Wily West Productions
Visit our Facebook page!
  • Home
  • Tickets
  • About Us
  • The Company
  • Submissions
  • Press Room
  • Auditions
  • Mailing List
  • Gallery
  • Past Productions
    • Season 2017
    • 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

Shelley Lynn Johnson explains the thrilling aspects of playing a character for the very first time...

9/22/2013

3 Comments

 
Picture
Shelley Lynn Johnson in ZOMBIE VIXENS FROM HELL at the Phoenix Theatre.
What most excites you about this production? 

It is exciting to be creating a new character. It’s the reason I love working on new plays. There’s nothing better for an actor than having the creative opportunity to be the original actor in a role. 

What is the greatest challenge you face with this show? 

Treading the balance between the light humorous aspects of the character and the serious, scary threat and high stakes that underlie the action of the play. 

What kind of research are you doing to prepare? 

Our director suggested that for style – we watch the movie “HIGH SPIRITS.”  It’s an English film with a wonderful combination of humor and a real ghost story. Our story is very different but it is a good reference for how to combine humor with the ghostly. If it’s done right, an audience will go with crazy stuff like touching a ghost or even marrying one!

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

I’ve been doing theatre a long time and have so many favorites. The best are always where the entire production just clicks: amazing material, a great cast and production team. Good theatre is a complete team effort. 

Recently I was in A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY.  It was a fantastic production, wonderful cast – and I loved my role “Die Alte”. Other highlights have been Mom in SISTER CITIES, Mom in ZOMBIE VIXENS FROM HELL (another new character I got to originate in a great production & fantastic cast) Mammy O’Dougall in CRIPPLE OF INISHMAN, Desiree in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, any of the roles I’ve done in Shakespeare (especially Paulina) and getting a kiss from Terrence McNalley after a performance of MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE.  
Picture
Shelley Lynn Johnson in A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY by Tony Kushner with Custom Made Theatre Company.
This play is about ghosts - have you ever encountered the supernatural yourself? 

Not personally, although I grew up in PA – and many places in and around Lancaster County are reported to be haunted by ghosts from as far back as the revolutionary war. I was in Gettysburg a couple of years ago, right before the July 4th weekend when the battle originally took place. The town and battlefield are said to be one of the most haunted places on earth and I could absolutely feel it. 

What is the scariest movie or play you have seen? Why? 

THE SHINING. (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is right up there) I think it’s because the threats are so real but can’t be dealt with by “normal means.” The psychological pressure is unbelievable, but there is comparatively little actual blood & violence onscreen. 

What do you hope audiences will take from this production? 

I hope audiences love our show. It’s great fun, and has really scary moments. Who could ask for anything more - especially in October!
Picture
SHELLEY JOHNSON (MRS. CUTTER) Last seen with Wily West as a crazy lady in “Love in the Time of Zombies” – she is excited to be originating a new role. A busy singing actor, she has performed numerous leading musical and non- musical roles with many Bay Area companies.  This past Spring she was narrator for “The Play of Daniel”  – a liturgical play sung in Latin with the San Francisco Renaissance Voices.   Last year she was “Mom” in Zombie Vixens from Hell with Virago Theatre and the mysterious  “Die Alte” in A Bright Room Called Day with Custom Made Theatre.  Favorite productions include leading roles in Sister Cities, A Delicate Balance, Cripple of Inishmaan, Winter’s Tale  - & musical favorites A Little Night Music, Man of No Importance, Fiddler on the Roof, and A New Brain.  Other acting work includes standardized patient simulation in medical schools and recording poetry on Voetica.com. Shelley is also a stage director and acting coach specializing in coaching singers on stage presence and role & audition preparation.  Visit her website: www.actingforsingers.com

3 Comments
Glenda
10/16/2013 09:30:37 pm

We are so Happy for you Shelley. Enjoy every minute!!!

Reply
Kelly
10/17/2013 02:14:58 am

Shelley! You are just the best-proud to call you 'my SF mom'.

Reply
password protect files link
1/5/2017 12:01:34 am

Step1
CLOSE THE FILES OR FOLDER, IF OPEN. To password protect folders in VISTA, you should first close them. This is particularly true if you are setting password protection to an executable file (.exe) or a folder that contains an executable file (also called a program). If you are unsure of an executable file's status, press control+alt+delete to view all programs running.
Step2
LOCATE THE FILES OR FOLDERS YOU WISH TO PASSWORD PROTECT. Do NOT click to open the file or folder. You can find files or folders by using the "COMPUTER" tool in your Vista Start Menu.
Step3
RIGHT CLICK ON THE FILE OR FOLDER'S ICON. To access the option to password protect folders in VISTA, right click on the file or folder icon. Select "Properties", at the bottom of the resulting pop-up menu.
Step4
CLICK THE 'SECURITY' TAB IN POP-UP WINDOW. In the pop-up Properties menu, click the 'SECURITY' tab on the top right of the pop-up window.
Step5
CHANGE FOLDER PERMISSIONS. In the Security menu, you will see two white text boxes. The top box shows various users and user groups on your computer. Highlight the user group you wish to deny access to the program and click the "edit" button between the two boxes. You should now be able to add or deny access to the program for the selected user by clicking options in the bottom white text box. Edit the options for each user or user group you wish to deny access to. Click apply after editing for each user. When finished, click "OK". Next, click "OK" on the Security window to approve changes. You have locked the program down and users must now access your Vista user account by password to access the program. Once logged into your Windows Vista user account, you will not have to supply the password to access the file or folder.
Step6
TEST ~ To make sure you actually did lock Internet Explorer, try to open the program. Log out of your user account and log in as the user you have locked out of file or folder. If you are unable to locate the file or folder as the prohibited user, you did password protect folder in Vista.

Hope it helps you.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    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

    March 2019
    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.