Mitera Bio: Mike Wozniak

Mike Wozniak (Graphic Design). Born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., Mike is a Chicago-based graphic designer and illustrator. He is a graduate of Mercyhurst College. He co-wrote Strangeloop's 2015 holiday show, Krampus! and has thoroughly enjoyed working with Strangeloop this season.

Krampus! isn't done yet!

You still have two more chances to see Krampus! beginning tonight, December 14, at Underground Wonder Bar in River North. But seating is limited at this location and tickets are going fast, so buy in advance and get there early!

Krampus! is a "hilarious" tongue-in-cheek Christmas horror story (that "amassed riotous laughs from the crowd"...but don't take our word for it. Click the link for a review...) about what happens when family bickers too much and holidays too little while a Christmas demon is on the prowl.

The original story, written for the stage by Jaclyn Jensen and Mike Wozniak, follows the the Murray family as they get together for one last Midwestern cabin Christmas before the eldest daughter and her boyfriend move to New York. But it isn't enough 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.

Directed by Maria Burnham, the full 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.

Thanks to everyone who attended Krampus! at Mary's Attic last week, and to everyone who came out to Christkindlmarket Chicago earlier this month, as part of the League of Chicago Theatres' Theatre Tag.

The final two performances of Krampus! take place tonight, December 14, and Tuesday, December 15, at Underground Wonder Bar in River North (710 N. Clark St., Chicago 60654). Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. More information is available on our website.

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

Krampus! Bio: Mike Wozniak

Mike Wozniak (Playwright). Born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., Mike is a Chicago-based graphic designer and illustrator. He is a graduate of Mercyhurst College and has thoroughly enjoyed working with Strangeloop this season.

New trailer for Krampus!

Ready to be spooked? Here's a little bit of scary to start your day:

This holiday season Strangeloop Theatre presents Krampus! written by Company Member Jacyln Jensen and Mike Wozniak and directed by Company Member Maria Burnham.

Krampus! is a 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. 

The Krampus! schedule is below. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m.:

• Monday, December 7, at Mary's Attic in Andersonville
• Tuesday, December 8, at Mary's Attic in Andersonville 
• Monday, December 14, at Underground Wonder Bar in River North
• Tuesday, December 15, at Underground Wonder Bar in River North

Mary's Attic is located at 5400 N. Clark St. in Chicago. The Underground Wonder Bar is located at 710 N. Clark St. in Chicago.
 
Tickets are $10 in advance via Brown Paper Tickets or $12 at the door. There's also a secret discount code available via WelcomeToTannenWald over on Instagram...if you're brave enough to face Krampus and win.

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.

Come a little closer...The Krampus is waiting for you

October is a spooky time of year. Ghouls and goblins come out to play. Cold winds blow in. Drunk football fans spill out of bars. And Strangeloop is deep into planning for our upcoming production, Krampus! But this devil isn't meant for Halloween. Oh no. This Christmas demon is as old as Saint Nick himself.

Strangeloop recently sat down with playwrights Jaclyn Jensen and Mike Wozniak to learn a little more about Krampus — the tradition and the script.

Who is Krampus?

Mike: Krampus is the bad cop to St. Nicholas' good cop. He began as an Austrian-German folk tale to frighten children into being good.

Jaclyn: As far as being Santa’s counterpart - You don’t get coal in your stocking if you’ve been naughty. Krampus comes for you if you’ve been naughty. From the lore, he would chain up the naughty children and beat them with reeds. Or put them in a burlap sack to toss in a river and drown them. It’s pretty dark.

Why Krampus and why now?

M: It started with the Christmas song It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. A few years ago I noticed the lyric: “There'll be scary ghost stories, and tales of the glories of the Christmases long, long ago”. Since we love ghost stories, I wanted to know where that came from, and how we could incorporate it into our holidays. Turns out it was a Victorian tradition to tell ghost stories. But when looking for that, I rediscovered Krampus.

J: I seriously didn’t know that until now. That’s awesome.

Where did you get the idea for this script?

J: Mike is the one who introduced me to Krampus. He’s a natural storyteller and always has ideas for great stories. He actually had several other possible Krampus plotlines in mind, including some really complicated period pieces. But we decided we wanted to explore the idea of Krampus terrorizing one family that could be just like ours.

M: We combined a lot of ideas. A story my third grade teacher Sister Clarissa told me, and a lot of campy horror movies, like the Evil Dead series.

Tell us about your love of horror?

J: Some of my earliest movie memories are horror movies. I was raised on it. And I actually find that the older I get, the more horror movies scare me. I love being scared. Haunted places, ghost stories, all of it.

M: I’ve always watched horror movies on Halloween as far back as I can remember. And much to my mother’s chagrin, my grandmother told me ghost stories growing up.

What was the most difficult part about writing this script?

M: For me, it was paring down ideas. I kept bombarding Jackie with ideas, and she’d have to edit me so that we could have a manageable number of things happening.

J: There were lots of difficult parts. But I would say writing actual scary moments was the hardest part. We had a lot of funny ideas, but we hope to actually scare people.

What other writing have you done? 

J: I had a few random projects from when I was a student in high school and college. And I did a bit of sketch writing when I first moved out to Chicago, to try to bring some of my own ideas in to a troupe I was performing with. But my writing projects prior to Krampus! were always “assignments”, and not something I wanted to do for me. I really enjoyed writing this, and Mike was a great writing partner. 

M: Other than helping out a bit on TV and web spots for work, I haven’t done much.

Is this a play that non-horror fans would enjoy?

J: I think so! There is a lot of humor as well, and I think everyone will be able to find characters and moments to identify with.

M: It has something from everyone. To paraphrase Bill Murray, it’s a meatloaf of a play.

What can people do to support this production?

J: So many things – We’ve got a fundraiser party coming up at Matilda’s on October 17th, and a Kickstarter campaign going on right now. Helping fund this project would be a huge help to make sure we can afford to give audiences a proper scare.

M: Come see it as many times as you can, and tell your friends.

What else would you like people to know about this play?

J: There is so much more to know about Krampus than can fit in one play. There is SO much lore that is very interesting. So learn more about Krampus. There are tons of Krampus stories, books, and movies – and every story will be unique.

M: It’s the dark side of Christmas, and we want you to discover it.

Help support Krampus! and all of the unique and original programming that will make up Strangeloop's 8th Season. Come party with us at our Seventh Anniversary Party and Fundraiser, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, October 17, at babyATLAS (Matilda’s downstairs room), located at 3101 N. Sheffield Ave., Chicago, IL 60657. Admission is $10. OR, consider a donation of any amount here, and take home some sweet or scary gifts.

Get your Thinking Caps now!

Thinking Caps are now on sale online at Brown Paper Tickets!

Everyone who is anyone already has one. Don't get left behind in the boring old real world! Join us in the virtual one!

(Poster design by Mike Wozniak)