Happy Halloween!
We’re currently halfway through the run of the first ever full production of Wicked Creatures. The show will start up again on Oct. 31st and run through Saturday, November 2nd.
I can say with full sincerity that this is one of the most positive experiences I’ve ever had as a theater artist. This has been a wild ride, but truly satisfying, and I owe it all the Confluence Theater Company and the cast and production team. Confluence assembled a very strong ensemble of artists and players, lead by the brilliant, fearless Amy O’Conner. Every person on the team brought something essential to this production, and for the times I was present in the room, it seemed like everyone was genuinely excited to be working together, and treating each other with respect.
I love watching the show. I love watching the choices these actors make, the moments they find. I’m both proud and humbled and very very grateful.
Thank you to the WHOLE team:
Producing Team:
Logan Black
Alisa Lynn
R.H Wilhoit
Production Team:
Amy O’Connor - Director
Ana Sharp Williamson - Assistant Director
Ivan Dodge - Stage Manager
Becky Ochoa - Assistant Stage Manager
Arwen White - Costume Designer
Kelli Harrod - Set Designer
Andrea Awad - Properties Designer
Luke Virgo Rowe - Sound Designer
Lacey Pacheco - Lighting Designer
Kitty Corum - Fight Choreographer
Lindsay Adams - Dramaturg
Rasheedat Badejo - Safety Liaison
And thank you to the Cast:
Casey Jane as Sonya Smithson
Weiyi Zhang as Emily Clearwater
Connor Eastman as Archibald Worthington III
Jamie Lin as Clara Hollowell
and Josh Gleeson as Barnabus Brody
and an EXTRA big thank you to ALL of our Donors:
Logan Black John Lampe Molly Erwin
John Rensenhouse Emily Swenson Walter Scoggins
Molly Denninghoff Andy Garrison Brian Huther
Chris Wilhoit Marisa Tejeda Jennifer Mabie
John Anderson Nicole Hall Jim Mitchell
Laura and Jim Carter Mary Gay Rogers Brian Paulette
Joyce Linebarger Julia Moriarty Beverly Parkhurst
KN Schmidt Jeff Smith Valerie Eastman
Kaitlyn Brown Hannah Taylor Dan Born
Karla Fennick Heidi Van Davis DeRock
Elias and Susan Awad Stephanie Roberts Betsy Wendorff
Michael Golliher Chas Coffman Rachel Gudde
Franci Talamantez-Witte Chuck Mathews Carol Zimmerman
Richard Wostal Lucas James Nelson Kaitlin Gould
Erdin Schultz-Bever Robin Molis Stephanie Laaker
Christina Schafer Heather Erickson Bob and Nancy Erickson
Beth Byrd-Lonski Darren Sextro Hillary & Matt Harbor
Stacy Myers Lydia Miller Katherine Gwynn
Kate Haugan Jack Bohnenstiehl
Pictured: Connor Eastman, Casey Jane, Weiyi Zhang, Jamie Lin and Joshua Gleeson.
I wrote Wicked Creatures in the fall of 2015, as part of a playwriting class offered at The Living Room theater. In the summer of 2016, The Living Room created a company of actors/playwrights and produced Wicked Creatures, along with three other stellar plays, as part of KC Fringe. In 2017, I flew to New York, where Wicked Creatures was selected for a staged reading as part of the Harold Clurman Divison's First Breath New Play Reading Series, at the Stella Adler studio for acting. This year, it was a Semifinalist in the National Playwrights Conference AND helped me earn the position of First Alternate with one of the most selective playwright MFA programs out there, a program that only accepts one playwright per year. And this year it was be produced by The Confluence Theatre Company, AT The Living Room where it was first conceived.
Of anything I have written, Wicked Creatures is the piece I am most proud of. As my friend, and dramaturge for the show Lindsay Adams told me, Wicked Creatures is the story I had to write. Every person has at least one story that only they can tell, and this is mine. What started as an exercise of making myself write for at least thirty minutes a day became an exploration of gender politics and rape culture in a pre #MeToo world.
Very early on in the writing process, someone expressed to be that being kidnapped, tied to a bed, and forced to have sex by a group of women would be a man’s sex fantasy. Something kinky that he would probably be all for. That it wasn’t the same as a group of men kidnapping and forcing themselves on a woman, which would obviously be terrifying and traumatizing. I was intrigued and troubled by this statement, and so I set out to explore some murky territory. Why was the idea of a man being treated this way something people felt they could joke about? Something people felt a man might even want? From there the play evolved, and continues to evolve.
Pictures by R.H Wilhoit and Alisa Lynn.
With Wicked Creatures I hope audiences will feel conflicted about which characters they are rooting for and when. It is my goal to challenge audiences. I want to earn laughter, to give hope, but ultimately I want us all to think deeper. I am not interested in art that confirms what I already know and tells me I'm right so that I can leave the theater feeling smug and satisfied. I'm interested in art that challenges me to question my preconceived notions, confront my biases, and leave the theater altered. I want stories with no easy answers, that pull me out of my comfort zone. I want to journey and fall in love with characters who are as equally flawed as myself.
If you do too, join us Oct. 31st, Nov. 1st & 2nd at 8:00pm at The Living Room Theater on 1818 McGee, Kansas City, MO.
Purchase tickets in advance here OR purchase Pay What You Can tickets at the door, night of, cash only.
Wicked Creatures cast, 2019: Josh Gleeson, Jami Lin, Casey Jane, Weiyi Zhang, Connor Eastman.
SYNOPSIS
England, the 1800s: When the mysterious, cross-dressing Sonya Smithson invites Archibald Worthington to her home for the evening, the young scholar finds himself a prisoner to Sonya and her two companions: the "incorruptibly good" Emily Clearwater, and the humorously foul-mouthed Clara Hollowell. At their mercy, Archibald is forced to perform sexual acts in the pursuit of the greatest scientific invention his captors can imagine: the perfect female contraceptive.
“Wicked Creatures is gothic horror where the monsters in the home aren't ghosts or beasts, but misogyny, ableism, and the denial of bodily autonomy--wholly human horrors. It deftly navigates complicated questions around consent, being a survivor of abuse and perpetrating that same abuse, and what it means to exists as a woman in the world. Though a period piece, it feels timely and sharp, and offers no easy answers.” —Katherine Gwynn, Playwright.
Content Warnings: Sexual Assault & Gun Shot. If you would like more information, please contact amyoconnorartist@gmail.com. They are happy to prepare you for any plot points that may be potential triggers based on your specific needs.
For more information, “Like” the Confluence Theater Company on Facebook.
Hope to see you there!