Welcome to the World of Krampus

The sign in the middle of the woods welcomes you to TannenWald — a campground whose cabins were once popular with German immigrants at the turn-of-the-century, filled with their celebrations and traditions.

But now it sits unused for most of the year, quietly waiting for the few folks who trickle up from the big cities, visiting on vacations, weekend getaways, Midwestern Cabin Christmases. Sometimes they stay for a few days, sometimes they never leave.

Why don't you come and visit? It may feel like something is watching you from those woods, but surely it's just your imagination...

Strangeloop presents a choose-your-own-adventure style immersive experience into the world of Krampus! at WelcomeToTannenWald on Instagram. If you survive, you might even find yourself with some discount tickets to our production.

Krampus! at Christkindlmarket

Strangeloop Theatre will be one of eight companies performing throughout the day at Christkindlmarket, as part of the League of Chicago Theatres' Theatre Tag.

Grab a warm beverage and join us after work at 5:30 p.m. with a scene from our upcoming holiday production, Krampus!.

Krampus! is a tongue-in-cheek Christmas horror stage production (with nothing, but the eponymous Christmas demon, in common with the movie of the same name). The plot follows the Murray family as they get together for a final Midwestern cabin Christmas before the eldest daughter and her boyfriend move to New York. But it isn't enough that they have to deal with the usual drama that comes with Christmas. The Murray family has to do it in the isolation of a cabin in the woods, during a snow storm with a holiday devil running amok and only some peppermint schnaps to get them through it. 

For a full list of Theatre Tag performances and more information visit the event page.

Krampus! is already creeping out Chicago...

Krampus! is featured in The Chicago Creepout on Chicago Now. 

Strangeloop Theatre presents a delightfully frightful way to start out December properly with four nights of KRAMPUS! While based on the darker side of history, this play will ensure enough humor to keep any fears of Christmas devils at bay. As long as children are good, the cloven-hoofed, long-tongued, horned Krampus won't make an appearance to beat them with a stick, stuff them inside his bag, and kidnap them.

 Read the whole article here. And then get your tickets here!

Strangeloop announces casting, details for 'Krampus!' holiday show

He sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good...or he'll beat you with switches and rusty chains, stuff you in a basket and drag you to the fiery depths below...

...Oh yes, boys and girls, Krampus is coming.

It isn't enough that a family has to deal with the usual drama that comes with Christmas, but the Murray family has to do it in the isolation of a cabin in the woods, during a snow storm with a holiday devil running amok and only some peppermint schnaps to get them through it. Will there be enough Christmas spirit for all to survive?
 
This holiday season Strangeloop Theatre presents Krampus! written by Company Member Jacyln Jensen and Mike Wozniak and directed by Company Member Maria Burnham.

The cast includes: Jean E. Burr, Justin Fill, Sean Harklerode, Stefanie Johnsen, Allison McCorkle, Christopher Paul Mueller, Paul Tinsley, Michael Wagman and Chad Wise.

Who is Krampus? In European folklore, Krampus is the hell-bound companion of Saint Nicholas. With cloven hooves, a long tongue and goat-like horns, Krampus (also known as Black Peter) punishes the naughty children while Saint Nicholas rewards the good. 

This year Strangeloop expands its annual holiday show from two nights in one location to four nights in two locations. Krampus will be all around.

All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. On Monday, December 7, and Tuesday, December 8, you can find Krampus! at Mary's Attic in Andersonville (5400 N. Clark St., Chicago, 60640). And on Monday, December 14, and Tuesday, December 15, Krampus! will be at Underground Wonder Bar in River North (710 N. Clark St., Chicago 60654).

Tickets are $10 in advance via Brown Paper Tickets or $12 at the door.

Season 8 fundraiser wrapping up

We are winding up our fundraising campaign for Season 8 next week. This entire season we are focused only on new works, which while exciting are always a challenge to produce and market effectively. Known plays come with a built-in audience, but new plays by unknown or lesser-known playwrights require a bigger leap of faith on the part of companies to produces. But if no one produces these new works, how will your next new favorite play ever be seen?

Help us uncover these hidden gems by supporting their productions. Learn more about our season here and more about our development process here. We chatted with playwright Maria Burnham last weeks to learn more about her play Mitera, which will be our spring mainstage show. Read her interview here and watch a video about her inspiration for the show below.

Thanks to all who attended our 7th Anniversary Party & Karaoke Fundraiser! (There's still time to donate)

A big thank you to everyone who attended our 7th Anniversary Party and Karaoke Fundraiser on Saturday, October 17. We packed the basement of Matilda's in Lakeview and a rockin' time was had by all!

Santa and Krampus were there, as well as a Greek fortune teller reading coffee grounds. There were raffle gifts galore, readings of a few of our 5-Minute Plays written for donors, a preview of our holiday show Krampus! and, of course, karaoke — including a rousing rendition of Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want to Have Fun by our co-Artistic Director Brad Gunter and Company Member Michael Wagman.

If you missed the fun, or just want to relive the evening, a photo gallery of the happenings can be found here. Tag yourself or add your own photos to our Facebook page.

If you weren't able to attend, but still want to help support Strangeloop's 8th Season, there's still time to donate to our Kickstarter campaign. Maybe you attended, saw the 5-Minute Plays or had some biscotti and want more. Both are rewards for donors. Enjoyed that sneak peek at Krampus! and want to pick the brains of its creators over drinks? That's a reward too.

In addition, we have a matching donation challenge from a donor, who wishes to remain anonymous. Our donor is matching every dollar we receive up to $600 beginning now. Help us double your dollars by donating through October 28. And Strangeloop is a 401(c)3 non-profit organization, so your donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

Let's carry the fun throughout the 2015-2016 season!

Mother always knows best...even after she's dead

Strangeloop is in the middle of a capital campaign to raise funds for our 8th Season. Your donations will help support new and exciting works like Mitera — Strangeloop's mainstage production, which will go up in the spring of 2016. We recently sat down with playwright Maria Burnham to chat about her inspiration for the play.

What is Mitera about? Mitera is the story of three, single adult sisters who live at home and have their lives turned upside down when they find out their mother is still micromanaging their lives from beyond the grave. As the play begins, they discover their mother has left their entire inheritance contingent on the youngest sister marrying within a year of her death, otherwise everything goes to their oldest male relative in Greece. But the youngest sister is an unattached romantic who believes in marrying for love.

What does Mitera mean? Mitera, or (ἡ) Mητέρα, means mother in Greek.

Where did you get the idea for this story? There were several different things going on when I decided to write this piece. One was simply that I wanted to write roles for Greek-American actresses because that’s not something that exists. We play a lot of other ethnic groups that are more prevalent in theater – Italian, French, various Middle Eastern nationalities. I have no idea if Greek-American actresses will be cast in these roles, but I wanted to create that opportunity. Then when I started thinking about the actual story that I wanted to write, I kept coming back to my own mother and her desperate desire that my brother or I get married and produce some grandchildren. I wanted to explore how far a mother might go to force that desire onto her children.

Is this a story that will be relatable to people who aren’t Greek? Ultimately it is a story about love. Love between family members, the things people do for love, the bad choices people make in the name of love, the ridiculous lengths we go to out of love. That’s what makes all stories relatable regardless of setting. Audiences relate to Les Miserables despite having no firsthand experience with the French Revolution. It’s not the trappings of a play that make a story compelling or interesting to an audience, it’s the heart of the story being told.  


Can a Greek story be told without a wedding? Ha ha ha! Yes. I’m sure it’s possible, but ceremony and celebrations are a huge part of Greek life, and so it feels like there is always a wedding on the horizon. It seems like for most of my life there’s been talk of someone getting married or babies being baptized or someone’s funeral or memorial service…every time I talk to my parents I get the update on all these points from back home. 

And back home is? Jackson, Mississippi. It’s probably not the first place that pops to mind when people think of Greek-American communities, but there is a small Greek community there with ties to the larger Greek communities in Memphis and New Orleans. You can find us everywhere. 

Because everywhere needs diners? You joke, but that’s pretty true. 

So is this play influenced by your own life? In some ways, yes. I’d say the larger world I’ve set this in is most influence by my own life. The sisters in this play grew up in an insular community, like we have in Jackson, where everyone knows everyone else’s business – where people can be friendly to you, even as they are gossiping about you behind your backs. They are half Greek, like me, which makes you an outsider to two difference communities. Character-wise, Sharon, the youngest sister’s godmother, is definitely modeled on my own godmother, and the Greek cousin has shades of my oldest male cousin back in Greece – though Adonis is not quite as nefarious as Demitrios. The sisters, though, are not based on anyone. They just sort of sprung to life on their own.

Do you want to explain the photograph that is accompanying this interview? That is the playwright at the tender young age of 4 being forced to recite something at a Greek Independence Day celebration at my church. It’s probably the least humiliating of the things Maria was made to do as a child to celebrate her Greek heritage. Most of the others involved funny hats.   

What can people do to support this production? We can always use help raising awareness of the productions we mount. More immediately we have a fundraising campaign going on that will help pay for rehearsal and performance space rentals and costuming, set and prop needs. It’s not a play with a lot of spectacle, but it still costs money to produce. We have a karaoke fundraising party coming up on Saturday, October 17, at Matilda’s in Lakeview. It’ll be a lot of fun and I’ll be there reading futures in coffee grounds if you want a glimpse into one of the more bizarre Greek customs. Plus, of course, karaoke. But if people can’t make that, we also have a Kickstarter campaign going on through October. You can help us out from the comfort of your own home.