By Bacopa Literary Review Fiction Editor Alec Kissoondyal
Emilee Prado's brilliant use of contrast is immediately evident in her story, "Red Yucca," a prose piece that takes place on a film set. Beyond using prose to tell a story set in the world of filmmaking, Prado contrasts the "real" locations in the story with their use in the context of the film and even the protagonists, Chico and Nina, play the role of extras even though their bittersweet love story is the central focus of the story. In the following interview, Prado discusses the characters in "Red Yucca," how her educational background in Film Studies factored into the narrative's authenticity, and her upcoming projects.
Q: The element that drew me into the story was the juxtaposition of issues in the characters’ “real lives” being dealt with on film sets. Where did this idea come from, and how did it develop over the course of writing the story?
A: As I developed Chico and Nina, I was thinking about downbeat characters who might feel as if they’ve been cast as extras in their lives in the same way they are cast in the film. For instance, the love story between the unnamed leads is captured perfectly by the camera, but Chico and Nina’s love story drifts, somewhat inconclusive, off-screen. This idea wasn’t specifically plotted, but sort of emerged organically as I began sculpting an ill-defined gritty and fragile love story. The use of film set as setting, however, came from my preoccupation with movies and my educational background (I have a BA in Film Studies). I love to explore fiction as if an omniscient narrator is also the eye of a camera.
Q: Speaking of film sets, the locations in the story are almost a character in and of themselves—the backdoor of a non-profit that is used as a club entrance in the film, the burned building, the alley with something rotting in the dumpster, etc. How did you decide on the setting?
A: The visual details I used in “Red Yucca” are loosely extrapolated from where I live in downtown Tucson, Arizona. I do a lot of commuting on foot and I often notice the dissonance between the appearance of alleys and how they function. I wanted to link this idea with how Chico and Nina feel misunderstood. I also wanted to communicate the film director’s naïve generalizations about a place he isn’t familiar with and how he shapes the set to fit his notions rather than adapting the script to the reality around him. (E.g. he has graffiti painted specifically for the film set, he asks Nina to change her appearance, and the club/non-profit disconnect).
Q: Are there any projects you are currently working on/forthcoming publications that you want to mention?
A: I have a few stories/essays slotted for upcoming literary journal publication and I have several larger projects that I’m slowly chipping away at. One of my projects continues my preoccupation with merging the real world with film and might eventually take the form of an essay collection that blends memoir with film criticism.
About the contributor: Emilee Prado is a fiction writer and essayist whose work appears in Cincinnati Review, Wigleaf, Fractured Lit, and elsewhere. Emilee was raised in a working-class family. She has lived in Asia and South America and currently resides in Tucson, Arizona. Find out more at emileepradoauthor.com or on social media: @_emilee_prado_.
