer
    Gay Community
    Ghosts
    Halloween
    Ignacio Zulueta
    Janice Wright
    Jeffrey Orth
    Jennifer Lynne Roberts
    Jim Norrena
    Joan Crawford
    Kat Bushnell
    Kat Kneisel
    Kcbs
    Kirk Shimano
    Laylah Muran
    Lighting Designer
    Morgan Ludlow
    New Plays
    Philip Goleman
    Playwright
    Producing Director
    Quinn Whitaker
    Rod Mcfadden
    Ryan Hayes
    Scott Ragle
    Sheherezade
    Sketches
    Stuart Bousel
    Susan Jackson
    The Exorcist
    Un-Hinged
    Vonn Scott Bair
    Wesley Cayabyab
    Willy Loman
    Writer

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.