Carmilla Preview!

So Jill and I got to sneak into the prescreening(?) of Camilla last night thanks to Sara "Oh my god my vampire teeth are huge" Gorsky!

Okay, so anyone who knows me knows how much I like vampires; not much.  In fact, not really at all.  I'm tired of them. I'm tired that they've turned into people and aren't really monsters.  I'm tired of keeping track of different mythologies and types.  I'm not a fan.  When DO I like my vampires?  Well, that's simple.  When they're monstrous.  When they kill, feed, and only vaguely recall what it was like to be human.

Carmilla, and all the vampires in the play, are my kind of vampire!  They range from downright feral to wicked seductive, but it's clear, their main goal is to feed, to kill.  They might get conflicted a bit about whether or not they want someone to join them in this endeavor, but they are what they are, monsters.  I heartily approve.  Some of the story might seem to be made up of known elements, until you realize this story predates Dracula by a quarter century.  Carmilla is one of the primary roots of this giant wicked tree we call vampirism.  Plus, it's got lesbians, something fantastically risque for the time it was written.

Michaela looking awesome after snacking on Brittany

Everyone did a GREAT job with the acting.  I know more than half the cast but it didn't distract at all.  I am constantly amazed by these people's ability to breath life into fiction.  Both Michaela and Sara pulled off sexy/terrifying amazingly!  From Scott's hunchback to Brian's German General, everyone was awesome!

Now, I MUST give props to the production value.  This is the most gorgeous looking WildClaw production yet.  The set is dynamic and interesting, the mood is totally atmospheric, costumes are spot on, and Paul knocked the lighting out of the park.  Seriously, I think half of the tone was carried by the eerie shadows and colors in the lighting.  Really cool.

Oh, and blood.  They've got plenty off it, spattered around.

If you're reading this you're likely a friend of mine.  You should go see this.  It's playing for like a month. Here's a link to Wildclaws site and their preview trailer.

http://www.wildclawtheater.com/

DeathScribe 2010

 So Monday night was DeathScribe!  It was here...

 And while the Mayne Stage isn't as old fashioned as the Music Box, it's still pretty classy and you're also able to take a pee without feeling like the chicks in the lobby can see your junk (any guy who's been to a Music Box event knows what I'm talking about). There's sweet balconies so you can loom like a gargoyle, and there's tables for drinks, etc... Actual serving staff who, while they didn't seem excited we were there, were certainly tolerant of a crowd comprised of the type of people who would brave icy cold Chicago on a weeknight for the chance at some horror.

And there was some horror, lemmie tell ya.  This year totally raised the bar.  I took third place.  This is nice.  Last year I took "You didn't win and we didn't rank any of you non-winner types place".  Third is a step up.  I think.  Who knows, I hypothetically could have taken second last year, or fifth.  My point: I like my copper.  Hell, my frame shop is covered in copper pipe.  I prefer it.

That awesome bloody axe went to David Schmidt.  He wrote and directed his own indy horror movie called The House of Black Wings, which I haven't had the chance to see, but looks pretty sweet for a do-it-yourselfer.  I'll toss the trailer at the bottom.  His DeathScribe entry was full of boils with tiny mouths on them, radioactive meteors, small town quarantines, and (my personal favorite) mutating trees that had leathery fruit the size of dogs and were, of course, filled with bloody meat.  It was a whole hell of a lot of pulp goodness.

This here's my story, Monitor Spectare.

It turned out excellent and the actors did a really great job.  Lance Baker even managed to find a kid for the creepy little girl role; Jennifer Baker.  Sadly, she broke her leg yesterday.  No joke.  It was too far after DeathScribe to attribute any sort of supernatural correlation though.  I hope she gets better soon, poor kid.  She did a great job.  Joe Foust and Molly Glynn haven't broken any limbs (yet).  They simply kicked all sorts of ass and conveyed my characters perfectly.  I was really happy with how this year turned out.  As soon as it's available, I'll link the podcast so you all can hear it too.

So, I don't want to ramble on, I'm new at this blog thing, but the other three stories were also pretty damn great.  There were demons and haunted husbands and the worst ding-dong-ditch ever.  The foley was sweet throughout the evening, I particularly liked the wind.  There were some musical sets between the intermission breaks and they were really good (appropriate witch themed songs).

It was really nice seeing a bunch of actors I'm getting to know up on stage doing their thing.  These people amaze me.  They're such good fakers.  I don't fake well.  I lie well, all storytellers do, but I can't fake.  Always impresses me.

For now, I leave you with a trailer from this year's DeathScribe winner.  Later...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDDvwJD_k7c

2011 Cult Fiction Lineup!

An organized cult is a happy cult.  With this in mind I'd like to release our show schedule for the entire year of 2011!  Yes, the whole damn year.

Once every three months the cult brings you chilling tales of terror, read dramatically on stage by wonderful actors at the upstairs room of the Lucky Number Grill.  There is creepy atmosphere, cheap well drinks, eerie ambient music, and s'mores.  Yep.  Indoor s'mores!  On top of all this goodness, our next year will be introducing some horror burlesque and unsettling performance art between the stories.  For a measly $5 cover, it's not to be missed!

Without further ado, the lineup;

January 28th, 8pm -Cult Fiction: The Dark Hunt

April 22nd, 8pm - Cult Fiction: Unholy Sacrifices

July 22nd, 8pm - Cult Fiction: A Splash of Red

October 28th, 8pm - Cult Fiction: The Bone Harvest

And remember, if you're an author looking to have your story considered for one of these events, feel free to drop by the Lucky Number any Tuesday between 7 and 10 to join in on one of our weekly cult writers workshops.  We're always there, plotting and scheming away...