An Exquisite Corpse
Now that our heart-pounding remount of The Revenants is up and walking (no running zombies, please–we’re purists), we’ll be treating you every week to interviews with the talent that brought this beast to life (well, not LIFE, exactly…we’ll work on it).
Drew Johnson joins WildClaw for the first time as Joe, Karen’s husband, Gary’s best friend, and one of the infected…but just what, if anything, is going on in his head? We’ll be talking with Drew about child-friendly viewing, the meaning of a genre, and What Scares Him.
1) Do you consider yourself a horror fan?
Yes. Though I tend to lean towards SciFi Horror.
2) What was your introduction to horror?
I remember sleeping over at a friend’s house when I was maybe 8 or 9. We caught an airing of one of the Child’s Play movies on late night TV. Chucky was way too much to handle for a kid who was a little too scared to watch The NeverEnding Story or The Goonies.
3) Zombies: Fast or Slow?
Slow for better character development and storytelling, but I’m terrified by the idea of an unending horde of creatures that I can’t outrun.
4) How is creating a character for horror different than for other genres of storytelling? What lessons have you learned from this project that you’re excited to use in the future?
At the end of the day, I try to approach a role in a similar way whether it’s in a zombie play, children’s theatre, or Shakespeare. Even a zombie or a vampire or a fish monster has wants and needs.
The biggest adjustment, I think, is the approach that the director and design team have to take. They have to balance the typical demands of their respective positions with the demands of the genre. At its core, horror has to frighten us in some way if it’s going to be successful. Terrifying the audience isn’t something that we’re typically trying to do in other genres of theatre.
5) What Scares You?
Persistence. Things unseen, but heard.
.~T~