Charlie Finesilver
Last week we discussed the first show in Trustus’ True Crime Rep, where two plays about crime in Columbia’s history will run simultaneously, alternating each night.
The second of the two plays, House Calls, written by longtime playwright Charlie Finesilver, recalls the strange case of Dr. Ian Gale, who died in 2017.
Finesilver started writing when he was in the Peace Corps in Mali, Africa, in order to process what he was seeing and feeling—in the time since, he has had 4 Off-Broadway productions.
Finesilver finds writing plays preferable to other mediums “because theater gives physical boundaries and limitations that you need to break by using creativity and focus – it makes you reach and think.”
As far as creation, Finesilver notes that when he gets an idea, “The scenes are there. It just writes itself. I just feel like I'm just there for the ride.” But that doesn’t make the process simple. It doesn’t even start, as we might imagine, with pen and paper.
A chance encounter with an article from The State would become Finesilver’s inspiration for House Calls. He asserts that he doesn’t read the news very often, but in one of the few times he picked up a local paper, he found himself staring at a headline, which informed him that former doctor, Ian Gale, had committed suicide.
“It sounds nuts,” Finesilver said, “But I did feel as though Gale was really watching over me. He was tapping me on the shoulder.” Who was Dr. Gale? A once seemingly stable and successful psychiatrist who, in the 1970s, burglarized over 200 South Carolina homes for apparently no reason.
This “apparently no reason” is exactly what kept Finesilver up at night. The question rang in his head – why?
With an impetus in place, the script started to swirl in his head. Finesilver searched archives online and conducted interviews with people who knew Gale. He even went on what he calls “The Gale Tour.”
“I started at Clemson and Forest Drive, where Gale was pulled over surrounded by the police in '79. I went to his office. I passed by his house. I drove by several of the houses he picked off in Forest Acres,” Finesilver continues, “It's a rush to actually follow his steps, follow his route.”
Finesilver has brought in director Ginny Ives to achieve his vision for telling Gale’s story, and together they’re sharing it with us through a vibrant cast including Jeff Driggers, Clark Wallace, Kathleen Pennyway, Jordan Postal, Deon Turner, Chris Cockrell, and Sheldon Paschal.
As a writer, of course, it’s always difficult to see how a cast and crew will receive your work. “With anybody doing art, I totally get it. It's your baby. Nobody wants to hear somebody say, ‘Man, your baby is ugly,’” Finesilver jokes, “But I don't get defensive. My ears are open to anything, any kind of feedback that's sensible. I will change the script, absolutely.”
Now, as a team, this group will attempt to tell the confounding rush of a story that is the life and death of Dr. Ian Gale—a true story that often feels unreal.
On that note, Finesilver emphasizes the importance of balancing historical fact and creative vision: “You're thoroughly involved in what you're writing and what happened, the actual events, and you kind of have to be able to stay two or three steps back, and sort of capture the essence without getting too far, where you might lose people, you know?”
And, of course, a playwright doesn’t want to lose people when there’s a message to tell.
“This is a psychological thriller about a psychiatrist. I think the audience will walk away wondering about psychiatrists and their complexity,” Finesilver reflects, “Who are they? What do the people who uncover what we’re hiding, keep hidden?”
You can see Finesilver’s play at Trustus, August 18th – 27th. People can buy tickets for House Calls and Composure—or get both as a package deal and dive into the mysteries of Columbia’s past.
Jason Stokes (L) and Charlie Finesilver (R)