The Buzz Intro Interview | Flay's Anatomy

Respondent: Rebekah Suellau
Position in Company: Director
Company: Flay’s Anatomy
Show Title: Flay’s Anatomy

“I’ve learned a lot about the power of not-knowing, and not needing to know – the creative activation inherent in unsolved mysteries…”

Why should people see your show?

If you’re the sort that likes to see something you’ve really never seen before, I feel pretty confident that we can deliver on that. Also for the giggles. Do it for the giggles.

What about festivals intrigues you? And why the Atlanta Fringe?

Second part first! Atlanta Fringe was my very first creative landing pad when I moved to Atlanta back in 2013. I’ve been a volunteer, a house manager, a judge, and now, I’m absolutely thrilled to complete the hat trick and dive into the creative melee. And that’s what intrigues me about festivals – the melee! The madness! The absolute expectation of encountering the unexpected!

[Above: OG Fringe Fam from Day One, Rebekah Suellau]

What inspired you to create this?

Playwright Nathan Jerpe’s early pages of Flay’s Anatomy first captured my imagination back in 2019, when I heard brief excerpts performed at Working Title Playwrights. I was completely flummoxed and immediately obsessed. Were we in the past? The future? A spaceship? A Magic School Bus Inside Ralphie? How in the hell could this ever be dramatized? Five years later, I have a few more answers and plenty more questions, and the joy of both inspired me to take this wildly experimental and brilliantly crafted work to one of my favorite places for wild experiments and brilliant craft: Atlanta Fringe, baby!

Life has been weird the last few years, to say the least. How has the “real world” affected the art you’re creating?

The “real world” is absolutely bonkers, which I think helps people feel more at home in the bonkers world that is Flay’s Anatomy.

What have you learned from working on your show so far?

I’ve learned about seven thousand new words that I never get to use in polite conversation. And I’ve learned a lot about the power of not-knowing, and not needing to know – the creative activation inherent in unsolved mysteries, and the delight of discovery all along the way.

A mysterious stranger asks to meet you and your cast and crew after loving your show. In your WILDEST DREAMS, who is it? (Bonus points if your mysterious stranger is an Atlanta celeb.)

If I could answer that, they would no longer be mysterious.

Fringes are the place to really push the boundaries so we gotta ask: are you inviting your family to this show are “Hey, maybe sit this one out you guys…”

They’re definitely invited. I might slip them an edible before they come in.

Will your show change the world?

Probably not on any grand scale. But I do think the sheer existence of Flay’s Anatomy makes the world just a bit stranger, in a very good way.

AI: the death of our art form or just a new tool to create?

Yeah right, like I’m gonna go on the record against the robots! I love them! They’re great! And I hope they remember that I said so when they take over!