...a twisted x-mas play by Angus Kohm
The Blood On Santa's Claws is a bit of an oddity in Angus Kohm's catalogue of plays. It's very short (about 15 minutes long), and was originally written for a evening of theatre called Six Twisted X-mas Tales. The show was canceled, due to scheduling problems, and The Blood On Santa's Claws disappeared into the deep dark abyss of unproduced scripts.
Kohm had written the play as an homage to Christmas horror films, like Black Christmas and Christmas Evil (aka: You Better Watch Out), which are personal favorites of his. He made a point of tracking down every Christmas horror film he could, and then he attempted to create a crazy, compact little comedy play which would combine all of the best (and worst) elements of these movies. Call it a satire, call it a tribute, The Blood On Santa's Claws stands on it's own as a fun, funny comedy about Christmas, greed, lust, murder, and two very different, very insane serial killers.
A couple of years later Kohm wrote his most popular and successful play, Sorority Girls Slumber Party Massacre: The Musical, which continues to be produced regularly in Canada and the USA. What people don't realize, is that The Blood On Santa's Claws was kind of like an early, forgotten version of Sorority Girls... Perhaps a close cousin, of sorts. Kohm was making his first attempt to capture the essence of horror films (and particularly ones that deal with insane murderers) in a silly comedy play. Because The Blood On Santa's Claws was never produced, and had all but vanished, Kohm borrowed a couple of things from it when he wrote Sorority Girls... Most noticeably, the character of Alvin appears in both plays. They are not the same guy, of course, but they could be close relatives. Those who know Sorority Girls... will recognize a few other similar details. The two plays are ultimately very different, but fans of Sorority Girls... will find that reading (or seeing a production of) The Blood On Santa's Claws will give them a whole new bit of insight into how the later play started to develop.
In December of 1999, The Blood On Santa's Claws was given its first public presentation - but not by Angus Kohm or Rubbed Raw. It was Cherry Red Productions of Washington D.C. that included the play as part of their Christmas Special - exactly four years after the play had first been intended for production (and two years after Sorority Girls... had taken the fringe festival circuit by storm).
Kohm had almost forgotten about the play, and was surprised to discover the special relationship that it had with his biggest hit. But he was delighted that it was finally being seen by an audience. Plays are, after all, meant to be done, and they don't really come alive until they are performed on a stage. Kohm hopes that The Blood On Santa's Claws will continue to be performed by groups looking for Christmas plays, horror comedies, or short plays for special events (either as part of an evening of several plays, or just as a stand alone presentation). It might even make an interesting curtain raiser for groups presenting Sorority Girls...
The Blood On Santa's Claws
by Angus Kohm
by Angus Kohm
Short One Act Comedy;
4 Characters: 2 Female, 2 Male
Running Time: 15 minutes;
Can be produced on a bare stage;
Few props; simple costumes;
4 Characters: 2 Female, 2 Male
Running Time: 15 minutes;
Can be produced on a bare stage;
Few props; simple costumes;
Copies of the script are available for $4.95 each.
To Order:
Or for information on obtaining the professional or amateur rights to The Blood On Santa's Claws, contact Angus Kohm c/o Rubbed Raw:
144 Carpathia Road
Winnipeg, MB
R3N 1S7
Canada
e-mail: rubbedraw@mts.net
144 Carpathia Road
Winnipeg, MB
R3N 1S7
Canada
e-mail: rubbedraw@mts.net
Make cheques (or money orders) payable to: Rubbed Raw. Please add $2.00 for shipping and handling to all orders.
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