Journeying with vamps

Young Chang

The double-decker set for Gary McAuley’s musical, “Vampire Virgins

from Venus,” is proof that the creator has an eccentric imagination.

The bottom layer transforms into a rocket ship, a war room, a volcano,

a graveyard and a chamber. The top becomes planet Venus. Eight characters

-- four vampire virgins and four astronauts -- inhabit this stage, each

dealing with issues of control.

Weaving tales has always come naturally to McAuley, as have skills in

music, writing and art. He spun stories while driving cabs and while

starting up and operating his environmental cleanup business years ago.

Telling stories, in various mediums, is now McAuley’s full-time

profession.

The singer, songwriter, playwright and painter’s hit musical “Vampire

Virgins from Venus” was named the Best New Musical of 1997 at the New

American Comedy Playwriting contest.

His recent book, “The Hero’s Journey” is on shelves at Borders Books,

Music & Cafe in Costa Mesa, where he will sign copies and perform songs

Saturday.

The multitalented San Luis Obispo resident also has released two

compact discs -- “Tales from the Jordan Valley Jail” and “My Heart’s On

Sale.” As a painter, McAuley’s work has been exhibited in art galleries,

while his short film, “Goin’ Up the Country,” won awards at international

film festivals.

For McAuley, storytelling is a service he provides for others.

“There is a thread to all stories and it’s obviously hitting a nerve

in all of us,” he said. “It’s a road map to get through your fears and

desires.”

He enjoys sharing his “road map” with those who need it.

In “The Hero’s Journey,” a nonfiction book based on the work of

mythologist Joseph Campbell, McAuley says we are all writing our own epic

journeys everyday.

“You are the hero in your own journey, and that is what all the great

epic stories are about,” he said.

Campbell, a scholar in comparative mythology, had an intellectual

style, McAuley said, using esoteric terms and a language that not

everyone could understand.

“What I did was bring Joseph Campbell down to street level,” McAuley

said.

He uses characters like Ebenezer Scrooge and names from “The Wizard of

Oz” to familiarize his audience with the text. It is heavy subject matter

dealing with mythology, religion and the “collective unconscious.”

“Vampire Virgins,” on the other hand, is pure entertainment, said

director David Galligan. It is a spoof of 1950s science-fiction movies

and stars characters with names like Kelina, Jasiper and Queen Dyldono.

“It was sort of a four stooges in space,” McAuley said.

Galligan, who is directing the musical’s current run at the Hudson

Avenue Theater in Los Angeles, calls it a “romp.”

“You don’t have to go and think about anything except having a good

time,” Galligan said.

McAuley says “Vampire Virgins” pretty much wrote itself after he spent

one late Saturday night laughing hysterically at an old sci-fi flick on

television.

But when it comes to books, he has a method.

Wife Ann Marie Tommey said her husband has a small space in his house

that is his writing area. He spends about an hour a day writing.

“If he doesn’t do it, he’s not as happy a person,” Tommey said.

FYI:

* WHAT: Gary McAuley will sign “The Hero’s Journey” and sing at

Borders

* WHEN: 2 p.m. Saturday

* WHERE: Borders Books, Music & Cafe, 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa

* COST: Free

* CALL: (714) 432-7854.