In a mountain village just 16 years after the Black Death,
an inquisitive young goatherd is falsely accused of witchcraft
writer / director Joe Maggio
Featuring: Owen Campbell, Vincent D’Onofrio, Tobias Campbell,
Brenda Cooney, Bonnie Dennison, Larry Fessenden, Joel Garland
Performed live October 2, 2012 • poster by Gary Pullin
for more TALES physical media, info and Swag, visit
www.talesfrombeyondtheplae.com
LF: SIT is one of the more literary TALES. It feels like a gothic short story. What were the inspirations? And how was the collaboration with April?
GMcQ: I am obsessed with demonology, and in particular demonology that moves past dogma, that moves past any concern with the idea of heaven and hell. To me demons are vastly more intriguing when they’re adhering to rules that we, as mere mortals, simply don’t comprehend. Also, I like the idea that these kinds of worlds are intertwined with the working class. The early works of Clive Barker are an inspiration, The Damnation Game and a lot of the Books of Blood brought dark fantasy to a blue collar world and, that being the world I’m from, always sparked my imagination. That pathways can open up to kids growing up in council estates, or to jaded workers in dole offices, or cruisers looking for a ride in public toilets- to bring a fantastic majesty to the humble, salt-of-the-earth corners of the world excites me. And so I tapped into the idea of someone who finds themself caught up with a demon through their line of work.
I love working with April Snellings, she’s one hell of a writer, very sharp and intuitive and her imagination is as dark as my own. I’m always bugging her with my ideas and hoping she has the time to jump onto something with me. I think we complement each other nicely and she’s a much better writer than me so she definitely ups my game.
LF: The dual language is so interesting listening again, just wonderfully rich. Was it strange directing the French-speaking actors
GMcQ: The idea to include French language in the piece came from Stephanie Trepanier, I mentioned that we were going to be in Montreal doing Tales, this was before I had settled on an idea, and Stephanie suggested that the audience up there would really appreciate hearing some local tongue. I knew I didn’t want to do a completely French piece so the idea of an interpreter popped into my head and the ideas started to flow from there. I tend to use Tales as a means to experiment, and this was something we had never done before, playing with language in this way.
The actors were all bilingual, so directing them was not so strange. Kaila Heir, Mitch Davis and Ted Geoghegan were all incredibly helpful in getting me the support I needed to pull off the piece up in Montreal. Kaila introduced me to Virginie Lamoureux who translated my words to French, and it was a real thrill to hear my work in French.
LF: Perhaps you could describe the wacky experience putting on this show. One of three Tales, mad Rain outside, musicians, loud bar, and Doug Buck and Tony Todd! Truly epic… Maybe the craziest live Tales ever, yes?
GMcQ: I think it may have been the craziest show we’ve ever done, yes. Even the run up to it was interesting to say the least. I remember thinking it wasn’t going to happen at one stage but it all came together on the night as they say. I think I was a little moody trying to organize all three Tales the day of the event. I remember Jenn Wexler beaming about the experience of being in Montreal with all the creativity that was going on around Fantasia, and just needing to check myself, take a deep breath, roll up my sleeves, roll with the punches and enjoy myself.
As well as the ambition of my own piece, Doug Buck’s Hidden Records was a huge undertaking and I was primarily responsible for all of his sound design and effects which needed to play in tandem with a lot of live musicians. That was first up, then came my piece and finally there was Barricade, which, to your credit, let go of a lot of the more formal structure we tap into and felt more like a punk show. I really enjoyed letting go and making some noise with everyone, it was very cathartic after all the stress. I got so wrapped up in the production of the night that I completely forgot I was to read the end credits and to my shame I couldn’t pronounce many of the names, it was not my finest hour but thankfully the audience were very kind about it, looking back, that’s my one regret about the night but all in all I am very proud of the night and think we put on a very diverse and sexy show.
LF: You’ve suggested this character I played connects in some way to the Demon in Reappraisal. Could you explain…?
I feel they’re both of the same world though I’m not sure yet if they’re the same demon, perhaps they used to be and somehow splinted off from one another. Sometimes I find myself intrigued with the greater world of something I wrote and in that respect SIT paved the way for Reappraisal and some other writings.
LF: The ending has that strange McQuaid whimsey, after all the listener has been through. Any thoughts on how it came about?
I find the end of Speaking in Tongues to be really moving. I tear up at Wayland’s joy at the simplicity of his plan, his triumphant call-to-arms that we simply “carry on†is really profound to me. As mentioned, I think I was pretty run-down in the run up to the show so the idea of the “show must go on†sort of infiltrated the writing, and we were both writing up to the curtain call! I remember talking to you during rehearsals and saying I really wanted the audience to think that you were having an uncontrollable fit of the giggles up there, that you, Larry Fessenden, were corpsing, because if the audience felt that from you they might join in on the laughter, and I have to say that you really nailed it, it’s an authentic and infectious performance. What could have been a dumb joke ending became transcendent, I was, and am still, so proud of this production and how it played.
photos: arriving at the border • Packed to the Gils • McQuaid’s crib notes • live fan art of Fessenden’s character
Episode #25 SPEAKING IN TONGUES
One night in Montreal, an ageless man hires a young female translator
to help settle mysterious debts with an array of desperate characters.
Directed by Glenn McQuaid, Writers Glenn McQuaid, April Snellings
Featuring: Larry Fessenden, Tessa J. Brown, Alex Goodrich, George Mougias, Izzy Lee
Performed live July 27, 2015 • poster by Trevor Denham for more TALES physical media, info and Swag, visit
www.talesfrombeyondtheplae.com
Episode #24 DEAD AIR
A college DJ struggles with the demonic forces that haunt the hallways during a late night broadcast.
Written by Simon Barrett directed by Larry Fessenden
Featuring Jonny Orsini, Joel Garland, Matthew Stephen Huffman,
John Speredakos, Alison Wright
Performed live October 23, 2012 • poster by Trevor Denham
THE PALE MEN (Glenn McQuaid & Larry Fessenden) speak to Clay McLeod Chapman about “The Mattress King,†now streaming on TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE The Podcast.
THE PALE MEN: Bug Horror tends to gross people out, and, in fairness, Mattress King certainly has its icky moments but there is something very haunted, even dreadfully sad at the heart of the horror, can you talk about where the idea for the piece came from?
Clay McLeod Chapman: The idea coalesced from a few stray thoughts… Living in New York, we tell our children to steer clear of the errant mattresses that line the curbs for fear of bedbugs. In my neighborhood, I have witnessed the very same white van without windows trawl our blocks for abandoned bed mattresses. I kid you not, this gentleman driver will pull over whenever he comes upon a mattress, hop out, pluck the mattress off the sidewalk regardless of its condition and toss it on the stack bungee-corded to his van’s roof. I’ve seen him with a mound of five or six mattresses on some days. And thus the Mattress King was born.
CMC: Beyond that, I’ve always been curious about ghost stories and how we’re haunted… and whether or not there are new ways in which the supernatural can penetrate the world of the living. I thought bed bugs — and the blood they’ve ingested — could be an interesting way to explore new narrative territory when it came to ghosts. Haunted mattresses? Possessed bedbugs? Has that ever been done before?
THE PALE MEN: It is a sad twist of fate that we find ourselves releasing Mattress King at a time when there are even more dire contagions than bedbugs. We also recall a certain story you pitched called Seasick… Is there a pattern there…?
CMC: For better or worse, I am personally obsessed with societal order disintegrating and our civilized culture regressing. Global pandemics are wonderful catalysts for this. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, we’re only one sneeze away from collapse.
THE PALE MEN: You’re mainly known as a writer, how was the experience of directing Mattress King live?
CMC: It was petrifying, to be honest. I was terrified. I felt the awesome responsibility of working with such heavyweights as Kate Flannery and Martin Starr and… and this Larry-fella, what’s his name. Being a part of SpectreVision’s SpectreFest was amazing, and rummaging around LA with the rest of the Glass Eye crew was wonderful, but as soon as the show got underway… it was crippling. I felt like a conductor. I just had to lean into the script, the music of the moment, and just ride the words. At one point I remember feeling the audience at my back, hearing them react, and it was such a huge relief. Thank goodness they went along for the ride.
THE PALE MEN: You have written several radio plays for TALES on your own and in collaboration. Do you enjoy the form…? maybe speak to how it relates to your own oral performance work which predates TALES.
CMC: I feel like the oral tradition is at the core of most if not all of my work, regardless of the medium. We’re all sitting around campfires of some sort, whether that’s in a movie theater or with our ear buds. What’s great about Tales and how it dovetails with what I love about live storytelling, is that it truly intimates the listening experience… Onstage, the audience tends to close their eyes and lean into their ears. With these plays preserved and presented for the podcast, that live performance is in effect a frozen moment in time, an insect trapped in amber. Maybe a bedbug?
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Clay McLeod Chapman (Brooklyn, NY) is the creator of the rigorous storytelling session “The Pumpkin Pie Show.†His previous publications include Rest Area, Miss Corpus, and The Tribe trilogy – Homeroom Headhunters, Camp Cannibal, and Academic Assassins (Disney). He is the writer of TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE’S “The Mattress King,†“Like Father, Like Son,†co-author of “Tales We Tell PT 1 & 2†and performs in several Tales including “Reappraisal,†“In The Wind,†“Cold Reading,†and “No Signal.â€