Angus Kohm

Manitoba Association of Playwrights

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Angus Kohm
Biography:
Playwright and musician Angus Kohm is probably best known for his off the wall musical parodies of B-movies and horror films (of which he is a huge fan). He studied film at university, where he did a semiotic analysis of women's prison films. He is also the proud owner of one of the world's largest collections of Charles Bronson movies. His plays have been seen at Fringe Festivals all over Canada. He lives in Winnipeg, is the Manitoba Rep on the National Council of the Playwrights Guild of Canada, and is currently the editor of ellipsis... The Newsletter For Manitoba Playwrights.
Visit his website at http://www.autobahn.mb.ca/~kohma
Plays:
A Man With A View
Two salesmen and a pair of binoculars in a high rise office building. A dark comedy about the consequences of voyeurism.
Short One Act (10 minutes); Comedy; 2 m
First produced by the MAP Short Shots series, 1995.
Bad Girls Jailhouse
A crooked warden, sadistic guards, bloodthirsty convicts, and one innocent woman clash behind bars in a white hot story of violence, revenge, and singing and dancing. Yes, it's a musical spoof of women's prison films, featuring such obligatory incidents as a strip search and a shower scene - all set to music!
"Good nasty fun," says the Toronto Globe and Mail.
"Kohm is the Andrew Lloyd Webber of women's prison musicals," says the Winnipeg Free Press.
Full Length; Musical Comedy; 7 f
First produced at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, 1994.
The Blood On Santa's Claws
A heartwarming holiday tale of murder, lust, and revenge, this short piece pays homage to every Christmas horror film ever made.
Short One Act (fifteen minutes); Comedy; 2 f, 2 m
First almost produced in 1995, it had its first public presentation in December 1999 by Cherry Red Productions of Washington, D.C..
The Corporate Whores
A Vice-President of a large corporation experiences the worst personal and professional crisis of his life. The result is a cynical and absurdly hilarious expose of Corporate Crime.
One Act; Comedy; 2 f, 1 m
First produced at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, 1993.

The Inner City Dead
Out of the crumbling and deserted streets of 'the forbidden zone' they come... The freaks, the weirdos, the flesh-eating maniacs with no detectable pulse... They're homeless... They're hungry... They're dead... No wonder they're so pissed off! Featuring ruthless gangsters, crooked politicians, nosy high school reporters, escaped mental patients, lowlife burglars, homeless panhandlers, and radioactive zombies... It's the most fun you'll ever have with corpses... we hope!
One Act; Comedy; 3 m, 3 f (principles); 10 - 20 m or f (as various parts, including zombies)
First produced as a special fund-raiser for MAP in April of 1998.
I Was A Teenage Zombie
Welcome to Horror High, where every teenage dream becomes a nightmare! I Was A Teenage Zombie is a musical comedy about high school students. It is written in the style of classic B- horror movies, such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers or Night of the Living Dead. The real life horror of compromising one's own identity to 'fit in' is akin to the B- movie horror of realizing that one is slowly turning into a monster. Many of the old movies used zombies or aliens taking over people's bodies as a metaphor for communism taking over the 'free world'. I Was A Teenage Zombie uses those same techniques, but it is not a political story. It substitutes popularity (or the quest for it) for communism, and 'free thinking individuals' for the 'free world'. I Was A Teenage Zombie is intended to be both an homage to/satire of old horror movies, as well as a thought provoking exploration of the real life social 'horrors' of being a teenager. It is designed to be performed by teenage casts (in school productions) and enjoyed by audiences of all ages.
"I recommend I Was A Teenage Zombie for production in any high school setting. It's a topical, entertaining musical that perfectly suits the needs of high school drama teachers and their students." -- Randal Payne, J.H. Bruns Collegiate, Winnipeg, MB
Two Act; Musical Comedy; 5 f, 4 m; (+ 5 - 50 either)
First Presented at Manitoba Theatre for Young People, 2004

Just Another Day
It's Roger's 25^th birthday, but he isn't going to admit it. He's gone to work at the same crummy job he's had since high school. The last thing he wants is attention - but that's exactly what he gets. It's the comedy that proves your never too young for a mid-life crisis.
One Act; Comedy; 2 f, 2 m
First produced by Theatre Projects Manitoba, 1998.
The Rape Of My Bad Body
Referred to as "objectionable" and "disturbing", this play raises questions which many people are afraid to answer. It is set in the back room of a restaurant, where three employees are trying to amuse themselves.
One-act; Drama; 2 f, 1 m
First produced at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, 1992.

Samantha Panther, P.I. - Tough Girls Don't Sing.
A loving parody of hard boiled detective novels, written as an homage to Mickey Spillane on his 80^th birthday (in 1998). It's a role reversal of the classic hard boiled detective format; this time the woman is the tougher than nails detective and the men are the lovely but deadly sex objects.
55 minutes; Comedy; 1 f
Features two original songs.
First produced at the Montreal Fringe Festival, 1998.
Sorority Girls Slumber Party Massacre: The Musical
An escaped lunatic terrorizes several sorority pledges while they are spending the night in a reputedly haunted house. Sound familiar? It should. This parody manages to send up all of the familiar cliches and conventions of the 'slasher movie' genre. But this time they all sing and dance, too.
"Slasher Musical a real grabber!" - The Ottawa Citizen
"Prediction: Manitoba playwright/composer Angus Kohm will make serious money some day," - The Montreal Gazette.
Sixty minutes; Musical Comedy; 4 f, 1 m
First produced at the Manotick Fringe Festival, 1997.

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	Manitoba Association of Playwrights Index -- News -- Members -- Catalogue -- Jarvis Centre --. Links Angus Kohm Biography: Playwright and musician Angus Kohm is probably best known for his off the wall musical parodies of B-movies and horror films (of which he is a huge fan). He studied film at university, where he did a semiotic analysis of women's prison films. He is also the proud owner of one of the world's largest collections of Charles Bronson movies. His plays have been seen at Fringe Festivals all over Canada. He lives in Winnipeg, is the Manitoba Rep on the National Council of the Playwrights Guild of Canada, and is currently the editor of ellipsis... The Newsletter For Manitoba Playwrights. Visit his website at http://www.autobahn.mb.ca/~kohma Plays: A Man With A View Two salesmen and a pair of binoculars in a high rise office building. A dark comedy about the consequences of voyeurism. Short One Act (10 minutes); Comedy; 2 m First produced by the MAP Short Shots series, 1995. Bad Girls Jailhouse A crooked warden, sadistic guards, bloodthirsty convicts, and one innocent woman clash behind bars in a white hot story of violence, revenge, and singing and dancing. Yes, it's a musical spoof of women's prison films, featuring such obligatory incidents as a strip search and a shower scene - all set to music! "Good nasty fun," says the Toronto Globe and Mail. "Kohm is the Andrew Lloyd Webber of women's prison musicals," says the Winnipeg Free Press. Full Length; Musical Comedy; 7 f First produced at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, 1994. The Blood On Santa's Claws A heartwarming holiday tale of murder, lust, and revenge, this short piece pays homage to every Christmas horror film ever made. Short One Act (fifteen minutes); Comedy; 2 f, 2 m First almost produced in 1995, it had its first public presentation in December 1999 by Cherry Red Productions of Washington, D.C.. The Corporate Whores A Vice-President of a large corporation experiences the worst personal and professional crisis of his life. The result is a cynical and absurdly hilarious expose of Corporate Crime. One Act; Comedy; 2 f, 1 m First produced at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, 1993.
	The Inner City Dead Out of the crumbling and deserted streets of 'the forbidden zone' they come... The freaks, the weirdos, the flesh-eating maniacs with no detectable pulse... They're homeless... They're hungry... They're dead... No wonder they're so pissed off! Featuring ruthless gangsters, crooked politicians, nosy high school reporters, escaped mental patients, lowlife burglars, homeless panhandlers, and radioactive zombies... It's the most fun you'll ever have with corpses... we hope! One Act; Comedy; 3 m, 3 f (principles); 10 - 20 m or f (as various parts, including zombies) First produced as a special fund-raiser for MAP in April of 1998. I Was A Teenage Zombie Welcome to Horror High, where every teenage dream becomes a nightmare! I Was A Teenage Zombie is a musical comedy about high school students. It is written in the style of classic B- horror movies, such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers or Night of the Living Dead. The real life horror of compromising one's own identity to 'fit in' is akin to the B- movie horror of realizing that one is slowly turning into a monster. Many of the old movies used zombies or aliens taking over people's bodies as a metaphor for communism taking over the 'free world'. I Was A Teenage Zombie uses those same techniques, but it is not a political story. It substitutes popularity (or the quest for it) for communism, and 'free thinking individuals' for the 'free world'. I Was A Teenage Zombie is intended to be both an homage to/satire of old horror movies, as well as a thought provoking exploration of the real life social 'horrors' of being a teenager. It is designed to be performed by teenage casts (in school productions) and enjoyed by audiences of all ages. "I recommend I Was A Teenage Zombie for production in any high school setting. It's a topical, entertaining musical that perfectly suits the needs of high school drama teachers and their students." -- Randal Payne, J.H. Bruns Collegiate, Winnipeg, MB Two Act; Musical Comedy; 5 f, 4 m; (+ 5 - 50 either) First Presented at Manitoba Theatre for Young People, 2004
	Just Another Day It's Roger's 25^th birthday, but he isn't going to admit it. He's gone to work at the same crummy job he's had since high school. The last thing he wants is attention - but that's exactly what he gets. It's the comedy that proves your never too young for a mid-life crisis. One Act; Comedy; 2 f, 2 m First produced by Theatre Projects Manitoba, 1998. The Rape Of My Bad Body Referred to as "objectionable" and "disturbing", this play raises questions which many people are afraid to answer. It is set in the back room of a restaurant, where three employees are trying to amuse themselves. One-act; Drama; 2 f, 1 m First produced at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, 1992.
	Samantha Panther, P.I. - Tough Girls Don't Sing. A loving parody of hard boiled detective novels, written as an homage to Mickey Spillane on his 80^th birthday (in 1998). It's a role reversal of the classic hard boiled detective format; this time the woman is the tougher than nails detective and the men are the lovely but deadly sex objects. 55 minutes; Comedy; 1 f Features two original songs. First produced at the Montreal Fringe Festival, 1998. Sorority Girls Slumber Party Massacre: The Musical An escaped lunatic terrorizes several sorority pledges while they are spending the night in a reputedly haunted house. Sound familiar? It should. This parody manages to send up all of the familiar cliches and conventions of the 'slasher movie' genre. But this time they all sing and dance, too. "Slasher Musical a real grabber!" - The Ottawa Citizen "Prediction: Manitoba playwright/composer Angus Kohm will make serious money some day," - The Montreal Gazette. Sixty minutes; Musical Comedy; 4 f, 1 m First produced at the Manotick Fringe Festival, 1997.
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