Who knew that there was a theater troupe that was entirely devoted to horror theater? But there is one and this weekend WildClaw Theater Company, based in Chicago, is taking its "Deathscribe" international festival of radio horror plays on the road and bringing it to Miami.
WildClaw's Associate Director Josh Zagoren is the one to talk about horror theater since he lives and breathes it.
Here's an interview with WildClaw's ringleader.
Michelle F. Solomon: How did "Deathscribe" come about?
Josh Zagoren: It was a discussion with the original founders of WildClaw and what scared them and we had our group and writers from Chicago, but we decided to reach out to the world and see what gave the world-at-large nightmares. We turned it into a contest and it became this international submission thing where people would send us 10 minutes of scary and we would put it up. Every year we get around 100-plus submissions. For "Deathscribe Miami," we picked our five favorites from the past nine years. It was a long process and we went back and listed to old recordings and re-read scripts. What we've come up with for Miami is a sort of Whitman's Sampler. What Miami audiences at the Arsht will get is our version of the cream of the crop.
MFS: What are the plays we'll see?
JZ: Here's the festival lineup:
- "Skinny" by Scott T Barsotti, Deathscribe 2009
- "Remembrance" by Christopher Hainsworth, Deathscribe 2009
- "Alabama Mermaid" by Jessica Wright Buha, Deathscribe 2011
- "Monroe County Pumpkin Queen" by Joseph Zettelmaier, Deathscribe 2013
- "Imaginary Fiend" by Tim Griffin, Deathscribe 2015
MFS: What will audiences actually see. It's set up like an old-time radio broadcast, complete with scary sounds and such, right?
JZ: What you will see is like "Prairie Home Companion" meets "Tales from the Crypt," but it's not too old timey like "Prairie," but it has that flavor. We have live Foley [editor's note: Foley is the reproduction of everyday sound effects added to film, video and other media and named for Jack Foley, a sound editor at Universal Studios]. Jeffrey Gardner and Ele Matelan perform and it's everything you think of live Foley: shoes on wood, popping balloons, smashing watermelons. I am amazed by what they can do. We've gone from it being this fun addition to something that is a dance in-and-among itself. Close your eyes and then peek again to see how the Foley table creates that sound effect.
MFS: We have had Chicago theater companies at the Arsht and our audiences love Chicago theater. What makes the Windy City's theater so special?
JZ: There's an unnecessary stigma about Chicago that this is where great ideas begin and they go out and gain traction. I don't agree with that. I think this is where great ideas begin and stay and become staples. It's a great "working actors" city. Everyone here wants to create art. You can come to Chicago with nothing but a concept and it will grow and you will find an audience that will help you shape it. That made it easier for WildClaw to get started. That works great for us because we traffic in mystery and stuff like that, but it's nice to be able to take this beautiful little creature that we've developed and bring it to a brand new audience. It's a tremendous opportunity for Miami to come and see something that is distinctly Chicago and it's a rare opportunity to see the big dogs in Chicago on stage doing this . . . bringing you something frightening. It's a win win no matter how you spin it. You get to see a traveling troupe in a mystery box of nightmares with top shelf Chicago talent in one room. Unless you come to Chicago, you won't get to see that often.
MFS: What is it that draws people to scary things, do you think?
JZ: There's a safety net that you know deep down it's going to be OK, but you want to celebrate this emotional reaction that exists inside of you. We have this fight or flight knee jerk and we have an existential dread inside of us and we have unfounded fears that we don't understand. We celebrate happiness as an emotion and we expect sadness, but when it comes to fear, you don't want to be scared, but you do want to be scared. We should celebrate that part of us. Some people hate it and I feel bad that they hate it because I think it focuses your existence. It's a celebration of an emotion. I think horror and comedy exist simultaneously because it is all about timing. I like that horror isn't something that there is a lot of because it makes it special – it keeps the mystery around it.
MFS: So what do you want to tell people to get them psyched for "Deathscribe Miami"?
JZ: We have these five tales like any good anthology series. It's like "Tales from the Darkside" or when you read a Stephen King paperback. That's the kind of night you'll get. There are so many different flavors of horror. We even have a 12-minute horror musical. But what you're going to get is two-plus hours of different tiny tales, little nightmares that are at once scary and super fun. We're ushering in the season and all around it's a good time and it's a scary time. If you're someone who likes being scared it's a good time in double time. For us, it's our time to cut loose.
[editor's note: Costumes are encouraged. Prizes will be given to the best costume. Cash bar available each night of the show.]
"Deathscribe Miami at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts inside the Peacock Foundation Studio at the Ziff Ballet Opera House, 1300 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL 33132. Wednesday, Oct. 26 through Sunday, Oct. 30. 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday. $39. www.arshtcenter.org.
