10.18.18

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Deborah Dominguez in The Ebony Frame
22 PASADENA WEEKLY | 10.18.18
TEN YEARS OF TERROR
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21
that dark things happen in the shows, but dark things
happen in Shakespeare too. If we said we’re doing
reckless murder stories with jump scares and blood
everywhere, that would not be allowed.
“That was a big conversation, and obviously it’s an
ongoing conversation,” he continues. “They’ve never
asked for script approval, but we do tell them what
we’re planning to do. We tell them murders and magic
happen in the play but very little blood, that we’re very
respectful of the space and don’t allow touching of
monuments and crypts. The lights are freestanding, so
they don’t touch anything. We’re very respectful of the
space and so they’ve trusted us.”
There are some changes in this year’s production,
as Wicked Lit is presenting two one-acts rather than
the usual three, and is keeping the action indoors in
the mausoleum this year as well. Josephson wrote the
adaptation of “The Chimes: A Goblin Story” himself,
basing it on a novella by Charles Dickens, while “Teig
O’Kane and the Corpse” is a world premiere adapted
by Kerry Mazmierowicztrimm from a short story by
Ernest Rhys.
“The Chimes” tells the story of a conflicted father
and the goblins that bring him to the brink of death
and back again, while “Corpse” is the 35th play to
receive its world premiere from Unbound Productions.
Several of these plays have gone on to be produced by
schools and theater companies across the country and
around the world. including England, Scotland and
Cameroon. This year’s production features a museum
of props and costumes from past “Wicked Lit”
productions in lieu of the brief and comedic pre-show
segments of years past, but ticket prices are also lower
this year than in the past.
“Mountain View said the show’s great and they
love us, but they asked if there was a way to reimagine
the show that could be much more contained and
lessen the impact of the footprint we use all over their
space,” explains Josephson. “They need to do their
work running the mausoleum, with frequent guests
and services. Every year, some people have mobility
issues or say the show is too long, so we saw this as an
opportunity to make the show more physically accessible
and easy to navigate. But don’t worry. We’re still
maintaining artistry, tech capability and everything
we’re known for.”
“Chimes” was originally produced at Mountain
View in 2010, but Josephson notes that Unbound opted
to revisit it due to their having developed plenty of new
technical capabilities in the years since then.
“Our tech abilities have grown up and it’s like doing
it with fresh eyes now,” says Josephson. “Because that
play was designed just to be set in a chapel, it really
allows that play to be self-contained. It’s our homage
to the literary greats and that kind of storytelling. It’s
prime Dickens, an 1840s story about a very poor man
in a remote church somewhere in the countryside
who’s confronted by magical goblins who take him on
a series of journeys to ultimately change his point of
view about his daughter, who wants to marry a guy the
father doesn’t approve of.
“That contrasts nicely with ‘O’Kane,’ which is a
much more obscure story,” he adds. “But we’re creating
a magical extension of a mausoleum in the art
gallery on the second floor, and it has a folklore kind
of feel to it. It’s about a guy making bad decisions with
his life and relationships who finds himself magically
attached to a corpse, and has to help it find a resting
place before he can find peace.” n
Unbound Productions presents “Wicked Lit: The Chimes and
the Corpse” at 7:30 and 9 p.m. tonight, Oct. 11, through Sunday,
Wednesdays through Sundays from Oct. 24 through Nov. 4, and
Nov. 8 through 10 at Mountain View Mausoleum & Cemetery, 2300
N. Marengo Ave., Altadena. Tickets start at $30. Visit wickedlit.org
or call (323) 332-2065
PHOTO: John Thvedt