DEATHSCRIBE X – A Few Words with Thrisa Hodits

First-time Deathscribe director Thrisa Hodits has co-directed alongside Sean Graney at American Repertory Theatre (Pirates of Penzance/Mikado/HMS Pinafore), Actors Theatre of Louisville, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and assistant directed at Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Yeomen of the Guard), but she calls Chicago home. Thrisa has directed for The Lyric Unlimited, The Hypocrites, Strawdog, Collaboraction, First Floor Theatre, The Strange Tree Group, 2nd Story, The Inconvenience, Jackalope Theatre and The New Colony. She is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago and a proud member of The New Colony.

Thrisa took a moment to answer a few questions about her first journey on the dark side.

What additional projects do you have, previous or pending, that we can brag about for you?

Currently expanding on a project that began last year during The Lyric Opera’s Chicago Voices program. My team of collaborators and Tellin’ Tales Theatre are creating a full-length musical about people living with disabilities with the aim to to usher in a new culture of understanding and connection between the disabled and non-disabled worlds. It will be based on the stories of real people with disabilities and performed by people with disabilities.

What excites you most about directing horror, compared to other genres?

Like other genres, you want the audience to lean in, but you also want them on pins and needles, afraid of the silence, trying to sit back and cling to comfort. You get to use the unknown as a way to build tension, fear, and unease. In horror there are more questions than answers.

What do you consider the biggest challenge in directing for “radio,” compared to traditional theatre?

You don’t have sight to rely on so clarity and specificity in the storytelling is incredibly important. You have to take the audience on an aural journey and guide their eyes and imagination to see.

What sound would you most like to see/hear performed in a Deathscribe piece?

The sound of a Demogorgon molting its skin…ok, so I just finished Stranger Things 2.

What scares you?

The giant rats in the alley, the creaky sounds in my apartment late at night, white supremacists, and you know, the fact that Donald Trump is the president.

DEATHSCRIBE X will take place Monday, December 4th, at Lincoln Hall in Chicago. Click the link below for more information.