Basking in the love-glow,  we selected plays for Sheherezade and finalized our directors for the show in December.  In January we had a table reading and finalized the cast.  SHEHEREZADE 14 will run in June and features short works from Jennifer Roberts, Terry Anderson, Madeline Puccioni, Madeleine Butler, Steve Koppman,Vonn Scott Bair, and Jim Norrena.  I am really excited about the selections this year with some interesting and captivating material that will be funny and devastating, sweet and poignant.  (I'll blog about that in April). Wes Cayabyab  who has been in the last five Sheherezade's is switching to a Director's role with Amy Crumpacker who joins us for the first time. While Jason Jeremy, who used to be a regular player in Sheherezade back in the day, is returning to acting in the show.   The cast also includes Philip Goleman coming off a string of roles with Ross Valley Players - including ARMS AND THE MAN playing now, Catherine Ludtke - who is busy being amazing in Custom Made's TOP GIRLS, Leontyne Mbele-Mbong who has been garnering audience and critical raves in African American Shakespeare Co's MEDEA, which closes this weekend.  Also joining the cast are Rick Homan who composed and played music in our production of Patricia Milton's BELIEVERS in 2012,Cameron Galloway who you can see at DivaFest's DIVAS TELL ALL, and Gareth Tidball who will be here for her summer break from New York University's theatre program.

We also kicked off our collaborative writing project for what became SUPERHEROES where 8 playwrights - The Playmaker's League - wrote as many short plays as they could in 6 weeks around a facilitated central theme.   Jennifer Lynne Roberts served as Head Writer and provided weekly inspiration and sub-topics for the writers. This creative storm resulted in 114 scripts, which were narrowed down to just 29 for a hilarious marathon reading back in February.  In February we also did private readings of all of the plays for the season, finalized the Superheroes line-up (11 plays between 1 and 10 minutes each), and casting for the show.  We have Alicia Coombes and Chelsey Little directing plays by Bridgette Dutta Portman, Jennifer Lynne Roberts, Karl Shackne, Laylah Muran de Assereto (moi),  Morgan Ludlow, Patricia Milton, Rod McFadden, and Susan Jackson and live music written and performed by Kat Downs from local band Sit Kitty Sit (whose band was at SXSW this March).  We are thrilled to have performers Barrett Courtney (with his SF debut), Brian Flegel (most recently in PCSFs 24 Hour Fest, and a frequent player with Pear Avenue's reading series), Dan Wilson (of Radio Star Improv), Jenna May (recently returning to the Bay Area from Seattle), and Karen Offereins (most recently of Custom Made's THE PAIN AND THE ITCH and returning to us from last year's SHEHEREZADE 13) and actor Shelley Lynn Johnson completes the cast. I can't wait to see them take on our superheroes; their woes, predicaments, and foes.  Look for the trading cards!

We are *this* close to finishing up the casting for Stuart Bousel's EVERYBODY HERE SAYS HELLO! which will be directed by Rik Lopes and will run in rep with SUPERHEROES in July/August.  The short list is pretty impressive and exciting for this multilayered character piece.  

We recently finished casting our fall shows running in October, and also in rep, with Krista Knight's UN-HINGED and Morgan Ludlow's DROWNING KATE and will both be directed by Wesley Cayabyab.  These two shows will share some cast members and like the whole season, includes a fantastic group of actors.   UN-HINGED will feature Rick Homan, Cameron Galloway, Genevieve Purdue Smith, and Scott Cox.  

DROWNING KATE will feature Colleen Egan, Scott Cox, and Genevieve Purdue Smith.

Quinn Cayabyab and Ellen Chesnut along with our directors have been conjuring magical and amazing design concepts for all of the shows, which will feature some pretty cool things that will be dynamic and interesting to see up on stage.

We've also been taking the opportunity before we are ensconced in rehearsals to go to shows!  Associate artist Kat Kneisel is performing with the multi-talentedDiana Brown in COLLECTED STORIES for Expressions Productions.  This play about mentorship, storytelling, trust, betrayal, literary success, and loss is well worth seeing.  We are especially proud of Kat's terrific portrayal of the mentee who outgrows her mentor with heartbreaking emotional fall out.  Quinn Cayabyab, myself and friends caught the show on Sunday March 23rd and Jennifer Roberts along with Jim Norrena, Patricia Milton, and Bridgette Dutta Portman caught the show Friday March 28th.

Jason and I went to see Cutting Ball's RISK IS THIS series closer EX MACHINA on Saturday the 29th.   And various company members have theatre dates to see TOP GIRLS, MEDEA, RAT GIRL,  ARMS AND THE MAN, THE CRUCIBLE, DIVAS TELL ALL and more!  

The company is also looking forward to going to the gala in May to support Morgan Ludlow and Ryan Hayes for their Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle nominations for last summer's GORGEOUS HUSSY!

Say hi when you see us around and have a great spring!

Laylah Muran
Executive Producer
Wily West Productions

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.   

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.
 

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.  

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. 

What most excites you about these two shows?

For me working with artists I have carefully selected  and seeing what they do with these plays is what I find most exciting.  Good work is often the union of several creative ideas and I am lucky to have access to some really talented collaborators.  We have two up-and-coming directors: Brady Brophy-Hilton and Wesley Cayabyab both of whom I have wanted to collaborate with for a long time.   

How did the Lawfully Wedded project start?

Last summer I was approached by Roy Arauz the Artistic Director of Arouet Theatre in Seattle to help write a show about gay marriage.  They needed something fast – and wanted to be in rehearsal in just a few weeks.  They hired me, another playwright, a poet and a musician.  I was on shaky ground personally as my mother had died just a couple weeks before but I agreed to try and write some sketches to meet their deadline.  At first they wanted me to dramatize some sociology reports they had gathered from gay couples but I told them it would be better if they just assigned topics and I could create my own scenario rather than dramatize specific situations.  So each week they sent a topic like, "write about people who think they have a legitimate reason for being opposed to gay marriage" and I would think WTF am I going to do with this?   And then I would just go with it.   My goal was to write as many 4-6 page sketches as possible.  At first I didn’t think I had anything to say about gay marriage.  I usually veer away from “issue plays” or themes "ripped from the headlines" but as I started working on the sketches, I realized that this story is not only my story, as a gay man, but the story of the ever-evolving American family. Right now we are a society fiercely divided and there’s a lot of fear and bewilderment going on and a lot of anger and resentment.  But there is also a lot of bravery, fortitude and pluck. Marriage seems to be a litmus test for our culture right now.  Our opinions on marriage quickly reveal our deepest held values.   And the big issue of our time is whether or not to legalize gay relationships and how that might affect families, communities and the American culture at large. We need to acknowledge that gay people, should they decide to marry, will face the same challenges as our straight brothers and sisters (maybe more) and while marriage has a universal truth it is also an individual journey.  This has been a long, difficult path.  What hit me as I was madly trying to finish these sketches is the courage it takes not only LGBT people to step up and demand their equal rights but also the courage of our families, friends and neighbors to stand up with us and demand change. 

But my!   That’s a lot of rhetoric and blah, blah.  It's not really any fun.  I needed to put all that aside and just create some characters and stories that would tell a story that you wanted to watch.  I didn’t want people to stand around and pontificate about their feelings on marriage equality, or worse, subject an audience to a sermon about acceptance.   I wanted someone to throw grandma’s wig in the dog bowl!  I wanted people to chase each other around the room passionately with gerbils and vacuum cleaners!  I wanted you to see people so in love with each other they wanted to part one another like water.  I wanted to understand my own grief at the time.  Beauty is often the trigger to grief.  Fog coming over the horizon, a roaring sunset, the photograph of someone we love brings grief right back, dead center, into our chest and I guess that led me to writing about a wedding because weddings are beautiful and deeply depressing to me -- they often make me remember those I have lost.   

Did you originally start out with Bill and Jason as characters?

No. Originally I had no intention of writing serial characters.   It was during the process that this couple, Bill and Jason, kept returning to me and they wouldn't shut up so I decided to run with them.  I didn’t have a lot of time so I needed to listen to the voices that wanted to speak.  That is often what playwriting is to me. I found I really enjoyed writing in sketch size pieces so that we have tiny slices of vibrant life that cover a very broad subject - a collage of scenes.   I really love this modular structure and would like to try it again with another project.  I wrote 18 or so sketches in about four and half weeks and Arouet presented about seven of them last October.  The show was a big hit when it traveled to various colleges and small theatres for the Arts Crush Festival.  After seeing the show in Seattle, I felt inspired that the show should be brought to San Francisco.  After a reading at Stage Werx - Laylah and Quinn agreed that we should do it for the 2013 season with multiple writers here.  I asked all my favorite gay writers in San Francisco to contribute to our show but most turned me down  or had weird conditions – fortunately my friends Kirk Shimano and Alina Trowbridge, two writers who I admire and envy, came up to the challenge and gave us two really wonderful pieces.  I wish we had more by other writers but I am very pleased with the sketches we do have.

What have been some of your favorite productions with Wily West?

MAIDRID’S BOW: An Amazon Tale has a very special place in my heart and was so beautifully realized by the actors and production team. Elise Barley, who built costumes for Teatro ZinZanni, outdid herself creating 37 costumes for Amazons, Smelters and forest creatures. David Stein, the director, was so excited about the show it inspired all kinds of great work from everyone.   The actors had these terrific fight scenes.  And there is something about scantily clad women fighting to the death with daggers that only the coldest of hearts can't enjoy.  I loved the production of RUTH AND THE SEA partly because it was almost cancelled but due to the determination of director, Stuart Bousel, and the cast - the show went on and beautifully realized.  It was our own Christmas miracle and from that Wily West continued.  I can't ever leave out NYMPH O’ MANIA because Wes & Quinn built a gorgeous set and the actors all went above and beyond to create a fantastic show.  Some of my other favorite projects: SPOOKY CABARET we had an evening with live music and theatre envisioned by Quinn that was inspirational and Stuart Bousel jumped in as impromptu MC and the evening felt like a really grand party.  I definitely want more of that!   I really enjoyed seeing our audience get into the fun of SHOWDOWN our single-evening competition where the audience votes on their favorite plays.  And the plays were all winners.

So how did Gorgeous Hussy come into the world?

Okay, I have to admit I really didn’t know much about Joan Crawford when my friend, actress Katharine Clark Reilly, asked me to write her a vehicle piece.  Joan Crawford scared the crap out of me when I saw her in MOMMIE DEAREST – oh, wait that was Faye Dunaway. Several people I talk to about my play don't know the difference.  Anyway Katharine gave me a couple biographies about Joan and I quickly became fascinated with the Crawford story.  I discovered Joan Crawford movies and I was amazed at how good she was – especially when so many of the scripts she did were so badly written.   I was impressed that she never got all uppity and artsy about acting - to her it was all business.  Everyone needs to see MILDRED PIERCE, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE and the WOMEN.  They still hold up. Unfortunately my friend Katharine was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and she passed away before I could finish a script for her to look at.   One day, about two years ago, one of the biographies fell off my bookshelf and landed on my foot.  And I picked up the biography and took it to bed with me. So what it is it about this woman that is worth revisiting?  Joan Crawford is the American dream personified.  She literally is the rags-to-riches girl.   She started as Lucille Fay LeSueur  doing laundry in Kansas City and re-made herself, changed her name, worked hard, made shrewd choices, and became a wealthy celebrity.  I think it is part of our American mythos to celebrate that kind of success and not really examine what it costs – what we trade for a big career.  Joan Crawford wanted to be a movie star more than anything and she became one but at a significant personal cost.   We are thrilled to take Christina’s word for it and write Joan off as an abusive bitch.  But the story is much more complicated than that.  As Joan says in the play, “Our children do not forgive us so easily.  They forget we were struggling with our own problems and we didn’t have all the answers.”  I also wanted to explore how it is we make stars and take them on.   It was important to me that this be a two person play - rather than a monologue - and show how movie stars or celebrities are a reflection of us, our culture, our dreams and who we want to be as a society.  While much of what Joan says and does in the play is based on biographies – much of it is also my own personal hallucination about Joan Crawford and what she might have been like if you got her really drunk.  The play is not a photograph; it is more of an impressionist painting.

What do you hope audiences will take away?

First I hope they come to see the shows and enjoy them.   I think they will because the actors are good and have heart.  As a troupe I hope we capture the spirit of the characters we are presenting in a way that audiences can understand and relate to.  I hope they are glad they came to the theatre.   There is no place in the world you will see so many people working for the pleasure of so few. What I find most compelling about live theatre is that it allows us to share experiences and stories as a community.  I believe plays can change the way people think about certain issues or subjects and that can impact lives far beyond the evening we spend at the theatre.

MORGAN LUDLOW is the Artistic Director and founder of Wily West Productions. Morgan's play, RUTH AND THE SEA, played to sold-out performances in San Francisco and was listed as one of the "top 10 Bay Area productions of 2010" by SF Bay Times and Bay Area Theatre Critics' Circle chairman, Tom Kelly. His comedies, NYMPH O' MANIA, MAIDRID'S BOW and THE WIDOW WEST have all been critically praised and played to sold-out houses in San Francisco.  Morgan has had plays performed or read at the Eureka Theatre, the Exit Theatre, the Off Market Theatre in San Francisco, Berkeley Rep, City Lights Theatre in San Jose, Gaia Performing Arts Center in Berkeley, Ross Valley Players in Marin County, The Pegasus Theatre in Monte Rio, Arouet Theatre, Pacific Play Company, The Ethnic Cultural Center and Seattle Playwright's Collective in Seattle, Theatre Works West, Center Stage and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and at the Interborough Rep in New York City.  

What most excites you about this production?

I always enjoy when multiple voices contribute to a single project, so it's great to see how Alina's and my perspective have been woven into Morgan's overarching story. It's also just great to be back with the Wily West team and to have my work directed by Wes for the first time!



What is the greatest challenge you face with this show?

I think nearly every audience member enters the theater with their own opinion on marriage equality, so one of the greatest challenges as a writer is to present a new perspective that doesn't already feel like it's been presented a hundred times over. 

What kind of research are you doing to prepare?

My part of the script's all done, so I'm just sitting back and letting everyone else prepare!

What have been some of your favorite previous productions you have been involved with?

Wily West's San Francisco Stories included one of the first short plays that I had ever had staged. Working with local writers and actors to tell stories that are relevant to the people of our community was an introduction that I'll always remember.

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?  

As a gay man in a long term relationship, the question of marriage equality is one that has very immediate personal implications. I feel really privileged to live in a time period when so many people are fighting so hard to make history. I feel that marriage is a profound intertwining of lives that grows from a fundamental human need for companionship, and there is no basis for excluding individuals from it based on their sexual orientation.

What do you hope audiences will take from this production?

Well, as with any production, my first hope is that they will be entertained. It's a warm, heartfelt show that has humor and joy as well as drama, and I hope the audience enjoys it.

In addition to this, I hope that audiences will get a sense of the real scope of what the fight for marriage equality means. I think it's easy to agree that the right to marry is important, but it can be difficult to see all of the repercussions of denying that right.

KIRK SHIMANO first teamed up with Wily West Productions when his "Billy's Got Issues" was part of "San Francisco Stories" in the 2010 season. His “Love in the Time of Zombies” was produced by San Francisco Theater Pub in October of 2012. He is a PlayGround Writers Pool member, where his “Miss Finknagle Succumbs to Chaos” was featured in the 16th annual “Best Of PlayGround” series and was adapted into a short film this year. He has worked with the San Francisco Olympians, PianoFight, and the Playwrights’ Center of San Francisco. By day he works as a lighting technical director at Industrial Light and Magic, fiddling with digital knobs to occasionally make things brighter and occasionally make things darker. For more information, please visitwww.kirkshimano.com