Kill Me (2012)

By Scott T. Barsotti*
Directed by Jeff Christian**

Upon awakening from a post-traumatic coma, Cam is convinced that she has lost her ability to die. As her reaction to immortality rapidly shifts from invincible wonder to cosmic terror, her sanity begins to break. Fearing life eternal, Cam attempts suicide … again … and again … causing her sister and lover to grapple with nightmares of their own, born in the dream world, and the real one. Are the demons plaguing these women real or imagined … and is there ultimately a difference

Through relentlessly shifting dimensions, soundscapes, and mental worlds, Kill Me creates a lyrical horror story in which unending life proves worse than death.

Featuring:
Sasha Gioppo (Cam)
Casey Cunningham* (Wendy)
Michaela Petro* (Grace)
R. Christopher Maxwell (Paranoia)
Ele Matelan (Dread)
Jude Roche (Angst)
Matt Kahler (Despair)
Carly Ciarrocchi (Understudy)

Aly Renee Amidei* (Costume & Makeup Design)
Scott Tallarida** & Mikhail Fiksel (Sound Design/Composition)
John Wilson (Scenic Design)
Julian Pike (Lighting Design)
Scott T. Barsotti* (Creature Concept & Movement Design)
Anna M. K. Brenner* (Stage Manager)
Danielle McKenzie* (Production Manager)
Tiffany Keane (Assistant Stage Manager)
Crystal Portillo (Wound Effects)

*WildClaw company member
**WildClaw artistic associate

Press:

“Kill Me is a genuinely creepy 70-minute show from the only Chicago theater company to specialize in this particular genre … At Sunday’s packed matinee, appreciative theatergoers murmured with approval at regular intervals, including every time the knife went in.” – Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

“There’s no question that various horrors make their way to local theater stages in the course of any given year, but Chicago has only one theater troupe specifically dedicated to horror as a dramatic genre, and that’s Wildclaw Theatre, now offering the world premiere of Kill Me by company member Scott T. Barsotti.” – Jonathan Abarbanel, WBEZ

“Scott T. Barsotti’s effectively creepy new work … Jeff Christian’s atmospheric staging features strong acting as well as creeptastic use of a repurposed piano soundboard.” – Kris Vire, Timeout Chicago

“This play is a lot of fun. Nobody else in town does what WildClaw does. Kill Me looks fantastic, with special kudos going to John Wilson’s Frankenstein set. And then there’s [Mikhail Fiksel and Scott Tallarida’s] sound design, which emanates mostly from a gutted turned-up piano and a surrounding assembly of instruments that suggests they found Dick Van Dyke from the old Mary Poppins movie, skinned him alive, then hung him out to dry.” – Alex Huntsberger, Centerstage

“Play[s] out like a cross between ‘Hellraiser’ and ‘In My Skin.” – Zach Freeman, New City

“Revolutionarily new… this femme powered production is moodily directed by Jeff Christian. Amidei’s haunted costumes and make-up, Barsotti’s plasticized movement work and the magnificent sound design by Scott Tallarida and Mikhail Fiksel all make the production an ultimate feast for the senses… Barsotti proves himself to be a major playwright in the making … Throw in vibrant performances from Casey Cunningham and Michaela Petro and truly spooky work from Jude Roche and Ele Matelan (whose demented cackles provide the show’s most chilling moments) and you’ll discover that Wildclaw has truly invented an unusual evening of theater here.” – Brian Kirst, Sheridan Road Magazine

“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – 3 1/2 Stars (out of 4) … Kill Me is a fantasy nightmare for the believer and the disbelievers. Playwright Scott T. Barsotti wrote a phantasmagorical tale. At the heart of it is love. Barsotti makes the stakes high and the characters engaging. (Michaela) Petro spins out of control with an edgy but steady decline. Petro is poignant reacting with relatable but disconcerting helplessness. (Casey) Cunningham is definitely in control. She plays it somewhere between big sister therapist and whatever-happened-to-baby-Jane caretaker. At the soul of it is Sasha Gioppo (Gam). Gioppo perfectly illuminates both innocence and lunacy. Costume and Makeup Designer Aly Renee Amidei knows how to portray demons. And these guys look like their names: Paranoia, Dread, Angst, Despair. Each bad feeling is distinct, spooky and just how I visualize them. Making it sound like my worst nightmare, Sound Designers and Composers Scott Tallarida and Mikhail Fiksel fill the space with booming music. It starts in my ears and reverberates through my body … Although I anticipated the signature WildClaw gore-fest, Kill Me was a different kind of terror. It was more heart-tugging horrific than hair-raising horror.” – Katy Walsh, Chicago Theater Beat, Chicago NOW