Interview: Directors Wesley Taylor and Alex Wyse chat ‘Summoning Sylvia’

Summoning Sylvia first arrived on digital in 2023. With its delicate mix of horror and comedy, the glitter-soaked romp weaves together themes of bigotry, authenticity, and acceptance. Co-directors Wesley Taylor and Alex Wyse, known for their on- and off-Broadway work, pull threads from their own lives, as well as observations about the LGBTQ+ community simply existing in the world. With such a tightly wound script, character beats and emotional moments feel wholly earned — demonstrating how much heart beats beneath its polished veneer.

The cast, which includes Frankie Grande (Nico) Travis Coles ( Larry), Troy Iwata (Reggie), and Michael Urie (Jamie), emits intense chemistry onscreen. You believe they’re friends. Expert line deliveries and physical comedy give the film levity, so when the murderous mother shows up, there’s real tension and stakes. You come to love and root for this band of queers as they plummet further into a dark and twisted world of a mother (Veanne Cox) who killed her son Phillip (Camden Garcia).

In straddling genres, the filmmakers hypnotize the audience into their heightened world. Without the well-performed genre tight-rope act, Summoning Sylvia simply would not be as effective as it is. “We were excited by the notion that comedy and horror use the same kind of math to work — both are all about timing. And surprise,” Wyse and Taylor share with B-Sides & Badlands over email. “So, we worked to allow the genres to be in conversation with each other, let one lead into the other, let one be a question and the other be an answer. And perhaps it’s controversial in regards to the genre, but ultimately we wanted our gay characters to thrive, and not be killed off.”

Queer celebration throbs in the film’s center. From a full-length drag performance in the finale to one bigoted character’s heartwarming redemption arc, Summoning Sylvia serves as an essential timepiece. It’s firmly rooted in the present, as more legislation passes to harm the LGBTQ+ community, but stretches across time and place. There’s remarkable value in that. A cult classic in the making, the film captures both the tragedy and beauty of being queer while delivering plenty of campy frights to shake your bones.

Summoning Sylvia recently landed on Shudder and AMC+ just in time for the spooky season.

Below, Wyse and Taylor walk us through various aspects of the film (warning: light spoilers), drag performance, and what they’ve been up to since the film’s original release.

What’s especially poignant about the film is that Harrison has a distinct story arc. He eventually comes around to the gay world and even does drag in the end. How important was that to the story you wanted to tell?

We wanted to show that someone who starts off as villain-coded can have so much more beneath the surface. It’s when we really learn to talk, and genuinely listen, to each other that we can see that. Additionally, we wanted to show that there is no cost to a hypermasculine person accepting their softer side. Rather, it can be totally empowering. Though not everyone looks good in a wig.

When Harrison shows up, you see Larry hide parts of himself to make Harrison feel more comfortable. It’s those smaller character beats that give the film such weight. Did you draw upon anyone/anything for Larry’s development throughout the story?

That’s the part of the film where we drew most closely from our own lives. Though we don’t have much experience with ghosts, we have plenty of practice trying to fit into spaces that don’t outwardly welcome us, leading us to hide parts of ourselves as a result. That’s the *real* horror.

Speaking of drag, performance is such an important aspect of the gay experience. What is your relationship with drag? Have you done drag before?

We’ve both had a moment or two of donning a wig and looking for our best angle, but nothing serious, nothing that could compete with the masterful drag artists working today. But that spirit of play and expression is what we wanted to bring to the film, especially to button the arcs of these characters who have been editing themselves. We’re glad that, in the end, they get to unleash their inner divas. 

As far as the characters go, it could not have been better cast. Their chemistry is undeniable. Steven Tylor O’Connor handled casting, but did you have a hand in any part of the casting process?

Steven did a remarkable job, we agree! And yes, we collaborated very closely to make sure these friends really felt like friends, and make sure everyone was living in the same tonal universe we were creating. We love Steven, and we love each and every cast member who brought their passion to this project.

Another significant part of the film is connecting the present and the past – that homophobia has always been something gay people have had to fight against. Why include that in the script?

We were excited by creating past/present parallels. Showing how we have and haven’t learned from all that came before us. Also, with each of these characters, we wanted to explore how assumptions get in our way. The friends make assumptions about Harrison, Harrison makes assumptions about the friends, they all make assumptions about Sylvia… And the truth is always more complex.

Did the script go through many versions before you arrived at the final draft?

Oh yes! We had no idea what this would become when set out to write it. And there are many versions that still exist on our computers. We began by writing about multiple ghosts; we once explored the home life of Larry and Jamie, in depth, and there was even a version where Larry’s famous Sweet Tea recipe was a major plot point. But part of the gratification of making this film was that we wrote it during Covid, so we had the time and space to take all sorts of big swings. Eventually, the version we see today came into focus. But there were also significant creative and structural changes made in the editing room, which was important to us. Constantly interrogating our work has allowed for fresh discoveries in the eleventh hour.

For Bloody Disgusting, I wrote about how important this film is for queer voices and simply existing in the world. What do you hope is the takeaway from the film for viewers?

We want audiences to see that when we make negative assumptions about others, it harms our sense of community. We can co-exist and not be afraid of each other. And we can be spooked while laughing a lot. 

Now that the film has been out in the wild for a minute, what part of the story impacts you most even now?

This might be a different answer than what you were looking for, but in truth, our experience of the film now is just the thrill and exhaustion that we actually made a movie. It was such a massive, joyous, and ridiculously difficult undertaking. We learned a ton, we ran into so many obstacles that we had to overcome, and we are still panting at the finish line. Also, Veanne Cox is a national treasure.

What’s next for you?

We recently directed “Cellino v. Barnes,” an off-Broadway play that’s currently running in NYC (come see it!) Plus, we have a couple of screenplays and a couple of plays all ready to go. As for which one happens next, it’s anybody’s guess. But we’ll keep creating worlds and characters that challenge and inspire us, and we remain grateful that anyone has paid attention to the things we’ve made so far.

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