Founded in 2003, The Feral Chihuahuas sketch comedy troupe has performed over 100 shows in the Asheville area. They’ve attracted enthusiastic crowds at Fred’s Speakeasy, NC Stage, 35 Below, The Joli Rouge, The Grey Eagle, Asheville Brewing Company, The UNCA Quad, The Orange Peel, Hairspray, and The Future of Tradition. They’ve also been featured in Asheville’s own Fringe Festival and NCTC’s Stone Leaf Festival. However, their most committed following erupted humbly in a two-car garage in Woodfin, which is just north of Asheville, North Carolina. They took it upon themselves to convert the simple building into a small black box theater that would seat about twenty-three. The plan and challenge was this: Write, rehearse and produce a 30 to 45 minute show every other Friday for 14 weeks. They decided to perform the show twice so that the limited seating would allow for more people to see the performance. Their first season in “The Shedâ€, as it’s called, started slowly but built to some success, where even in the cold of December crowds of up to thirty would pile into “The Shed†with some even shivering outside peeking through the windows to watch the show. The second season in “The Shed†grew an even larger following where the last three weeks of performances saw as many as 70 people per show crowding around the garage to catch a glimpse of the funny. With parking at a premium it was time to upgrade. Though moving forward and upward has always been the goal, the Chihuahuas and their loyal early followers will never forget those unique experiences in that humble garage in Woodfin.
The Feral Chihuahuas formed through a common love of comedy and especially the form of sketch comedy. Drawing from several different styles, the Chihuahuas love to create comedy with social and political commentary, absurdism, satire and even existentialism. Their biggest influences are disparate but notable and include: Monty Python, Mr. Show, Upright Citizen’s Brigade, Second City and others. With a nod to Lenny Bruce, they are also known to push the bounds of comedy in an effort to remain edgy, smart and most of all funny.
Why the name Feral Chihuahuas? It was story related one night in the early days of the group by a founding member who has since left. He had met a friend in Waynesville at a grocery store who appeared broken up about something. The friend related that the family’s litter of baby goats had been killed the night before by a pack of Feral Chihuahuas. Apparently there is such a thing in the Bethel area, and purportedly these Chihuahuas had escaped or been turned loose from area subdivisions and formed a pack. As unbelievable as this sounds there have been other eyewitnesses to corroborate this phenomenon. When the story was finished, a light went off in our heads and we realized that the style of humor that we enjoyed was dark, but funny. Dark and funny like a pack of Feral Chihuahuas on the prowl. While they may be vicious little buggers, and might actually do some damage (small amounts anyway), it’s pretty funny to think of a terrorizing group of teeny little dogs frightening or attacking anyone.
2007 saw an upswing of promise for the Chihuahuas as they gained mobility and notoriety. The year began with the Chihuahuas being featured in three different shows at Asheville’s own Fringe Festival. They were also honored to be asked to perform with The Rebelles Burlesque, an Asheville performing icon. Apparently some of The Rebelles had made it out to “The Shed†and were impressed with the Chihuahuas performances and wanted to include them in some of their upcoming shows. The Chihuahuas appeared in The Rebelles St. Patrick’s Day: Peep Show Freak Show, and were even more honored to be asked to collaborate with The Rebelles on their farewell show. Billed as Halloween Haunted Murder Mystery, it was a well-received show selling out two full nights at the Grey Eagle in Asheville.
It was also a year for the Chihuahuas to upgrade their performance space and production value. They were asked to perform 10 shows for the Asheville Community Theater’s Summer Comedy Series in the 35 Below Theater. At last the Chihuahuas had a proper theater to perform in. New members were cast, new scripts prepared as everyone excitedly awaited this latest opportunity. While upgrading, the Chihuahuas were able to realize a long awaited dream. They were going to be able to incorporate film sketches into their live performances. This required even more prep time outside of the normal grueling weekly rehearsals for the live show. Not daunted by this challenge the Chihuahuas sold out all ten shows and had to add second shows on nine occasions to accommodate the demand. All and all it was a great year for the Chihuahuas and 2008 holds even more promise as they prepare for their 4th appearance in the Asheville Fringe Festival and their second season in the Summer Comedy Series.
The Feral Chihuahuas can be contacted at: (828) 280-0107 OR [email protected].
And visit our BRAND NEW WEBSITE! Talk to us on our forum, view pics, and more! www.feralchihuahuas.com.
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