Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Dream Journal Digital Trading Cards - Edward Hyde needs a volunteer!


click on image to enlarge
Gabe Garza as Hyde. Sarah Scanlon as Eve.

More Digital Trading Cards!
Gabe Garza plays a guessing game!

The Mammals Theatre Company presents
THE DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL

written collaboratively by
Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Randall Colburn, Bob Fisher, Reina Hardy,
Warwick Johnson and Jeremy Menekseoglu.

directed by Bob Fisher

Cast: Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Anne Marie Boyer, Ashlee Edgemon, Gabe Garza, Vincent Lacey, Erin Myers, Sarah Scanlon, Skyler
Schrempp, Justin Warren. Also, Lindsey Dorcus.

Asst Director: Warwick Johnson
Set Design: John Ross Wilson
Costume and Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner

Performance Dates are as follows

Saturday March 5th
Friday March 11th
Saturday March 12th
Friday March 18th
Saturday March 19th
Friday March 25th
Saturday March 26th
Friday April 1st
Saturday April 2nd

All performances are at 10pm – BYOB
Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction,
horror, and phantasmagoria.


(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Monday, February 21, 2011

Meet the Cast - Ashlee Edgemon


Ashlee plays Dame Contrarian in the Dream Journal of Doctor Jekyll and is very excited to be working with The Mammals for the first time. After graduating from Western Illinois University in May, Ashlee moved to Chicago and has also already had the pleasure of working with Drury Lane Oakbrook and First Folio Theatre. Ashlee is also a theatre instructor at the Chicago Academy for the Arts and, in real life, doesn’t like cats. Love to Mom, Dad, and Colin.

Meet more of the team!
Scott Barsotti
Warwick Johnson
Ashlee Edgemon
Anne Marie Boyer
Jason Adams
Reina Hardy
Sarah Scanlon
Justin Warren



The Mammals Theatre Company presents
THE DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL

written collaboratively by
Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Randall Colburn, Bob Fisher, Reina Hardy,
Warwick Johnson and Jeremy Menekseoglu.

directed by Bob Fisher

Cast: Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Anne Marie Boyer, Ashlee Edgemon, Gabe Garza, Vincent Lacey, Erin Myers, Sarah Scanlon, Skyler
Schrempp, Justin Warren. Also, Lindsey Dorcus.

Asst Director: Warwick Johnson
Set Design: John Ross Wilson
Costume and Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner

Performance Dates are as follows

Saturday March 5th
Friday March 11th
Saturday March 12th
Friday March 18th
Saturday March 19th
Friday March 25th
Saturday March 26th
Friday April 1st
Saturday April 2nd

All performances are at 10pm – BYOB
Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction,
horror, and phantasmagoria.


(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Dream Journal Digital Trading Cards - Collect Them All!


Gabe Garza as Edward Hyde
click on image to enlarge

The Mammals Theatre Company presents
THE DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL

written collaboratively by
Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Randall Colburn, Bob Fisher, Reina Hardy,
Warwick Johnson and Jeremy Menekseoglu.

directed by Bob Fisher

Cast: Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Anne Marie Boyer, Ashlee Edgemon, Gabe Garza, Vincent Lacey, Erin Myers, Sarah Scanlon, Skyler
Schrempp, Justin Warren. Also, Lindsey Dorcus.

Asst Director: Warwick Johnson
Set Design: John Ross Wilson
Costume and Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner

Performance Dates are as follows

Saturday March 5th
Friday March 11th
Saturday March 12th
Friday March 18th
Saturday March 19th
Friday March 25th
Saturday March 26th
Friday April 1st
Saturday April 2nd

All performances are at 10pm – BYOB
Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction,
horror, and phantasmagoria.


(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Sunday, February 20, 2011

What is the Dream Journal of Doctor Jekyll?

What is the Dream Journal of Doctor Jekyll??

You are invited to attend a public exhibition by Professor Peale of his recently acquired macabre memorabilia... in particular the Dream Journal of Doctor Jekyll, a journal uncovered at the bedside of Henry Jekyll when the police were summoned to his apartments to investigate his mysterious death. The Dream Journal was labeled as such by the police officers on the scene who after reading the various phantasmagorical entries on its pages, surmised it had to have been a narrative of the Doctor’s dreams.

However, those who have studied the book challenge that speculation, believing that it can be only in part a Dream Journal. The Journal seems to be part memoir, part gothic phantasmagoria, possibly even penned by more than author. The tale it tells is a surrealistic one. Was Henry Jekyll a Schizophrenic? Was there ever an actual Edward Hyde? If so, was he a brother in hiding, a homosexual lover, an demon possessing the good doctor, or is it possible that Dr. Jekyll actually succeeded in his efforts to separate the human spirit into two halves, one good and the other bad?

Professor Oliver Mastodon Peale welcomes you to witness his hypnotized ensemble of sleepwalkers perform sections of the journal, so that you may decide for yourself if the Dream Journals are the genuine article or mere flapdoodle.

The Mammals Theatre Company presents
THE DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL

written collaboratively by
Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Randall Colburn, Bob Fisher, Reina Hardy,
Warwick Johnson and Jeremy Menekseoglu.

directed by Bob Fisher

Cast: Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Anne Marie Boyer, Ashlee Edgemon, Gabe Garza, Vincent Lacey, Erin Myers, Sarah Scanlon, Skyler
Schrempp, Justin Warren. Also, Lindsey Dorcus.

Asst Director: Warwick Johnson
Set Design: John Ross Wilson
Costume and Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner

Performance Dates are as follows

Saturday March 5th
Friday March 11th
Saturday March 12th
Friday March 18th
Saturday March 19th
Friday March 25th
Saturday March 26th
Friday April 1st
Saturday April 2nd

All performances are at 10pm – BYOB
Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction,
horror, and phantasmagoria.

(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Meet the Cast - Anne Marie Boyer



Anne is one half of a conjoined twin (or is it twins?) She just graduated from Bradley University with a double major in Theatre and English. She is new to Chicago, having just moved here at the end of May, and super excited to be working with the Mammals. She has always thought it would be fun to have a twin, so it is going to be exciting and ridiculous to play a Siamese twin in this show! Right now Anne is a production intern at Collaboraction and also working on 20% Theatre Company's upcoming production of Electra and Orestes. Favorite roles include Edward/Victoria in Cloud Nine, Mrs. Little and others in Stuart Little, and Cat in Pinocchio. Love to Mom, Cait, Andrew, Sarah and Dean. Enjoy the show!

Meet more of the team!
Scott Barsotti
Warwick Johnson
Ashlee Edgemon
Anne Marie Boyer
Jason Adams
Reina Hardy
Sarah Scanlon
Justin Warren




The Mammals Theatre Company presents
THE DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL

written collaboratively by
Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Randall Colburn, Bob Fisher, Reina Hardy,
Warwick Johnson and Jeremy Menekseoglu.

directed by Bob Fisher

Cast: Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Anne Marie Boyer, Ashlee Edgemon, Gabe Garza, Vincent Lacey, Erin Myers, Sarah Scanlon, Skyler
Schrempp, Justin Warren. Also, Lindsey Dorcus.

Asst Director: Warwick Johnson
Set Design: John Ross Wilson
Costume and Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner

Performance Dates are as follows

Saturday March 5th
Friday March 11th
Saturday March 12th
Friday March 18th
Saturday March 19th
Friday March 25th
Saturday March 26th
Friday April 1st
Saturday April 2nd

All performances are at 10pm – BYOB
Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction,
horror, and phantasmagoria.


(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Monday, February 14, 2011

Meet the Cast (and Authors) - Jason Adams



Jason Adams has been an actor and puppeteer in Chicago for almost seven years. His work has been seen at the Jim Henson Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, The Great Small Works Theatre in New York as well as various festivals and variety shows around Chicago.

He's thrilled to be working with the Mammals. Jason is both a writer and performer in The Dream Journal of Doctor Jekyll. He stars as Professor Oliver Mastodon Peale, a collector of the macabre as well as master of ceremonies for the Journal's exhibition! The professor is a physician, mesmerist, as well as a narcoleptic. He also is quite the enthusiast when it comes to strange dark things.

Jason also thanks his wife, Erin, for her endless patience.


Meet more of the team!
Scott Barsotti
Warwick Johnson
Ashlee Edgemon
Anne Marie Boyer
Jason Adams
Reina Hardy
Sarah Scanlon
Justin Warren


The Mammals Theatre Company presents
THE DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL

written collaboratively by
Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Randall Colburn, Bob Fisher, Reina Hardy,
Warwick Johnson and Jeremy Menekseoglu.

directed by Bob Fisher

Cast: Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Anne Marie Boyer, Ashlee Edgemon, Gabe Garza, Vincent Lacey, Erin Myers, Sarah Scanlon, Skyler
Schrempp, Justin Warren. Also, Lindsey Dorcus.

Asst Director: Warwick Johnson
Set Design: John Ross Wilson
Costume and Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner

Performance Dates are as follows

Saturday March 5th
Friday March 11th
Saturday March 12th
Friday March 18th
Saturday March 19th
Friday March 25th
Saturday March 26th
Friday April 1st
Saturday Arpil 2nd

All performances are at 10pm – BYOB
Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction,
horror, and phantasmagoria.


(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Friday, February 11, 2011

Meet the Cast - Justin Warren



Justin Warren plays Ulysess S. Utterson in the DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL. This is Justin’s first performance with The Mammals, and we certainly hope that it is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. He was most recently seen (and I mean you could practically see all of him) in Oracle’s production of Blood Wedding where he played The Moon. You can also see Justin as Jesus Christ in “An Empire of Faith”on funnyordie.com, again wearing nothing but a loin cloth. This man is not sexy enough to have his clothes off that much and we are hoping that he remains fully clothed for this production... but, we doubt he will. He would like to thank Bob for the opportunity to play with these guys. He would also like to thank the one person that doesn’t mind seeing him naked for her ability to calm him down when he starts to panic, his wonderful girlfriend, Sasha.

Meet more of the team

Reina Hardy
Sarah Scanlon

The Mammals Theatre Company presents
THE DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL

written collaboratively by
Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Randall Colburn, Bob Fisher, Reina Hardy,
Warwick Johnson and Jeremy Menekseoglu.

directed by Bob Fisher

Cast: Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Anne Marie Boyer, Ashlee Edgemon, Gabe Garza, Vincent Lacey, Erin Myers, Sarah Scanlon, Skyler
Schrempp, Justin Warren. Also, Lindsey Dorcus.

Asst Director: Warwick Johnson
Set Design: John Ross Wilson
Costume and Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner

Performance Dates are as follows

Saturday March 5th
Friday March 11th
Saturday March 12th
Friday March 18th
Saturday March 19th
Friday March 25th
Saturday March 26th
Friday April 1st
Saturday Arpil 2nd

All performances are at 10pm – BYOB
Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction,
horror, and phantasmagoria.


(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Dangers of Dreaming

While conducting dramaturgical forensics for our next show, one of our writers came across this macabre material! Enjoy!

Dissociation

Obsession with one’s own dreams can lead to many precarious circumstances. The borders between the waking world and the dream state are not to be fooled with lightly. Among the many lurking dangers that await those who entertain their dream self is the symptom of dissociation. This occurs when the protagonist of the dream has difficulty separating their actual waking memories from events that were dreamed.
The most common occurrence of dissociation is when your dream self finds a cherished item lost in your childhood and then your waking consciousness can not easily accept that the item will forever be missing. The constant pining for something that essentially no longer exists is very detrimental to one’s humours, and if the protagonist is diagnosed to have dissociation due to lucid dreaming they should be carefully monitored both while sleeping and while awake!

If you fear that you or a loved one has fallen prey to dissociation remain ever watchful for the following signs...

• Total lack of interest in hygiene while awake (It is easier to maintain a desired appearance while lucid dreaming)
• Ability to ignore extreme pain or what would normally cause extreme pain
• Always using their 'library' voice
• Confusion between remembering or reliving one's past
• Forgetting meal times and therefore eating up to 12 meals a day
• Recognizing voices but not faces
• Obsession with one's reflection in the mirror
• Flora and fauna seeming unreal
• Strange sounds
• Mysterious bruising
• Wearing clothes that were gleaned from the garbage during a "blackout"

Quoted from the pamphlet “Find Your Hands. The Mind Will Follow” by Robert Pescador, Phd Psychotic Cartography

The Mammals Theatre Company presents
THE DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL

written collaboratively by
Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Randall Colburn, Bob Fisher, Reina Hardy,
Warwick Johnson and Jeremy Menekseoglu.

directed by Bob Fisher

Cast: Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Anne Marie Boyer, Ashlee Edgemon, Gabe Garza, Vincent Lacey, Erin Myers, Sarah Scanlon, Skyler
Schrempp, Justin Warren. Also, Lindsey Dorcus.

Asst Director: Warwick Johnson
Set Design: John Ross Wilson
Costume and Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner

Performance Dates are as follows

Saturday March 5th
Friday March 11th
Saturday March 12th
Friday March 18th
Saturday March 19th
Friday March 25th
Saturday March 26th
Friday April 1st
Saturday Arpil 2nd

All performances are at 10pm – BYOB
Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction,
horror, and phantasmagoria.
(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.org

Meet the Authors - Reina Hardy



Reina Hardy is a playwright with credits in Chicago, New York, and
Muncie, Indiana. Her first play, "Erratica" made its professional
world premiere in July 2009 with Sacramento's Capital Stage, and is
now out from Original Works Publishing. Reina, a finalist for the
Clubbed Thumb Biennial Commission, and the Interact 20/10 Commission, has also had readings and productions with Orlando Shakespeare, Echo Theatre, and many others. Look for excerpts from her plays in "Audition Arsenal," "The Ultimate Audition Book" and "Best Scenes for Two Actors." Reina is a 2003 graduate of Columbia University, where she won the Brick Memorial Prize for playwriting. She is also founder and artistic director of the Viola Project, Chicago's best Shakespeare performance workshop for girls. Her next project, the Chicago premiere of "Erratica," will open with the American Demigods on 4/22 at Second Stage.

Meet more of the team!
Scott Barsotti
Warwick Johnson
Ashlee Edgemon
Anne Marie Boyer
Jason Adams
Reina Hardy
Sarah Scanlon
Justin Warren


The Mammals Theatre Company presents
THE DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL

written collaboratively by
Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Randall Colburn, Bob Fisher, Reina Hardy,
Warwick Johnson and Jeremy Menekseoglu.

directed by Bob Fisher

Cast: Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Anne Marie Boyer, Ashlee Edgemon, Gabe Garza, Vincent Lacey, Erin Myers, Sarah Scanlon, Skyler
Schrempp, Justin Warren. Also, Lindsey Dorcus.

Asst Director: Warwick Johnson
Set Design: John Ross Wilson
Costume and Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner

Performance Dates are as follows

Saturday March 5th
Friday March 11th
Saturday March 12th
Friday March 18th
Saturday March 19th
Friday March 25th
Saturday March 26th
Friday April 1st
Saturday Arpil 2nd

All performances are at 10pm – BYOB
Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction,
horror, and phantasmagoria.
(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Meet the Cast - Sarah Scanlon



Sarah Scanlon (EVE) is thrilled to be working with a group of people that seem to love horror films as much as she does. Sarah has been working primarily on new works for almost two years, and loves how different the process is from company to company. She has appeared with Redmoon Theater, The Strange Tree Group, The Building Stage, Babes with Blades, and The Factory Theater. Sarah also spends time being an aerialist (mostly fabric hammock and trapeze) and playing piano, dulcimer, and singing in the folk rock band, Left Turn at Albuquerque. Sarah spent some time performing and studying in Russia and is thrilled that Dream Journal feels like it could've come straight out of Moscow. Thanks to Billy for the unconditional support.

Meet more of the team!
Scott Barsotti
Warwick Johnson
Ashlee Edgemon
Anne Marie Boyer
Jason Adams
Reina Hardy
Sarah Scanlon
Justin Warren


The Mammals Theatre Company presents

THE DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL

written collaboratively by
Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Randall Colburn, Bob Fisher, Reina Hardy,
Warwick Johnson and Jeremy Menekseoglu.

directed by Bob Fisher

Cast: Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Anne Marie Boyer, Ashlee Edgemon, Gabe Garza, Vincent Lacey, Erin Myers, Sarah Scanlon, Skyler
Schrempp, Justin Warren. Also, Lindsey Dorcus.

Asst Director: Warwick Johnson
Set Design: John Ross Wilson
Costume and Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner

Performance Dates are as follows

Saturday March 5th
Friday March 11th
Saturday March 12th
Friday March 18th
Saturday March 19th
Friday March 25th
Saturday March 26th
Friday April 1st
Saturday Arpil 2nd

All performances are at 10pm – BYOB
Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction,
horror, and phantasmagoria.
(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

More Behind the Scenes! Meet the Professor and his Assistant!



Jason Adams as Professor Oliver Mastodon Peale and Vincent Lacey as his Assistant, H.F.

These guys are getting ready for some MAD SCIENCE! Come see them in THE DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL!!

More Behind the Scenes!
Contrarian Sisters
Lindsey, Scott, and Justin!
The Boys


The Mammals Theatre Company presents

THE DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL

written collaboratively by
Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Randall Colburn, Bob Fisher, Reina Hardy,
Warwick Johnson and Jeremy Menekseoglu.

directed by Bob Fisher

THE DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL - Professor Oliver Mastodon Peale invites you to view his cabinets of wonder where you will witness his troupe of sleepwalkers hypnotized into the belief that they are characters from the pages of The Dream Journal of Doctor Jekyll.

Who or what was Dr. Henry Jekyll? When police detectives arrived at the apartments of Dr. Jekyll, they found his body completely eviscerated in the bedchamber and resting on the table beside his midnight oil was a tattered and torn journal filled with imagery so bizarre that the police assumed it to be a catalog of the doctor's dreams. But was it? Is this journal memoir or fantasy? Professor Peale invites his audience to analyze the journal's cryptic narrative while Peale's pet somnambulists reenact the feverish stories inside The Dream Journal of Doctor Jekyll.

Forget what you know from the penny dreadful written by Robert Louis Stevenson. The Dream Journal of Doctor Jekyll exposes the legendary figure in a manner more faceted, more fantastical than ever before. Prepare for a pageant populated with Conjoined sisters, Schizophrenics, Parasitical Twins, Deviant "Hunchfronts", rabid felines and diabolical entities from the ‘other side’

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

Cast: Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Anne Marie Boyer, Ashlee Edgemon, Gabe Garza, Vincent Lacey, Erin Myers, Sarah Scanlon, Skyler Schrempp, Justin Warren. Also, Lindsey Dorcus.

Asst Director: Warwick Johnson
Set Design: John Ross Wilson
Costume and Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner

Performance Dates are as follows

Saturday March 5th
Friday March 11th
Saturday March 12th
Friday March 18th
Saturday March 19th
Friday March 25th
Saturday March 26th
Friday April 1st
Saturday April 2nd

All performances are at 10pm – BYOB
Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613

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

The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction, horror, and phantasmagoria.
(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.org

Monday, January 31, 2011

Behind the Scenes - Presenting the Contrarian Sisters



Ashlee Edgemon and Anne Boyer compete for the attention of Professor Peale. One loves him unconditional. The other schemes towards the Professor's demise! (Can you guess which is which?)

The Dream Journal of Doctor Jekyll opens March 5th!
Limited Run! Limited Seating!

All performances are at 10pm – BYOB
Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ave Ste B-1
Chicago, IL

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction, horror, and phantasmagoria.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Best of 2010? Hooray for SEVEN SNAKES!!!


We got some good news today! The Chicago Tribune put the Chicago Mammals' production of SEVEN SNAKES on its Best of 2010 Fringe listing. Thanks to the Trib for supporting the Fringe scene. Thanks to the cast and crew of SEVEN SNAKES. This review highlights Erin Orr (and rightly so), but I can tell you that this ensemble as a whole was excellent, dedicated... just a dream cast and crew. And thank you Chicago audiences for supporting us with your attendence and friendship!

Monday, December 13, 2010

DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL has its cast!

Thanks to everyone who auditioned!

Here's the cast and crew for

DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL

Congratulations to -

Professor Oliver Mastodon Peale – Jason Adams
H.F. – Vincent Lacey
Dame Contrarian – Ashlee Edgemon
Sissy Contrarian - Anne Boyer
Henry Jekyll – Scott Barsotti
Edward Hyde – Gabe Garza
Mister Utterson – Justin Warren
Jekyll’s Mother – Skyler Schrempp
Eve – Sarah Scanlon
Hydest – Erin Myers

Also with Lindsey Dorcus

Sets – John Ross Wilson
Costumes – Heidi J. Warriner

Assistant Director – Warwick Johnson

Written Collaboratively by – Jason Adams, Scott Barsotti, Randall Colburn, Bob Fisher, Reina Hardy, Warwick Johnson, and Jeremy Menekseoglu

Conceived and Directed by Bob Fisher

Monday, November 15, 2010

Possible Cast of Characters for DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL

Possible Cast (Character Names Subject to Change)

-Professor Antiquarian
-Assistant
-Jekyll
-Hyde
-Utterson
-Eve
-Madame Contrarian/Hydest (Performed by one actor/actress)
-Jekyll’s Father/Sister Contrarian (Performed by one actor/actress)

Character Descriptions

Professor Antiquarian – A collector of arcane and macabre memorabilia. A curator of sorts who seeks likeminded individuals with whom he can share the experience of reveling in mutual fascinations.

The Professor’s Assistant – Nowhere near as enthusiastic as the Professor regarding the subject matter of the macabre. But, he has been a trusted employee for a number of decades. The Assistant has earned the right to a small degree of obstinacy, but only so long as the tea is prepared just the way the Professor likes it.

Henry Jekyll – A Free-Thinker, A scientist, A Physician, An Entomologist, A seeker of truth, A man whose mission it is to eradicate the darkness from within the collective unconscious, or collective soul of the human race. Science is the key, but occasional dabbling with Mythology also occurs .

Edward Hyde – Could be anything. Perhaps the Schizophrenic sub persona of Jekyll. Perhaps the ego of a underdeveloped conjoined sibling. Perhaps a homosexual lover to Jekyll. Perhaps Jekyll himself completely surrendering to the impulse known as Id. An imaginary friend? A demon from hell toying with the Flesh that is Jekyll? Whereas Jekyll attempts to use science to cleanse humanity, Hyde would propose Magic and/or the Arts. Throughout the story, Hyde attempts many different mediums through which to work out and suppress that which is dark in mankind.

Mister Utterson – A longtime friend to the Jekyll Household ever since the days of the mysterious disappearing fetus. He has watched all his friends named Jekyll pass from this earth. He wants his young friend Henry Jekyll to outlive him. In order to do so, he has become quite the detective/busybody/surveyor of Henry. He wants what he thinks is best for Henry even if it is not what Henry appears to desire.

Jekyll’s Father – A man of science who loves reading mythology. A man who goes slightly mad after the death of his wife. He is obsessed with an insect that he found trapped in amber, a mosquito using its needle to pierce its own blood engorged abdomen. He dubs this oddity the Mosquito Ouroboros.

Hydest – The darkest part of Jekyll/Hyde personified.

Eve – When all attempts by Jekyll/Hyde at expunging darkness out of humanity seem to fail, they attempt to find solace in the arms of a woman named Eve. Instead every sliver of repressed fear, anxiety, fantasy, compulsion become manifest. Is Eve everything she appears to be to Jekyll and Hyde? Or is she just a beautiful woman who can not decide between the light and the dark? Victim or Villainess? To most men, Eve raises more questions than she answers. To most women, she is just another manifestation of the male gender’s problematic posture regarding anything feminine.

Madame Contrarian – One half of a conjoined twin. Madame has cast herself as the arch enemy of Professor Antiquarian. Believing him to be a charlatan, she does everything she can to discredit him and perceives herself to be in mortal combat with him. It doesn’t help that her conjoined twin, Sister Contrarian, is madly in love with the professor.

Sister Contrarian – Madly in love with the Professor but unable to repress the physical control of her conjoined twin, Madame Contrarian.

Monday, November 08, 2010

Thanks Again!



Hey Thanks again! This time from the Octogenarian Veterans!

Thank You Chicago



From the cast and crew... Thanks to our friends and audience!

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Dave Lykins



This guy is unstoppable!

Monday, November 01, 2010

Pictures From Skillet County

This is picture John Ross Wilson brought to our production meeting



This is what he made at the Zoo.





Put your hands together for John Ross Wilson.

BTW Friday night is sold out. Less than 5 seats left closing night at the time of this posting!

A big thank you to everyone who came and who is coming this weekend!!!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Only 3 more chances to catch SEVEN SNAKES


Click on the image to enlarge

Saturday Oct 30th is SOLD OUT.
The 3 other remaining performances are all half sold.

Due to scheduling, we can not extend. So, please help us fill the seats for all remaining shows!

If you've seen the show, please tell your friends how fantastic and unique Seven Snakes is!

Thank you Chicago!!!!

Here's the info!

Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th - Standing Room Only!!!
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th - Almost Sold Out - Hurry!

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Coming Soon - DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL


click to enlarge

Coming Spring 2011 - DREAM JOURNAL OF DOCTOR JEKYLL!!!

Right Now - SEVEN SNAKES!!! only 4 shows left!

Saturday Halloween Weekend is Sold Out! We have just a few tickets left for this Friday. Call 866-593-4614 for reservations!

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Getting Ready for Spring 2011 but we still have something for you in 2010!


click to enlarge

But before that... see Seven Snakes before we close on November 6th!

Looks like we got everyone's individual trading cards up!!!

We'll still have some new trading cards on the way, but we now have the entire cast's individual cards up! You can click on the links below to see any cards for the cast you might have missed!

Here is the cast in order of appearance!!

Roy Gonzalez as THE MAN

Jim Hicks as AGENT V
Erin Orr as THE DAUGHTER
Don Hall as MAMMA
Ian Brown as PRIVATE RADAR
Matt Kahler as THE COLONEL
Adam Dodds as SGT ROBERT RINGO
Vincent Lacey as CORPORAL CHEESE GRITS
Shane Michael Murphy as PRIVATE TOADSUCK
Sean Ewert as MR HEY
Riso Straley as SEGUNDO
Bert Matias as Chupa Fuerte
Miguel Nunez as CUCHILLO
Mojo Albiar as ANGEL
Warwick Johnson as AGENT FIDO

Closing Soon!!!!

Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th - Standing Room Only!!!
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th - Almost Sold Out - Hurry!

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

Ian Brown as Radar in SEVEN SNAKES


click image to enlarge

We are selling out! Saturday Oct 30th is standing room only!
So call us!

Closing Soon!!!!

Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th - Standing Room Only
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

Monday, October 25, 2010

Don Hall as Mamma in SEVEN SNAKES


click image to enlarge

We are selling out! Saturday Oct 30th is standing room only!
So call us!

Closing Soon!!!!

Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th - Standing Room Only
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

Friday, October 22, 2010

Adam Dodds as Robert Ringo in SEVEN SNAKES!


click to enlarge image

We have been recommended by WGN, Chicago Magazine, Chicago Tribune, Reader, New City, Timeout, ChicagoTheaterBlog, and more...

We are selling out! So call us!

Closing Soon!!!!

Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

Thursday, October 21, 2010

WGN! Chicago Magazine! Thank You from The Mammals

Thank you to WGN and Chicago Magazine for the thumbs up for SEVEN SNAKES!

Here's the link, go check it out!

P.S. Our Shows Halloween weekend are almost sold out! You got to get your tickets fast. Call 866-593-4614 for reservations!

Riso Straley as Segundo in SEVEN SNAKES




Closing Soon!!!!

Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

Sean Ewert as Mr Hey in SEVEN SNAKES


click on image to enlarge

Closing Soon!!!!

Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Jim Hicks as Agent V in SEVEN SNAKES


click on image to enlarge

Closing Soon!!!!

Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

SEVEN SNAKES is Recommended Again and Again and Again

SEVEN SNAKES is recommended again and again and again. There are only a few performances left. November 6th is closing night. This show can not be held over.

What the press is saying...

TIMEOUT CHICAGO says Somewhat Recommended "this sci-fi spaghetti Western set in a postapocalyptic future is some of the finest genre theater you’ll find—funny, visually striking, unexpected. For such a small space, the Mammals’ Ravenswood loft features a deep and dynamic playing area that’s used superbly. The large cast is well suited to the style, particularly Erin Elizabeth Orr as the forlorn young lover known as the Girl and Matt Kahler as the Colonel, a sort of Donald Rumsfeld–meets–Foghorn Leghorn villain. Throw in live music, guns, gruesome facial disfigurements and just about the best-ever birds-and-bees speech, and you’ve got the fixins for fine Western freakout."

CHICAGOTHEATERBLOG.COM give 3 out of 4 Stars "The play achieves the surreal state of 60s Westerns, parodying and doing homage to them at the same time. The priceless comic timing of the Colonel, Radar (Ian Brown), Sgt. Ringo (Adam Dodds), Corporal Cheese Grits (Vincent Lacey), Private Toadsuck (Shane Michael Murphy) and Mr. Hey (Sean Ewert) make lines like, “So, what about that drifter’s penis?” and “That is the art of camouflage, girly” ring hysterically and resonantly funny."

CHICAGO TRIBUNE give 3.5 out of 4 Stars "Rip-roaring but quiet when it needs to be, this new play finds a way to repurpose all those cinematic conventions for the stage — the violence, the suspense, the unsettling eroticism and mesquite-flavored dialogue. Fisher and his company (The Mammals) have been steadily working in and around various film genres for a while, and you can't argue with the results — the company might be one of the more exciting theater companies to emerge on the fringe scene in recent years."

CHICAGO READER short listed and Highly Recommended says "full-throttle performances, live electric guitar music in the style of Ennio Morricone's Spaghetti Western soundtracks, and atmospheric visual and sound design mark this inventive, low-budget production as the work of artists with a distinctive, compelling, and decidedly freaky vision."

Closing Soon!!!!

Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

Fernando "Mojo" Albiar as Angel in SEVEN SNAKES

Time is running out to see the highly recommended SEVEN SNAKES!!!!


click on image to enlarge

Closing Soon!!!!

Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Bert Matias is Chupa Fuerte aka Dirty Ol' Snake!


click on image to enlarge

Other Digital Trading Cards! Click 'em and get 'em all!

From God's Mouth to My Ears
Cheese Grits & Falafel
Bumper Sticker Slogans
My Heart Quickens

Cold Blooded
Good Over Right
I'm Running The Show
I Don't Want To Devour You
I Ain't Easy

Closing Soon!!!!

Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Warwick Johnson as Agent Fido


click on image to enlarge

Other Digital Trading Cards! Click 'em and get 'em all!

From God's Mouth to My Ears
Cheese Grits & Falafel
Bumper Sticker Slogans
My Heart Quickens

Cold Blooded
Good Over Right
I'm Running The Show
I Don't Want To Devour You
I Ain't Easy

Closing Soon!!!!

Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614

Monday, October 11, 2010

Vincent Lacey as Cheese Grits in SEVEN SNAKES!


Click on image to enlarge!

Starting this week, Seven Snakes is on Fridays and Saturdays!

Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

8pm - 20 Bucks

For reservations call 866-593-4614 or email us at themammals@gmail.com

Friday, October 08, 2010

New Seven Snakes Digital Trading Cards!

2 for 1 deal ends this weekend! Come See! Come See!


Click on image to enlarge!


Click on image to enlarge!

Want Tickets?

Remaining Shows!!!

Saturday Oct 9th
Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614
The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction, horror, and phantasmagoria.

(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Colburn on Fisher... Fisher on Colburn

Yes... I know how that sounds. My theatre buddy Randall Colburn came and saw SEVEN SNAKES and I went to see his latest GHOSTBOX. We did a little write up review of each others pieces under the precondition that it could be 10 mins of stream of consciousness writing, and that I would let whatever Randall had to say go up on the blog unedited.

BTW this is Randall.

I was going to put a gun in hand with photoshop, but alas no time...

So here first are Randall's thoughts on the Mammals' show, followed up by my thoughts on his production with Infusion Theatre Company.

COLBURN on FISHER
seven snakes what the hell is wrong with you bob ps: I totes dug it and i seriously I want your mind and I want your gusto I’m too scared to do what you do what with the huge cast and gender bending and genre bending and breaking and stomping and honoring and slathering a smushed bloody heart all over the proceedings at the same time and erin orr killed it but I don’t like to see her yell and scream so much and matt kahler was my favorite that funeral march dude with the kid radio thing I don’t know what it’s called but I don’t think I've seen anything like it in chicago theater ever and isn't that what we want to do create things no one has seen or things that feel fresh and interesting and not stupid and lame and boring and derivative and i liked roy gonzales a lot in this show i liked him in meatlocker more but he had more lines then so maybe that's that but he seems to fit into your universe and don hall is awesome but i don't understand why he was playing a woman but does it matter not really i don't think and i don't think we needed him around after the first 20 minutes not that i didn't enjoy his performance but it's like how dexter's dad on the show dexter needed to leave the show after the second season because it's like what do you do with him now and i was offput at times by how nasty the va guys were and thought sean ewert was great in his death scene and i'm not just saying that because he's my facebook friend and the secret agent dudes added some texture to the play and i love the way you play with sound it sounds so cavernous and creates this really thick awesome atmosphere but i didn't get why they were there really the whole thing where they were speaking into erin's brain kinda lost me but i liked the way they looked in the universe you know a lot of people call theater experimental which is kind of a dumb word and i kind of hate talking about what is experimental and all that other bs because it's like just make good art you know make something that feels authentic and real and dangerous and daring and ballsy and it will feel different and we don't need to impose difference and what i dig about the mammals is that its less about imposing weirdness and more about fulfilling a vision and while im kind of the opposite in terms of indulgence i think its really important to have a company like the mammals doing stuff like this that can kinda blow peoples minds a bit even if they dont get it or dont like it or dont care about it its about eliciting a reaction and provoking a response and not just trying to be cute and cuddly and witty and i think theatre should be a deeply personal and intense experience where the artists are putting themselves out there putting themselves on the line and even though theres nothing really realistic which is a dumb word about your plays they feel deeply personal and i can tell you care about them and sometimes i feel like no one cares and those are the worst days and i liked the lecherous older snake but i thought it was sorta lame that all the snakes got killed by one va guy i was prepared for all of them to go off the hook and shit but maybe thats a genre thing im not as familiar with and i love the way you fuck with genre it might be my favorite thing about your work how you subvert genre and fuse them and create a little genre monster and it's like for everything i don't like there's something i like even more and they're not boring and they fuck with genre and archetypes and okay im done go see it dont be lame bye.


So... now you know... go see my show SEVEN SNAKES!


and now...

FISHER on COLBURN
So many folks seemed to have gotten past god. But here it seems that you haven't. And to me that is refreshingly naked and raw in a way that opens one up to so much condescension. That is a risk that I don't see taken enough. But it is so private. Audacity of dread plus patience without menace. What the simplicity of the world holds for those who believe in demons. The differences between demons and ghosts and simple electrical surges. But I want to say that less is more here. And I wonder, were the ambiguities exorcised? Our did I just imprint my own spirits on the aural Rorschach.

Beckettian or Beckettesque (I like the later). Spoiler Alerts. Belief in something other than the material plane seems to be such a weird taboo in certain circles (and I think this Chicago Theater Circle is one of them). When the median is so atheistic, how do they digest your vision without looking down it? I guess we will see wont we? They can connect to the pain of a lost child... yes. They can focus on what is 'really' happening? But the characters' obsessions with the ethereal... can those who don't stay up late praying or talking to people who aren't 'in the room with you'... will they be moved? Or is it just 'make believe to the extreme' for them? Ghostbox made me think. That is wonderful. How sad it is to say how rarely I am forced to think like this in theatre.

Now the filmwork was both brilliant and well...a little too 'ring' for me. I liked the biblical quotes. I liked the way the frame widened at the end and saw everything on the beach. I liked the way the images were ghosts and in that way it didn't matter if ghosts were 'real'? Those images are impermanent and yet inescapable...seems like a ghost to me.

I like the light bulb, I like the electric shock at the mention of his name. I love your actress, I saw her in Curse of the Starving Class and her face is so expressive and endearing. The hope hurt me. I started shaking my head because I thought they were hurting themselves to much with hope. The play ends in hell but there is hope?

I don't know where your writing ends and the direction begins. It makes it hard for me to feel confidence in my commentary. I'll just assume everything belongs to you till I'm told differently.

The strength of the piece is its patience, but it is also its Achilles heel too. This piece to me is sort of a rebuttal to Sartre's too famous notion. Life is isolation. Hell is isolation. Other people are needed in order to escape this kind of hell.

I'm stopping now. I hope people tune their heart to the frequency this piece insists upon. That insistence is admirable. Maybe, I was right... perhaps Krapp does get the girl in the end?


Well, that's it. Go see Ghostbox (click here for info). And then go see SEVEN SNAKES!

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Chicago Tribune gives SEVEN SNAKES 3.5 Stars!!!

"Fisher and his company (The Mammals) have been steadily working in and around various film genres for a while, and you can't argue with the results — the company might be one of the more exciting theater companies to emerge on the fringe scene in recent years."

Want Tickets?

Remaining Shows!!!

Saturday Oct 2nd
Saturday Oct 9th
Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614
The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction, horror, and phantasmagoria.

(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Another great review for SEVEN SNAKES!

3 out 4 stars from Chicago Theater Blog!

"The play achieves the surreal state of 60s Westerns, parodying and doing homage to them at the same time. The priceless comic timing of the Colonel, Radar (Ian Brown), Sgt. Ringo (Adam Dodds), Corporal Cheese Grits (Vincent Lacey), Private Toadsuck (Shane Michael Murphy) and Mr. Hey (Sean Ewert) make lines like, “So, what about that drifter’s penis?” and “That is the art of camouflage, girly” ring hysterically and resonantly funny."

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

I Don't Want to be Cold Blooded - New Digital Trading Card!


click on image to enlarge

The Mammals Theatre Company presents

SEVEN SNAKES

written and directed by Bob Fisher
The Mammals are proud to present SEVEN SNAKES, an apocalyptic western set 30 years from now in the remains of what was once The Arizona desert. A Young Woman must choose sides as a Group of Octogenarian Veterans of Foreign Desert Wars engage in a mythic battle with a team of mysterious masked gunslingers known as the Seven Snakes.

Performance Nights are
...
Saturday Sept 25th
Saturday Oct 2nd
Saturday Oct 9th
Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614
The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction, horror, and phantasmagoria.

(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

New Digital Trading Card! Matt Kahler as The Colonel in SEVEN SNAKES!


click on image to enlarge

The Mammals Theatre Company presents

SEVEN SNAKES

written and directed by Bob Fisher
The Mammals are proud to present SEVEN SNAKES, an apocalyptic western set 30 years from now in the remains of what was once The Arizona desert. A Young Woman must choose sides as a Group of Octogenarian Veterans of Foreign Desert Wars engage in a mythic battle with a team of mysterious masked gunslingers known as the Seven Snakes.

Performance Nights are
...
Saturday Sept 25th
Saturday Oct 2nd
Saturday Oct 9th
Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614
The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction, horror, and phantasmagoria.

(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Monday, September 27, 2010

So far...so good! Seven Snakes is Highly Recommended twice!!

From the Chicago Reader, Highly Recommended review -

"full-throttle performances, live electric guitar music in the style of Ennio Morricone's Spaghetti Western soundtracks, and atmospheric visual and sound design mark this inventive, low-budget production as the work of artists with a distinctive, compelling, and decidedly freaky vision." click here to go to the review.

And from the New City, Recommended review -

"One wonders why he cast the eminently enjoyable and obviously male Hall in the strongest female role; drag doesn’t add to the character or story. But Orr brings enough pluck to stare down any testosterone imbalance. Kahler’s pomp spins out into fun menace. Adam Dodds, Vincent Lacey, Shane Michael Murphy and Sean Ewert are deliciously decrepit as the inhabitants of John Ross Wilson’s ghostly VA..." click here to go to the review.

Here's the info you need to see the show!

Remaining Performance Nights are
...
Saturday Oct 2nd
Saturday Oct 9th
Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614
The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction, horror, and phantasmagoria.

(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

SEVEN SNAKES opens SAT SEPT 25th!


click on image to enlarge

The Mammals Theatre Company presents

SEVEN SNAKES

written and directed by Bob Fisher
The Mammals are proud to present SEVEN SNAKES, an apocalyptic western set 30 years from now in the remains of what was once The Arizona desert. A Young Woman must choose sides as a Group of Octogenarian Veterans of Foreign Desert Wars engage in a mythic battle with a team of mysterious masked gunslingers known as the Seven Snakes.

Performance Nights are
...
Saturday Sept 25th
Saturday Oct 2nd
Saturday Oct 9th
Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

Cast: Fernando Albiar, Ian Brown, Adam Dodds, Sean Ewert , Roy Gonzalez, Don Hall, Jim Hicks, Warwick Johnson, Matt Kahler, Vincent Lacey, Bert Matias, Shane Michael Murphy, Miguel Nunez, Erin Orr, Riso Straley

Asst Director: Juan Castaneda
Set Designer: John Ross Wilson
Costume & Make Up Design: Heidi Jade Warriner
Music: David Lykins

All performances are at 8pm – BYOB

Zoo Studio
4001 N. Ravenswood Ste B-1
Chicago, IL 60613
Suggested donation $20.00.

Reservations can be made by calling 866-593-4614
The Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny through the genres of science fiction, horror, and phantasmagoria.

(866) 593-4614 * email: themammals@gmail.com

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Promise Me - Seven Snakes Trading Card


click to enlarge

Other Digital Trading Cards
Good Over Right
I'm Running The Show
I Don't Want To Devour You
I Ain't Easy

The Mammals are proud to present SEVEN SNAKES, an apocalyptic western set 30 years from now in the remains of what was once The Arizona desert.

A Young Woman must choose sides as a Group of Octogenarian Veterans of Foreign Desert Wars engage in a mythic battle with a team of mysterious masked gunslingers known as the Seven Snakes.

Performance Nights are
...
Saturday Sept 25th
Saturday Oct 2nd
Saturday Oct 9th
Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

8pm - 20 Bucks

4001 N Ravenswood Ave Suite B-1

Call 866-593-4614 for reservations!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Good Over Right - Seven Snakes Trading Card


Click image to enlarge

The Mammals are proud to present SEVEN SNAKES, an apocalyptic western set 30 years from now in the remains of what was once The Arizona desert.

A Young Woman must choose sides as a Group of Octogenarian Veterans of Foreign Desert Wars engage in a mythic battle with a team of mysterious masked gunslingers known as the Seven Snakes.

Performance Nights are
...
Saturday Sept 25th
Saturday Oct 2nd
Saturday Oct 9th
Friday Oct 15th
Saturdays Oct 16th
Friday Oct 22nd
Saturday Oct 23rd
Friday Oct 29th
Saturday Oct 30th
Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th

8pm - 20 Bucks

4001 N Ravenswood Ave Suite B-1

Call 866-593-4614 for reservations!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Monday, August 09, 2010

Thursday, August 05, 2010