“Unadaptable into a theatrical medium,” was James Leech’s first response after reading the book. It's easy to understand why; the novel’s lack, if not complete absence of coherent narrative — instead composed in a pastiche manner (Kathy Acker-esque, if one likes) into anxious episodes of a larger filthy fantasy — doesn't lend itself to the stage naturally, let alone sounds like a task anybody would take on voluntarily. But forbidden fruit always has the luscious juice. Thus, Foster-Soltis proposed the idea.
Skelley and Foster-Soltis met at the launch party in LA, discovered mutual obsessions, vibed, and went for it.
"When I first read the The Complete Fear of Kathy Acker, I found myself deeply resonating with Jack’s brutal self-mocking/self-victimizing hatred toward himself and toward what he terms the invasive capitalistic “CLOP” corrupting language and a potential self-fulfilling sense of sacredness," said Foster-Soltis, as opposed to the novel's dominant themes of sex and eroticism. These anxieties remain relatable, whether they play out in the 80s or mid-2020s, “especially for neurotic young artists clomping around the streets of LA,” she continued. I’d personally make that true for every metropolitan.
