A promotional image for Budding Heads’ production of Scab for Hire by Wesley Tilford, which plays at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis from August 8-15, as part of the 2026 Minnesota Fringe Festival.

After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, and the vampire, He had some awful substance left with which He made a scab. A scab is a two-legged animal with a corkscrew soul, a waterlogged brain, and a combination backbone made of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles.

When a scab comes down the street, men turn their backs and angels weep in heaven, and the devil shuts the gates of hell to keep him out.
Jack London, Definition of a Strikebreaker (1913)

What should you do with a scab? No, not the type that forms on healing wounds – someone who works during a labor strike. A strikebreaker. A blackleg. A bootlicker. A knobstick. A blackguard. If those pejorative synonyms make you think strikebreaking is a phenomenon lost to history, think again. As labor protests and worker replacement take on new forms in the present day, scabs (in their various guises) are very much on the mind for many. They’re also the subject of the Budding Heads production Scab for Hire, which opens at the Minnesota Fringe Festival on August 8.

Scab for Hire playwright and performer Wesley Tilford spoke with the Arts Reader’s Basil Considine about crossing the picket line and more.

Official Show Description
A man unwittingly crosses a picket-line, befriends an opossum, and is forced to choose between his job and his friend. The aftermath of his actions are discussed nearly a century later by two podcasters.

What are some of the things that you do as an artist?

As an artist, I am most interested in telling stories through theatre and film and breaking down the barrier between the two when possible. I think both mediums can provide a unique insight into humanity, and making multi-media productions is something I’m very passionate about. Audiences will hopefully see this love of both theatre and film (particularly silent film) in our Fringe show Scab for Hire this summer!

Have you previously participated in the Minnesota Fringe Festival? If so, please describe how/when, and highlight any key experiences along the way.

Yes, I have! However, this is my first time as a producing participant in the festival.

I worked as an actor in an original work in 2022 called My Lovely, Lovely, Lovely, Lovely, Lovely Family by Clucklesworth Productions. It was an original play about ethical non-monogamy. It was a really fun experience!

I particularly loved working with such a collaborative cast and crew! It was a good intro to Fringe and I’m happy to be back this year!

What’s a favorite piece of non-Fringe theater that you experiences in the last year, and why?

I was able to see the final dress rehearsal of Little Women at the Guthrie back in April. It was a lovely production filled with wit, humor, and just the right amount of drama. I thought it was such a well-acted and beautifully directed show!

What is your role in bringing this show to the stage?

I’m the playwright, co-producer, actor, and sound designer for Scab for Hire. I started writing the play in late 2022 and have been tinkering with it ever since, including several staged versions of it prior to Fringe in St Paul and Chicago. I am one part of Budding Heads, and my fiancée, Mia Martinez, is the other part.

I play the Scab, a 1930s factory worker who accidentally crosses a picket line, and Tyler Bloom, a present day right-wing podcast host.

Mia plays the Opossum, a marsupial living in the factory that the Scab is working in, and Liliana Garza, a left-wing podcast host who debates Tyler onstage about the Scab’s place in history.

What kinds of things will the audience experience at your show? What is its general aesthetic?

When we debuted the play last year at The Hive Collaborative in St Paul, one of our audience members said that they felt like it had “the perfect blend of comedy and drama”. The first part of the play draws influence from silent comedians from the 1920s, most specifically Charlie Chaplin’s work which infused comedy and pathos seamlessly, and that’s what we’re really trying to do with this play.

The second part of the show shifts to a present day podcast taping with two contradictory historians discussing the events of the first act, but through a modern (and warped) lens. Ultimately, however, Scab for Hire is a story about the power of friendship and standing up for the little guy.

What’s a favorite moment in this show, and why?

If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the short film that plays at the end. I don’t want to give too much away about the film itself, because it would spoil some key plot developments, but being able to change the way we’re telling the story and having an ode to silent film at the same time was really special.

Both Mia and I play dual roles in this show, and originally we wanted to come back onstage as our first characters (the Scab & the Opossum), but we knew it wasn’t possible to change costumes that quickly. Making a short film was an obvious solution to the problem and turned out to be my favorite part of our show.

What are two other Fringe shows that you are interested in seeing, and why?

First and foremost, I’m interested in seeing M by The World Crime League. The film from the 1930s by Fritz Lang is one of the most terrifying and complex portrayals of a serial killer to this day, and I am very curious to see how it is adapted to the stage. From their social media teases, it looks like their use of shadows fits right in with the noir aspect that the movie captured so well.

The other show I am interested in is Too Fat To Run by Fat Theatre Project. I am a runner myself and I think that gatekeeping movement is absolutely ridiculous. Running should be for anyone and everyone who wants to do it! Eileen Tull’s show sounds like it could be illuminating and I’m excited to see what it’s all about!

What’s up next for you creatively?

After Fringe, our company (Budding Heads) is working on a staged reading of an original play called Veracity, written by Mia Martinez and Zach Sain. It is an epic tale exploring truth, faith, and choice as it follows two siblings torn apart by war. We are planning to put that up in mid-October. Specifics will be announced on our social media pages following the Fringe Festival.

We are also currently working on a sequel to Scab for Hire called Light-Workers: A Scab for Hire Story. This will be a web series and will continue the story of the play. Light-Workers is planned to be released on YouTube in early 2027. Follow us on Instagram to stay up-to-date our future projects!

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Basil Considine

Basil Considine was the Editor of the Twin Cities Arts Reader from 2018-2022. He served as Performing Arts Editor and Senior Classical Music and Drama Critic for the Arts Reader's first five years, before succeeding Hanne Appelbaum. He was previously the Resident Classical Music and Drama Critic at the Twin Cities Daily Planet and remains an occasional contributing writer for The Boston Musical Intelligencer and The Chattanoogan. He holds a PhD in Music and Drama from Boston University, an MTS in Sacred Music from the BU School of Theology, and a BA in Music and Theatre from the University of San Diego.

Basil was named one of Musical America's 30 Professionals of the Year in 2017. He was previously the Regional Governor for the National Opera Association's North Central Region and the 2021-2022 U.S. Fulbright Faculty Scholar to Madagascar.

Latest posts by Basil Considine (see all)

• FRINGE FILE #10: INTERVIEW – Wesley Tilford on Being a Scab for Hire - July 26, 2026
• FRINGE FILE #8: INTERVIEW – Phillip Andrew Bennett Low on A Revolution Highly Favorable - July 25, 2026
• FRINGE FILE #7: INTERVIEW – Multidisciplinary Theatremaker Kyle Dekker and Witness Loudly - July 25, 2026