Meet some of our summer artists! Wily West is presenting two shows this summer ZERO HOUR about the first human Colony on Mars and I SAW IT about a terrifying creature that tears through San Francisco.
How are you involved with Wily West’s Summer Shows?
How are you involved with Wily West’s Summer Shows?
KARL SCHACKNE: I'm a writer, as well as pitching in to run box office, set-building, and anything else I can be helpful with.
RICHARD WENZEL: I’m an actor playing Dr. Burrhus Milton in Zero Hour: the Mars Experiment and Van Clarkson in I Saw It.
BRIDGETTE DUTTA PORTMAN: I'm on the writing team. My main focus was Zero Hour: the Mars Experiment.
What do you love about the theatre right now?
KARL: There's so much to do and learn, and I've only begun to discover what I'm capable of creatively, and what stories I want to tell.
RICHARD: Theatre right now, particularly at this level in SF, is growing in some very interesting ways. All of the changes happening in the mid-Market Street area because of the new influx of tech industry blood (which I definitely have a love/hate relationship with) seem to also be causing a growth spurt in the theatre scene in the bay area as well. I love that! It's very encouraging and in its own way nurturing for actors and artists of all kinds.
BRIDGETTE: I love that there are so many creative and awesome things going on right now that I want to see and be involved in, and not enough time to do all of it.
What do you hope the audience walks away with in one (or both) of the show(s)?
KARL: For Zero Hour, I hope they leave with a sense of place, that they feel a little bit of what it might be like to be part of a Mars colony - not necessarily a literal picture, but the mental and physical strain, and the isolation. For I saw it, I hope they can appreciate the perspectives and see them through the eyes of the characters - wonder, shock, despair, confusion, numbness. Also, I hope they'll enjoy the deliciously evil undertones!
RICHARD: I hope they have a great time, of course, maybe even come back and see it again! But also I hope that it makes them think about the common themes of humanity and survival and about how both of those things depend on cooperation much more than they depend on chaos. Maybe when they see the first show it will result in them wanting to come and see more the second night when we can tell them a whole new story!
BRIDGETTE: I hope the audience walks away from ZERO HOUR inspired to think about humanity and its possibilities and capabilities -- both the good and the bad. We can put human beings into space. That's amazing. But we're also still animals, prone to anger, desire, jealousy, irrationality. And also compassion, curiosity and the drive to explore. Can the positive aspects of "human nature" help us transcend the negative? What does that mean for the future of our species? Also, Mars is just freaking awesome; I hope people come away with an interest in the red planet and the possibilities of human travel there.
KARL: There's so much to do and learn, and I've only begun to discover what I'm capable of creatively, and what stories I want to tell.
RICHARD: Theatre right now, particularly at this level in SF, is growing in some very interesting ways. All of the changes happening in the mid-Market Street area because of the new influx of tech industry blood (which I definitely have a love/hate relationship with) seem to also be causing a growth spurt in the theatre scene in the bay area as well. I love that! It's very encouraging and in its own way nurturing for actors and artists of all kinds.
BRIDGETTE: I love that there are so many creative and awesome things going on right now that I want to see and be involved in, and not enough time to do all of it.
What do you hope the audience walks away with in one (or both) of the show(s)?
KARL: For Zero Hour, I hope they leave with a sense of place, that they feel a little bit of what it might be like to be part of a Mars colony - not necessarily a literal picture, but the mental and physical strain, and the isolation. For I saw it, I hope they can appreciate the perspectives and see them through the eyes of the characters - wonder, shock, despair, confusion, numbness. Also, I hope they'll enjoy the deliciously evil undertones!
RICHARD: I hope they have a great time, of course, maybe even come back and see it again! But also I hope that it makes them think about the common themes of humanity and survival and about how both of those things depend on cooperation much more than they depend on chaos. Maybe when they see the first show it will result in them wanting to come and see more the second night when we can tell them a whole new story!
BRIDGETTE: I hope the audience walks away from ZERO HOUR inspired to think about humanity and its possibilities and capabilities -- both the good and the bad. We can put human beings into space. That's amazing. But we're also still animals, prone to anger, desire, jealousy, irrationality. And also compassion, curiosity and the drive to explore. Can the positive aspects of "human nature" help us transcend the negative? What does that mean for the future of our species? Also, Mars is just freaking awesome; I hope people come away with an interest in the red planet and the possibilities of human travel there.
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