ALL GIRL MOBY DICK - Interview with Amy Harmon

BTW - ALL GIRL MOBY DICK has been extended thru JUNE 9TH!!!

Amy Harmon as Ahab
click on image to enlarge

I (Warwick Johnson) recently sat down with Amy Harmon, who is playing Ahab in All Girl Moby Dick, and asked her just a few questions about the show. Enjoy!

Warwick: First off, tell us about your character. Who they are, what they do. And do you have any direct or indirect inspiration for the character?

Amy: Ahad is the guy that wants to beat up God, and it's interesting cause we're all kind of fascinated by that. We don't know if we approve of that or not, but we all want to watch it happen. The indirect inspiration that I'm using is that he's a man who's mind and body are in perfect balance until they're not anymore. And when they're out of balance things are just getting more and more out of whack. Like when a gear breaks and it keeps spinning and it gets a little worse and a little worse and a little worse. That's the metaphor that I'm functioning off of.

W: I like it. What has been the most challenging part of the process for you?

A: Challenging I think is just settling down and trusting that all of those big clumpy sentences and phrases full of fricking SAT words are going to come out sounding like they make sense and sounding conversational and sound normal, and just trusting that. Breathing into it and just saying it and go "Oh, oh okay that does actually work".

W: What's the most rewarding?

A: I am a huge new plays development geek. I love watching plays develop. So just going from raw text, and then Bob chips away at it and then the actors chip away at it and just watching it become... a Mammals show. Watching the process in which the brain works and synthesizes it into your [The Mammals] kind of thing.

W: What aspect or scene in the show are you most excited for the audience to witness?

A: I think.... I'm most excited for the audience to get there and start to interact ...with the show. It's such a world building experience. I mean, all theater is a world building experience but this.... is WORLD BUILDING EXPERIENCE. From the lights to the costumes to the sound to the set to the actors, to the voice of the show. And having the audience there is going to add another layer of "this is the world, these are the rules - what happens when you break those rules?"

W: What attracted you to this project in the first place?

A: Okay, no lie. I got to use two male monologues to audition, and that was why I came in. Cause I had some. Just purely coincidentally I had some and I'm like "I'm never going to get this chance again" so in I came.

W: I think it all turned out pretty well.

A: I'm pretty happy.

Get your reservations fast!!!!

ALL GIRL MOBY DICK has been extended thru JUNE 9th!!!


Remaining Performance Dates are as follows

Friday and Saturday May 18th and 19th
Friday and Saturday May 25th and 26th
Friday and Saturday June 1st and 2nd
Friday and Saturday June 8th and 9th

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB
Zoo Studios
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste 205
Chicago, IL 60613


Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614 - Suggested Donation - $20.00 

ALL GIRL MOBY DICK - Interview with Sarah Koerner

BTW - ALL GIRL MOBY DICK has been extended thru JUNE 9TH!!! call 866-593-4614 for tickets!

Sarah Koerner as Starbuck

click on image to enlarge

I (Warwick Johnson) got the chance to sit down with Sarah Koerner, who is playing Starbuck in All Girl Moby Dick.

Warwick: First off, tell us about your character in the show (who they are/what they do/etc...). Were they any direct or indirect inspirations that you had when you were creating it?

Sarah: Starbuck is the first mate of the Pequod, he is a very devout Quaker and a dedicated family man, who has a wife and child back home. And he's kind of the first one to be vocal about not being willing to go along with Ahab's plan. And kind of from the beginning he's questioning it but he doesn't have the nerve to do anything about it.

W: He's the Starscream to Ahab's Megatron, if you will.

S: Uh, yes. Yes, yeah he is! Ah, Transformers jokes. I didn't have any direct inspirations, but I really enjoyed looking at the Quaker religion, you know compared to other Christian groups they're very open and loving and that kind of thing. And seeing that and mixed with the sailor, tough guy kind of life. And then dealing with the crazy man of Ahab and worrying about all of that. So no direct inspiration, no single inspiration but just looking at the religion as a whole and how would someone from this background deal with this situation.

W: What has been the most challenging part of the process for you?

S: Um, I'd say, overall is probably the script, working on the script. It was in place when we started rehearsals but working with it and moving things around and coming together. It's... it hasn't been off or anything but it adds a whole new level when all the pieces are kind of coming into place.

W: What's the most rewarding?

S: The ensemble. We've really been working on this for so long, that as a group we've really built something together, we've created this world all together. And personally I think that this is the most challenging role that I've ever had. Which is awesome and terrifying.

W: What aspect or scene in the show are you most excited for the audience to witness?

S: The overall show, just the overall look and the style and all of the group scenes in the show too. Plus the sailors masks, and the other masks are really cool. Plus I have a musket scene that I'm really excited about. It's a scene where I'm questioning God and morality and I'm questioning whether or not I should murder a man in his sleep. So it's great.

W: What attracted you to this project in the first place?

S: I thought it sounded really cool, and I've always enjoyed more masculine roles and been more attracted to male roles. Male roles in a lot of theater tend to be well, more interesting sometimes. Which makes me sound like an awful feminist, but it's just a cool and unique opportunity.


Get your reservations fast!!!!

ALL GIRL MOBY DICK has been extended thru JUNE 9th!!!


Remaining Performance Dates are as follows

Friday and Saturday May 18th and 19th
Friday and Saturday May 25th and 26th
Friday and Saturday June 1st and 2nd
Friday and Saturday June 8th and 9th

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB
Zoo Studios
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste 205
Chicago, IL 60613


Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614 - Suggested Donation - $20.00 

ALL GIRL MOBY DICK - Interview with Erin Orr

BTW - ALL GIRL MOBY DICK has been extended thru JUNE 9TH!!!

Erin Orr as Ishmael (click on image to enlarge)

I (Warwick Johnson) recently got the chance to sit down with the wonderful Erin Orr, fellow Mammals company member and Ishmael in All Girl Moby Dick, to talk about the show and process in creating this show.

Warwick: First off, tell us about your character in the show (who they are/what they do/etc...). Were there any direct or indirect inspirations that you had when you were creating it?

Erin Orr: Ishmael is the narrator of the show and what's so interesting about this adaptation is that in so many adaptations, and even in the book sometimes, Ishmael is very plain and vanilla. A little boring. But, Bob and I really focused on the first chapter, with Ishmael talking about himself. And the thing that people so often just sweep over is the passage where he talks about going to sea because he's so angry that he's going to kill himself or kill other people. And so we're really taking him from a malcontent angry place, and starting him from there and having that whole character arc until [the end of the show]. It's a pretty huge transformation, and being within the action of the show and then being pulled out of the action of the show to narrate for the audience, and be the audience's eyes and the audience's voice too. It's a difficult balance.

W: Well, it seems like so often Ishmael is nothing but a cypher, someone that the audience can project themselves onto.

E: Ishmael has a definite personality here.

W: What has been the most challenging part of the process for you?

E: For me the most challenging part has been that Bob has asked me to incorporate my banjo playing into the show. Which is something that I started doing purely for me, that was going to be my creative outlet that didn't have to do with anyone else. That didn't have anyone else's judgement that was just for me and for no one else. And even the singing in it, the little bit of singing in it that I do are two things that really make me feel vulnerable and so it's been very interesting. Kind of scary. But it's awesome and I'm glad that I'm doing it. It's a huge challenge and if it wasn't hard it wouldn't be worth doing.

W: What's the most rewarding?

E: The most rewarding is getting the chance to play a character that most of the time I feel like I wouldn't be considered for. Because I don't really give off the malcontent, angry energy most of the time so I feel like a lot of people would have trouble seeing that so it's nice that I've worked with the Mammals and with Bob so much that he thinks I'm capable of it and won't let me give up. And it's tough and I like it.

W: Good. What aspect or scene in the show are you most excited for the audience to witness?

E: I think there's a whole lot. I mean, I'm really excited about the audience seeing all women doing this show.  Not just because it's women doing the show, it's not a feminist statement, and it's not a gimmick. I think I'm excited for the audience to see that gender is not of importance in this show, I mean they're just people. It doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman. They're people having real human experiences and real human emotions, and why does it matter what their gender is? And to be able to allow women to grab these roles and really sink their teeth into like they're never really going to get to again. So I'm excited for that. I think in the beginning of the show they're going to see that it's all women, but by the end of the show they'll say "oh that's right, it was all women".

W: What attracted you to this project in the first place? 

E: Cause I love the Chicago Mammals! But really, I was involved in the workshop as Ishmael which was kind of my audition for this. And I was excited to fill things in and create this character. I was telling Bob that female characters, their character center is either the head, the heart, or the pelvis. That's where their energy comes from. But so many of these characters because they're so masculine in this show, they're all coming from their guts. And it's exciting to be able to do that.

Get your reservations fast!!!!

ALL GIRL MOBY DICK has been extended thru JUNE 9th!!!


Remaining Performance Dates are as follows

Friday and Saturday May 18th and 19th
Friday and Saturday May 25th and 26th
Friday and Saturday June 1st and 2nd
Friday and Saturday June 8th and 9th

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB
Zoo Studios
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste 205
Chicago, IL 60613


Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614 - Suggested Donation - $20.00

ALL GIRL MOBY DICK added shows!!!

Amy Harmon as AHAB (click on image to enlarge)

Due to overwhelming response, The Chicago Mammals are adding performances to the run of ALL GIRL MOBY DICK. The current production and cast will be extending the run through June 9th.

ALL GIRL MOBY DICK is an adaptation of Herman Melville’s classic performed with an ensemble composed entirely of amazing Chicago actresses.

Erin Orr (Chicago Mammals Company member) plays Ishmael, a malcontent who embarks on a whaling voyage in the hopes that the adventure will sate the violent rage inside her. On this voyage that she encounters Captain Ahab, played by Amy Harmon (Babes with Blades Ensemble Member and Managing Director) a maddened whaling captain in pursuit of the grand white whale who torn off Ahab's leg in a previous encounter.

To find out more go to the Mammals blog at themammals.blogspot.com or chicagomammals.com

Cast: Erin Orr, Erin Myers, Liz Chase, Christy Arington, Krista D'Agostino, Sarah Koerner, Kalina McCreery, Shantelle Szyper. and Amy Harmon.

Remaining Performance Dates are as follows

Friday and Saturday May 18th and 19th
Friday and Saturday May 25th and 26th
Friday and Saturday June 1st and 2nd
Friday and Saturday June 8th and 9th

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB
Zoo Studios
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste 205
Chicago, IL 60613


Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614 - Suggested Donation - $20.00
We are now publishing books! And each one has a coupon in the back for a free admission to a Mammals show! If you like what we do and want to support us, this is a perfect way!

Click on button and you can purchase our first book, DEVILS DON'T FORGET the script!

Thank you Chicago for supporting us!

The Mammals are happy to announce that we are getting to add performances to the run of ALL GIRL MOBY DICK!!!

Amy Harmon as AHAB (click on image to enlarge)

Due to overwhelming response, The Chicago Mammals are adding performances to the run of ALL GIRL MOBY DICK. The current production and cast will be extending the run through June 9th.

ALL GIRL MOBY DICK is an adaptation of Herman Melville’s classic performed with an ensemble composed entirely of amazing Chicago actresses.

Erin Orr (Chicago Mammals Company member) plays Ishmael, a malcontent who embarks on a whaling voyage in the hopes that the adventure will sate the violent rage inside her. On this voyage that she encounters Captain Ahab, played by Amy Harmon (Babes with Blades Ensemble Member and Managing Director) a maddened whaling captain in pursuit of the grand white whale who torn off Ahab's leg in a previous encounter.

To find out more go to the Mammals blog at themammals.blogspot.com or chicagomammals.com

Cast: Erin Orr, Erin Myers, Liz Chase, Christy Arington, Krista D'Agostino, Sarah Koerner, Kalina McCreery, Shantelle Szyper. and Amy Harmon.

Remaining Performance Dates are as follows

Friday and Saturday May 18th and 19th
Friday and Saturday May 25th and 26th
Friday and Saturday June 1st and 2nd
Friday and Saturday June 8th and 9th

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB
Zoo Studios
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste 205
Chicago, IL 60613


Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614 - Suggested Donation - $20.00
We are now publishing books! And each one has a coupon in the back for a free admission to a Mammals show! If you like what we do and want to support us, this is a perfect way!

Click on button and you can purchase our first book, DEVILS DON'T FORGET the script!

Thank you Chicago for supporting us!

Reviews You Can Iews wants to tell you about ALL GIRL MOBY DICK!

Here's the link.

http://reviewsyoucaniews.blogspot.com/2012/05/all-girl-moby-dick-chicago-mammals.html

Go there!

Thank you Chicago for supporting us!

Only 2 tickets left for Friday's Performance. Most performances are nearly sold out! Get your reservations now for ALL GIRL MOBY DICK

Sarah Koerner as Starbuck

click image to enlarge

The Chicago Mammals Theater Company presents 

ALL GIRL MOBY DICK 

written by Bob Fisher & Sara Gorsky 

The Chicago Mammals present ALL GIRL MOBY DICK, an adaptation of Herman Melville’s classic performed with an ensemble composed entirely of amazing Chicago actresses. 

Cast: Erin Orr, Erin Myers, Liz Chase, Christy Arington, Krista D'Agostino, Sarah Koerner, Kalina McCreery, Shantelle Szyper. and Amy Harmon. 

Remaining Performance Dates are as follows

Friday and Saturday May 4th and 5th
Friday and Saturday May 11th and 12th
Friday and Saturday May 18th and 19th
Friday and Saturday May 25th and 26th

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB 
Zoo Studios
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste 205
Chicago, IL 60613

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614 - Suggested Donation - $20.00 


We are now publishing books! And each one has a coupon in the back for a free admission to a Mammals show! If you like what we do and want to support us, this is a perfect way! Click on button and you can purchase our first book, DEVILS DON'T FORGET the script!

Thank you Chicago for supporting us!

REPEAT AFTER ME! ALL GIRL MOBY DICK! ALL GIRL MOBY DICK!

New Company Member, Sara Koerner as Starbuck

click image to enlarge

This weekend is nearly sold out! If you want to see the show on May 4th or 5th then get your reservations in fast!

BTW, Big thanks to all our friends and family and extended Chicago community for your support and encouragement with this project! We love you!

OK...want to see the show?

Here's the info 

The Chicago Mammals Theater Company presents 

ALL GIRL MOBY DICK 

written by Bob Fisher & Sara Gorsky 

The Chicago Mammals present ALL GIRL MOBY DICK, an adaptation of Herman Melville’s classic performed with an ensemble composed entirely of amazing Chicago actresses. 

Cast: Erin Orr, Erin Myers, Liz Chase, Christy Arington, Krista D'Agostino, Sarah Koerner, Kalina McCreery, Shantelle Szyper. and Amy Harmon. 

Remaining Performance Dates are as follows

Friday and Saturday May 4th and 5th
Friday and Saturday May 11th and 12th
Friday and Saturday May 18th and 19th
Friday and Saturday May 25th and 26th


All performances are at 8pm – BYOB 
Zoo Studios
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste 205
Chicago, IL 60613


Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614 - Suggested Donation - $20.00 

We are now publishing books! And each one has a coupon in the back for a free admission to a Mammals show! If you like what we do and want to support us, this is a perfect way! Click on button and you can purchase our first book, DEVILS DON'T FORGET the script!


Thank you Chicago for supporting us!

Centerstage Recommends ALL GIRL MOBY DICK as a MUST SEE SHOW!!!!

Erin Orr as Ishmael 

click on image to enlarge

Although the script is a fairly straightforward (until the end) adaptation of the novel, the production is permeated by Fisher’s signature style of a dark, dreamlike world ... Finally the show’s greatest asset is Harmon’s Ahab. Harmon excels at playing characters who are also (psychologically) on the verge of collapse so this is a perfect union of the sensibilities for both actress and director.

click here for the full review!

All remaining performances are already half sold! Get your tickets fast before they are all gone!

Here's the info

The Chicago Mammals Theater Company presents

ALL GIRL MOBY DICK

written by Bob Fisher & Sara Gorsky

The Chicago Mammals present ALL GIRL MOBY DICK, an adaptation of Herman Melville’s classic performed with an ensemble composed entirely of amazing Chicago actresses.

Cast: Erin Orr, Erin Myers, Liz Chase, Christy Arington, Krista D'Agostino, Sarah Koerner, Kalina McCreery, Shantelle Szyper. and Amy Harmon.

Remaining Performance Dates are as follows

Friday and Saturday May 4th and 5th
Friday and Saturday May 11th and 12th
Friday and Saturday May 18th and 19th
Friday and Saturday May 25th and 26th


All performances are at 8pm – BYOB
Zoo Studios
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste 205
Chicago, IL 60613


Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614 - Suggested Donation - $20.00


We are now publishing books! And each one has a coupon in the back for a free admission to a Mammals show! If you like what we do and want to support us, this is a perfect way! Click on button and you can purchase our first book, DEVILS DON'T FORGET the script!

Thank you Chicago for supporting us!