Archive
Over two decades of avant-garde performance in Chicago — from the phantasmagoric early works to the critically acclaimed All Girl Project. Fifteen productions. One uncompromising vision.
Adapted from Bram Stoker — The All Girl Project, Vol. IV
The most technically ambitious production in the All Girl Project, All Girl Dracula marked the Mammals' move to a new performance space — the basement of 4001 N. Ravenswood. Stoker's gothic vampire narrative was reimagined with an all-female ensemble and augmented by video work, puppetry, and projections. Fisher described the piece as containing 'many multi-faceted elements' — an extension of the multimedia experimentation that had been building since Devils Don't Forget.
Adapted from Edgar Allan Poe — The All Girl Project, Vol. III
Six one-act plays adapted from Poe's most haunting poems and short stories, each directed by a different collaborator: The Black Cat, The Raven, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Imp of the Perverse, and The Masque of the Red Death. The final segment — Masque of the Red Death — was told entirely through music, dance, and costume, pushing the All Girl Project into new formal territory.
Written by Bob Fisher, Sean Ewert & Marty Grubbs
A late-night BYOB theatrical event in which John Waters (played by Sean Ewert) sits down to dinner with Divine (Marty Grubbs) — who has returned from the dead to reclaim her title as the filthiest person alive. A 45-minute celebration of transgression, camp, and the enduring power of outsider art.
Written & Directed by Bob Fisher
A fierce, politically charged production that channeled the Mammals' signature blend of mythology and contemporary commentary. The work engaged with gender politics and the absurdities of legislative power, reviewed by NewCity Stage in March 2014.
Adapted from Mary Shelley — The All Girl Project, Vol. II
The second entry in the All Girl Project took on Mary Shelley's foundational horror novel — the only work in the series written by a woman. An all-female cast tackled the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature, exploring the warring forces of creation and destruction. Reviewers described the production as more akin to sculpture, film, dance, performance art, or poetry than strictly narrative-based theater.
By Samuel Beckett
The Mammals' production of Beckett's existential masterpiece was extended by popular demand, running through February 2013. Under Bob Fisher's direction, the cast brought a gripping energy to the play's meditation on the absurdity of existence — maintaining Beckett's honest but dark vision while making it accessible to a new generation of Chicago audiences.
Written by Randall Colburn & Bob Fisher
A southern gothic tale of newlyweds Frank and Marie — country western one-hit wonders whose fortunes take a dark turn when they become entangled in a snake-handling church. Inspired by Georg Büchner's Woyzeck, shaped note hymnals, classic country, and murder ballads, the production premiered October 13, 2012 at Zoo Studios and was extended due to demand. One of the most celebrated productions in the Mammals' history.
Adapted from Herman Melville — The All Girl Project, Vol. I
The production that launched the All Girl Project — an ongoing series in which women play roles generally reserved for men. Nine actresses fully inhabited the masculine world of Melville's obsessive masterpiece: Ahab, the Whale, Starbuck, the entire crew. The production boasted impressive production values and an ethereal atmosphere, earning critical praise across Chicago's major theatre publications.
Written & Directed by Bob Fisher
A darkly comic Western riff on Sergio Leone, the Coen Brothers, and David Lynch. When a wounded man arrives at a remote compound, a young woman is drawn into a mythical world of passion and danger. The production featured an ensemble of fifteen, with only two female roles — a disparity that would directly inspire the creation of the All Girl Project. Recommended by both the Chicago Reader and Chicago Tribune.
Written & Directed by Bob Fisher — Remounted Revival
Six years after its acclaimed premiere at Bailiwick Repertory, Breed With Me was remounted at Zoo Studios — a testament to the production's enduring power and the Mammals' growing reputation. The revival featured Ron Kroll and Sara Gorsky in the lead roles and earned a Recommended notice from NewCity Stage. The remount confirmed Breed With Me as one of the defining works of the Mammals' early period and a cornerstone of the Noir Triptych.
Written & Directed by Bob Fisher — World Premiere
A noirish sci-fi thriller about a photographer with a secret, held captive by a monosyllabic giant and an alien femme fatale who resembles a hung-over Gloria Swanson. The original production at Bailiwick Repertory evoked both the look and spirit of classic noir films — Detour, Sunset Boulevard, The Big Heat — while packing genuine existential dread into a lean, 50-minute running time. Part of the Mammals' Noir Triptych. The production's success led to a full revival six years later.
Written & Directed by Bob Fisher — Noir Triptych, Part III
The third and final chapter of the Noir Triptych, completing the arc begun with Breed With Me and continued through Devils Don't Forget. A down-and-out fighter is haunted by the ghost of an ex-mentor who warns him that if he goes down for the count, he'll never get up. When approached to take a dive, the fighter refuses — to perilous consequences. Performed in the basement space at Zoo Studio, the production's raw, claustrophobic setting became an integral part of the experience — a bleak cocoon for the unthinkable. NewCity Stage called it Recommended and singled out the entire cast for praise.
Written & Directed by Bob Fisher
An amnesiac tries desperately not to remember his past, convinced he was an accessory to some unspeakable evil. Part of the Mammals' Noir Triptych, this production ran at RBP – Rorschach Space in May 2009, featuring a cast of eight performers in a darkly comic exploration of guilt, memory, and moral complicity.
Adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson — Third Remount
The third remount of Clay Continent — described by the company as a "basement revival" and a return to roots — marked sixteen years since the original production. The 2016 cast featured Erin Orr as Edward Hyde and Anthony Stamilio as Henry Jekyll, with guest performer David Ford Lykins as Utterson the Attorney. Performed as a late-night production at Zoo Studios, the run also served as a prelude to the announcement of the next All Girl Project installment: All Girl Master Builder.
Adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson — Second Remount
The second remount of Clay Continent marked a pivotal moment in the Mammals' history: Bob Fisher cast Jen Ellison as Henry Jekyll — the first time the company placed a woman in a role traditionally written for a man. That single casting decision transformed the company's vision and commitment, directly planting the seed that would grow into the All Girl Project two years later. NewCity gave the production a Highly Recommended notice.
Adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson — First Remount
The first remount of Clay Continent, returning to The Space on N. Damen. Polished and perfected from the original's chaotic edge, the 2002 production achieved a cool intelligibility crucial to the language-intensive work — streamlined blocking, refined sound design that retained its throbbing menace. Actors Alex Honzen, Derek Smart, and Ron Kroll brought greater authority and focus to their collective portrait of schizophrenia. The Chicago Reader called it "often ingenious."
Adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson — World Premiere
An aural pageant of diabolical villainy constructed from texts by Robert Louis Stevenson, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and Edgar Allan Poe. Inspired by the grotesque portraiture of Francis Bacon, the production recounted one doctor's desperate attempt to overcome evil through science — creating a compelling soundscape in which multiple personalities inhabiting the doctor's body vie for dominance over their collective flesh. The raw fury and chaotic edge of this original production earned immediate critical attention and established the Mammals as a company specializing in singularly dark, immersive, late-night experiences. The production's success led to three subsequent remounts over the following sixteen years.
Written & Directed by Bob Fisher
Co-produced with Rubber Monkey Puppet Company, The Devil Vet is an affecting parable about a Transylvanian mad scientist haunted by the ghosts of his failures. Drawing on Tod Browning's Freaks and Herk Harvey's Carnival of Souls, the production featured 3D shadow-puppet dream sequences by Patrick McCarthy — a curious, thoroughly engaging patchwork of high-minded performance tropes and lowbrow archetypes.
Adapted from August Strindberg
An adaptation of Strindberg's 1902 masterwork, performed at Chopin Studio as part of the 11th Annual Around the Coyote Festival. The production announced the Mammals' arrival with extravagant emoting, autoerotic choreography, Grand Guignol images, and seamless aural accompaniment — condensing elephantine pageantry into an elegant, multisensory tone poem running just over an hour.
The Mission
"The Chicago Mammals explore performance works embracing themes of history, mythology, and destiny using the genres of science fiction, horror, and phantasmagoria."