WildClaw Theatre Company proudly presents Deathscribe 2016, the Ninth Annual International Festival of Radio Horror Plays on Monday, December 5th, at 8:00pm. This collection of bone-chilling audio nightmares will be performed live at Deathscribe’s NEW VENUE, Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago.
I Let Them Out
By Julia Everitt
Directed by Gaby Labotka
Featuring Ada Grey and Mandy Walsh*
The little girl in pigtails said they were going to kill her so she let them out and now it’s time for the fun to begin. Is it all in her head or in yours?
Gaby Labotka is an actor, director, storyteller, choreographer, and more living and working in the city of Chicago. Most recently she directed [Trans]formation now playing at Collaboraction Studios, presented by The Living Canvas and Nothing Without a Company. Gaby was also the fight choreographer for Battleaxe Betty presented by ATC’s CORE Series, and she directed, curated, and hosted Fight Night: Valkyries for Nothing Special Productions. She has assistant directed for the House Theatre of Chicago (The Rose and the Rime, The Crownless King, The Magnificents) and Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co. (GEOGRAPHY OF A HORSE DREAMER); directed for play festivals hosted by Indie Boots, Nothing Special Productions, Otherworld Theatre Company, Hobo Junction, and Mary-Arrchie; and directed The Living Canvas: Rain in 2011. Gaby graduated from Illinois State University with degrees in Acting and Directing with the honor of Exceptional Merit in the Arts and recently attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. She is incredibly excited to take on directing for Deathscribe as her first gig with WildClaw Theatre. Check out more: facebook.com/GabyLabotka.Theatre.
Recently WildClaw’s resident Queen of Cacophony Ele Matelan transfixed the directors of Deathscribe 2016 with her withering glare. Below are some of the answers she exorcised from Gaby Labotka:
What excites you most about directing horror, compared to other genres?
The stakes are high, and although fantastical/fictional these stories speak to our truths and human fears. I like being able to lean into fiction to find truth.
What do you consider the biggest challenge in directing for “radio,” compared to traditional theatre?
Sound is arguably my weakest aspect as a director, I rely so much on my sound designer to interpret… what I have interpreted. But in radio, the whole composition is sound and it’s challenged me to listen in order to “see” the shape of the world we are experiencing. I like flexing this muscle.
What sound would you most like to see/hear performed in a Deathscribe piece?
I don’t know! I’m excited to see what we’re going to hear on the 5th!
What scares you?
Heights. L’appel du vide…