The Feral Chihuahuas

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 Shed", 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.

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 at feralcomedy@yahoo.com

Check us out online at http://www.myspace.com/feralchihuahuas