Noticeably there is a paucity of horror literary pieces being adapted for stage presentation and theater performances as compared to musical, comedy, romance, and even merely documentary-style that are universally staged and ably patronized. Since it’s live with the presence of an immediate audience presenting a dreadfully concocted stage play puts producers in an immense state of dilemma and that inevitable fear of failure.
It is always a challenge for writers to build up the essence of suspense to aptly establish trepidation out from the audience especially when the writer himself hasn’t experienced to be in a fear-provoking situation or hasn’t undergone a gruesome circumstance in his lifetime.
Whether it’s fiction or reality-based doesn’t matter as long as the writer could efficiently create a convincing plot where his characters could effectively deliver the very quintessence of fear and appalling shock that put the audience at the edge of their seats. The tensioning upsurge of chilling atmosphere becomes more of a challenge than giving credence to the capability of the writer’s serious treatment of the piece through terrifying motivational innuendoes.
Comparatively, writing horror stories for publication is somewhat more uncomplicated since the author could liberally apply his literary freedom of verbosity and could unlimitedly weave gruesome settings to achieve his goal while creating wildly tearing tensions within his readers’ imagination. Writing a story for films, although similar in style and objective, requires less verbalization but more of camera angling and effectual lighting and sound effects.
The most difficult part in writing a horror story meant for the stage is the vital application of compelling visual aids and props to hold the audience’s attention glued on stage. The fear factor is diminished, or at times, lost, when the story loosens its grip of its integral flow…then the element of suspense dwindles.
A credible horror masterpiece involves things beyond human comprehension and dismembering its metaphysical aspects. Theater-goers nowadays are already abreast with the latest technology and highly inured to every possible shock to blithely and voluntarily suspend their disbelief but still a good script could utterly get them beguiled while enveloped with dreadfulness.
Darkness, generally, is a horror writer’s most preferred element being constantly a powerful ally of terror. There are always enormous mysteries beyond darkness…scary, creepy, horrifying, spooky, petrifying and everything plausibly and inconceivably startling. With darkness, the story could achieve moments of extreme astonishment and anxiety…offers chilling scenes almost too scary to witness… and delivers a full length vehicle amply armed with adrenalin kick and pervasiveness of fear. But such bloodcurdling situation could endanger the lives of people with achluophobia or simply those with morbid aversion or fear of darkness.
However, for a story to be accepted as truly horrifying, it has to grab the audience by the throat, shake their knees and raise their hair in terror, unsettle them out of their comfort zone with horrendous intensity, get the shock and terror under their skin, tighten their tension and unlock their screws, and leave them sleeping with lights on after watching.
In an avalanche of numerous horror storywriters, Stephen King, considered the Master of Horror stories, (The Shining), Blake Crouch (The Wayward Pines Tragedy), Dean Koontz (Odd Apocalypse), and Celia Kyle (Love at First Roar), are just some of the most renowned and revered. But the following are the best known horror playwrights: Irish novelist Bram Stoker notably identified for his gothic fiction like Dracula; Edgar Allan Poe, infatuated with death and dying, is unquestionably a Hall of Famer of horror tales like The Cask of Amontillado and The Pit and The Pendulum; Richard Matheson, with a staggering accomplishment as a horror writer, his I Am Legend is one of the top 10 greatest horror novels ever written; H.P. Lovecraft, considered the number one horror writer of all times. His concept of works and its pantheon of terrifying deities and monstrosities remain to be the most important creations in the field of horror.
Incidentally, in the league of this generation’s abounding prolific writers, a budding Fil-Am playwright has dared to write a horror story for a stage play. Despite already fortified with a mound of well written and critically acclaimed scripts Florentino Aquino Capili opted to reroute his writing style and technique to terrifying storyline as challenged…and as if to prove his veritable capability in a field he hasn’t even explored Tino came up with “The Three Wishes,” a one-act play adapted from The Monkey’s Paws.
The Three Wishes is one among in the lined-up of shows by the Manhattan Repertory Theater (MRT), a forum for playwrights, directors, and actors to share and explore their craft, for its February 2015 Winter Event and Tino’s piece is included in Series A. A production of the Rejoice for God the Greatest Artist Acting Group (RFGA), The Three Wishes mounts on stage on Wednesday and Thursday, February 11 and 12, respectively, at the Manhattan Repertory Theater along 303 West 42nd Street, New York, NY (10036).
The cast of The Three Wishes
GRACE ARBES as Lagring
An active member of the worship group In Christ Jesus Workmanship Ministries (ICJWM), Grace is ably gifted with a good singing voice and innate charm with kids that make her an indefatigable and reliable fraction of the congregation. Armed with an AB-English major, she has portrayed the role of “Sisa,” a challenging drama piece that proved her acting mettle and had considerably won in interpretative reading and acting competitions during her college days. Her most recent stage performance was in “Jewels from the Dark,” where she essayed the role of a mother separated from her daughter during the devastation of Hurricane Yolanda that horrendously battered southern Philippines.
EVELYN TACANG as Amina
Reserved and coy, Evelyn’s quiet demeanor has undoubtedly earned for her one of the most coveted roles in The Three Wishes. A neophyte in the field, going live on stage is indubitably Evelyn’s baptism of fire…but with her silent-water-runs-deep inherent trait and having profitably dispensed every single grey matter crowding her shell, her foray into the center stage is sure to be worthy of a follow-up project.
VALMIKE “VJ” APUZEN as Maning
Currently on a hiatus from his daytime job as an English instructor, delineating the role of Maning was as timely as quenching his thirst for the theater. VJ has worked as a Presentation Team Member of Target Corporation, College Point, NY; Program Director for Foundation for God’s Glory, NY; and as Interim Pulpit Minister at International Fellowship Church (College Point, NY), Body of Christ Christian Church (Woodhaven, NY), and the First East Coast Congregation (Jersey City, NJ). His acting experience dates back in 2003 as a young father (Looking For William), a member of a religious order (Sunrise, Sunset), an invalid (The Christmas Gift), and a loving dad to two gay kids (Labs Yu, Ninong). VY, incidentally, has a Master of Divinity degree and Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy neatly tucked under his sleeves.
MICHAEL “Mike” LEGASPI as Joel
A student of Hunter College majoring in History, Mike also studied at the International High School, La Guardia Community College, and an awardee for Oratorical Excellence from NYC Department of Education and for Excellence in Humanities from the Int’l. High School at La Guardia. The founder and manager of and writer for the Red Voyager Studio, a newly formed organization that seeks to use culture and art in the service of the people, Mike is also a community organizer, Educational Development Officer of AnakBayan, NY Chapter, and an essayist with experience in musical ensembles and theater workshops. Tackling the role of “Joel” became significant for Mike after having had considered fifteen hopefuls prior its landing on his lap.
TINO AQUINO CAPILI as Adriano
The play’s writer cum director also dabbles in poetry writing, sketching, and lately, folk dancing. Since his arrival in the US in 2002 Tino has written and directed (and acted in some) 31 plays, The Three Wishes, included. Most notable among his body of penned literary pieces are “Looking for William”, “Ang Nobya Kong Arabyana,” “Father on Earth, Father in Heaven,” “Ang Pagbabalik ni Nonong,” “Dust Castles,” “The Last Hours of Christ,” “A Walk in the Park,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Bakit Mga Babae ang Naghuhugas ng Pinggan?” “Ang Mrs. Kong Sabungera,” and “Jewels From the Dark.” Tino first directed for MRT 2011 Summer Competition via “How To Cook Adobo,” an award-winning play by Fil-Am writer Dr. Jorshinelle T. Sonza and (also) directed his own play, “The Little Rose,” the following year. Aside from keeping himself occupied with RFGA (which has staged close to a dozen plays presented either in NY or NJ), babysitting his three adorable grandchildren (Cheska, Dwight, and Damien) gives him an enormous amount of bliss and stress-relieving option.
Challenge yourself and dare to overcome your fear. Go and watch The Three Wishes by writer-director Tino Aquino Capili at The Manhattan Repertory Theater on February 11 and 12 and experience a dash of Halloween and a pint of jolt-and-shock during the Valentine’s season… for a change or just to be different!
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