The Producing Director Behind Wily West: Quinn Cayabyab
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Artistic Director Morgan Ludlow talks about the producer behind the scenes for Wily West...
Quinn Cayabyab at the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards
Quinn with her dog Maisy
Meet Quinn Cayabyab. Our Producing Director who makes so much happen for us at Wily West. Quinn joined Wily West for our 2009-2010 season as Production Manager. Her contributions have been interwoven into all of our productions since then. Quinn is now a Producer for Wily West and has produced two hit summer shows and a play and music festival. Quinn essentially oversees all aspects of our productions. All great theatre companies need someone like Quinn at their core to keep them going. Every aspect of what you see on stage with Wily West Quinn has a hand in. From scouting actors, to reading plays, turning so many of our crazy ideas into something even better; from the set, to the props, from the budget to buying whatever liquid needs to be in glasses on stage - Quinn is thinking about it and making it happen. I believe it is important for our audience to know this remarkable woman as she is key to making all the magic at Wily West happen. She is the first person to enter our theatre and the last to leave it. She works tirelessly with her husband, Wesley Cayabyab, to make each and every production as wonderful as time, space and budget will allow. Here is a glimpse of her work and her life behind the scenes...
Quinn ever present in the tech booth. On top of being producer, set designer, props mistress, literary manager, etc. Quinn is also our resident lighting designer. During tech week you will find Quinn on stage, back stage with her checklist and observing the madness she needs to sort out from the booth!
Quinn's office - is often the porch off her backyard where she works with Wesley to build sets and props. Here she is about to add another base coat to the set for our fall shows. She is getting the overalls (which will be worn by actor Rick Homan) to look worn-in while she also paints the set.
Here is the Wily West workshop in action - Quinn and Wesley's backyard. Most of our sets and props are built here before they are sent to the theatre. Here we see Genevieve helping Quinn apply another base coat for the set of DROWNING KATE.
Studio 633: Quinn's command center. We are in rehearsals for our current production of DROWNING KATE (also UN-HINGED). First testing of ghoulish make-up for actor Colleen Egan by Genevieve Perdue our make-up artist. Quinn observes the progress...
Throwback: Here is a photo of Quinn from a production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC (she is playing Maria) at Oakland School of the Arts. Then Quinn Whitaker began studying theatre design and production at Oakland School of the Arts with a concentration in Lighting Design and Stage Management.
Quinn went to Barnard College in New York City where she served as the Lighting Designer and Stage Manager for Columbia University Event Management and the Columbia Musical Theatre Society. While living in New York Quinn worked many shows as a technician, including the International Architectural Lighting Lighting Design Awards and the Ellie Charles Awards.
So a little love story: Quinn and Wes have been together for several years but they just got married last year: July 5, 2013! Wesley has been our technical director since 2011 and he has originated several roles for the company. Last year he started directing for us by bringing the premiere of LAWFULLY WEDDED to SF and this year he directed plays for SHEHEREZADE 14 and he is directing both fall shows UN-HINGED and DROWNING KATE.
The Power Couple
THE MANY SETS OF QUINN & WES!
This slide show is just a portion of the many sets Quinn & Wes have designed and built for Wily West from 2009-2014.
Quinn is busiest at the theatre days before we open.
Quinn working with director Chelsey Little for our SUPERHEROES production at the Exit Theatre in SF. The production has received a TBA Award nomination for Best Anthology!
Quinn's menagerie: these are some of Quinn's pets...Not pictured: Cats Millie, Pheobe, Lulu and Muffet the bunny.
Maisy gives her doggie blessing to the script
Buying and trying on some costumes with Genevieve. We ain't named Wily West for nothing!
In her spare time Quinn shops for props, sees as many other shows in the SF Area as she can - as a TBA Awards Adjudicator, volunteers for the SF FRINGE FESTIVAL and spends quality time with her pets - here she is with Maisy probably on her way to buy more props...
Don't miss Quinn's latest work as a Producer - lighting designer, props mistress, scenic painter, etc. DROWNING KATE and UN-HINGED both world premieres run October 3-25 at the Exit Theatre!
A Day in the Life of Actor & Costumer Genevieve Perdue
Genevieve Perdue is returning to the Wily West stage in two plays. The multitalented artists is acting and costuming for both shows this fall. Genevieve has a principal role in Morgan Ludlow's DROWNING KATE as Shelley and a featured role in Krista Knight's UN-HINGED both are world premieres. We asked Genevieve to share a little bit of herself in pictures...
Here is a day in the life of Genevieve!
She tries on costumes occasionally
Picking out costumes and fabrics for the shows...
She shares a lot of lines with Scott Cox in DROWNING KATE.
"My turn to put in a few words about Wily West's upcoming fall productions - Un-Hinged and Drowning Kate. I have lived and breathed these shows for the last month and I can honestly say I've never felt more pride in my work/ achievements. In large part this is due to the partnership and support from a group of amazing Theatre Artists. This company has got it right folks. Wily West fosters new artists in a challenging, supportive, creative environment and consistently pumps new life and heart into an industry that has been reportedly "dying" for the last century. Through their loving care I can feel myself grow and improve as an actress, as a collaborator, and as a lover of theatre and it's inspiration - Life and humanity.
These two shows are going to reflect all of this! They represent a cast and crew's dedication and love for each other and our community - from the brilliantly creative minds of the playwrights, Morgan Ludlow and Krista Knight into the caring and passionate hands of our director, Wesley Cayabyab, and our production team, Quinn Cayabyab, Laylah Muran de Assereto, Jason Jeremy, and Phil Goleman, and finally delivered in the performances of an awesomely talented Cast, Scott Cox, Colleen Egan, Cameron Galloway, and Rick Homan (and myself ~.^). They are haunting shows, heart breaking shows, twisted shows, hilarious shows - and all who come to see this first hand will walk away with something worthwhile, some small tiny change that made their lives better."
Kissing local playwright Karl Schackne...
Genevieve spotted out on the town.
Featured actor Colleen Egan talks about playing a walking ghost...
Colleen Egan plays a woman who comes back from the dead after she drowns in an icy lake.
Scott Cox and Colleen Egan play experimental doctors, Harry and Kate, who are doing their most brazen research in a lonely farmhouse out in the woods...
Can Harry bring Kate back to life?
Colleen is delighted to work on her fourth collaboration with Wily West Productions. She recently appeared in Standing on Ceremony at The New Conservatory Theatre Center and she has assistant directed and understudied at the Magic Theatre and SF Playhouse. Colleen took some time away from rehearsals to talk to us about her latest role.
What other work have you done with Wily West?
Wily West has been a part of my life for a very long time. I was part of Wily West's very first production, The Widow West in 2008. My husband (then boyfriend) was the stage manager and I was the assistant director. Since then we have acted in, assistant directed or stage managed Wily West productions. We even had a "Wily West" group photo taken at our wedding. This company is family for us.
What excites you most about this show?
I am obsessed with everything and anything spooky. Halloween is bigger than Christmas for me. It's always been a dream of mine to act in a horror story play. I love the ancient idea that the lighter part of the year is dying and spirits are allowed to walk more fully among the living. I think this play is the perfect fit for this time of year.
Kate's motivations are harder to express than the average, living person because, well, she's not really alive. Her deep love for Harry is one of the few truly human emotions that keeps her somewhat grounded in the human realm, but even that starts to deteriorate as she (literally) falls apart and moves closer to the other side. My challenge is to take Kate through the journey from life to death. You know, no big deal or anything!
Has Kate come back or has she become something else?
What have been some of your favorite previous productions?
I played Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream and it was one of the most exciting experiences of my life. I'm thirty now and it makes me a little sad to know that I'm probably too old to play that role again.
ALL PHOTOS BY JIM NORRENA
Wily West Productions nominated for 4 major TBA Awards!
We are thrilled to have nominations for Sheherezade 14, Everybody Here Says Hello and Superheroes! All three were fantastic projects that we loved doing and we are humbled and happy that others enjoyed them too!
SHEHEREZADE 14 nominated for
BEST ANTHOLOGY!
EVERYBODY HERE
SAYS HELLO!
nominated for
BEST NEW PLAY!
BEST ANTHOLOGY!
MIKKA BONEL
BEST FEATURED ACTOR
Congratulations to everyone who was nominated in all categories, it's the vitality of Bay Area theatre that we really love and that includes all of those companies!