Interview: Director Casey Cunningham In The Wild

Company member Casey Cunningham is the director for our next installment of WildClaw in the Wild, My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer, by Brian Watkins.  Casey has worked extensively with WildClaw as a performer; she recently received rave reviews for her work in our The Life of Death as well as in Facing Angela with The Ruckus Theatre. She has recently directed THE PRICE, a hybrid play/radio play by WC artistic associate Chris Hainsworth, for the late night spooky cabaret
Strangers and Strangerers, produced at Hugen Hall in association with WildClaw; assistant directed for Anna Bahow on Scott T. Barsotti's play
BREWED, produced by the Ruckus and Tympanic Theatre
companies; and directed Hainsworth's radio play TWO FLAT, for a future episode of Blood Radio. We'll be talking with Casey about what drew her to "Hammer," how directing horror is different from other genres, and What Scares Her.

What
attracted you to direct this script in particular for WIW? What
frightens you most in this piece? What resonates most with you?



I
think the relationship between the sisters is what initially drew me
in.  I have a sister, a year younger than I am, and though we're very
close, we're very different.  And I understand how family obligation and
personal perceptions of the value of the other siblings' contributions
to the family can create a sense of division in the relationship and
affects family dynamic.  What keeps me interested in the story is the
notion that one critical decision can have a staggering affect on the
outcome of not only that moment, but also your life.  The idea that you
can get caught in the momentum of that decision, for better or worse,
and find yourself drowning in the continued consequences of it is scary
to me.

Blogger's rendering. May be totally inappropriate.

What challenges does a reading present versus a full production? What is the biggest challenge for this particular piece?



In
this piece, the staging is very, very simple, but also very specific. 
3031 is actually a fantastic venue for it, as will be the gradual
setting of the sun.  But the script also calls for some effects that we
won't have the capability to pull off in a reading setting, so I'm
working now on figuring out that balance.

What
was the most exciting discovery you and your actors made while
rehearsing or table-working this piece? What is your favorite insight
you hope to take away from this process, about directing as well as
horror?



The more I learn about directing, the more I
understand just how much of a collaborative process it is.  Every person
who contributes to a production, no matter the scale or their role in
it, helps to shape what an audience ultimately sees, or in our case,
hears.  My favorite part is thinking I've got something really nailed
down and then having that idea turned completely on its ear by a
collaborator with an entirely different perspective.  The text, the
actors, the designers all contribute to making directors look good. 

How is directing horror different from directing other genres of theatre, both good and bad?



I
think the best horror is that that focuses on the people at the center
of the stories.  I think you have to care about them before you can care
about what happens to them or what they do.  Which is not unlike
directing any other genre, however the extenuating circumstances no
doubt will be.  So, in directing horror, part of the challenge may be to
cut through the extraordinary elements of the story and get at the
heart of the characters.  I can't personally relate to monsters and
ghosts and vampires, but I can relate to heartbreak and fear and
anxiety. 

What do you like about horror in theatre versus other mediums?



I
love to be surprised by horror onstage.  As someone who's created and
seen a lot of theater, and someone with a curious mind, I'm often pulled
out of the action of a play because my brain tries to figure out how
the tech elements are contributing to what I'm seeing.  With horror, I
love the feeling of "I have no idea how they pulled that off."  I think
WildClaw is particularly good at that element of surprise. 

What's the scariest thing you've ever seen and/or had to do on stage?



The
WildClaw productions I've been a part of as an actor have been
exceptionally challenging and scary in different ways.  KILL ME (written
by Barsotti, directed by artistic associate Jeff Christian) required
extraordinary mental focus, precision, and heightened listening skills. 
The text was relentless in structure and it was mighty easy to zone out
for half a second and miss 14 cues, jump three pages, something that
could derail the show for the entire cast.  That show was terrifying
every night (and I loved it).



Join us this Sunday, August 4th, at 3031 for My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer, featuring Baize Buzan, Dennis Frymire, Sarah Gitenstein, and extra special musical guest Jessie Fisher.