Dear friends,

It has been pretty amazing to watch My Carmilla become the show it is now. We are close to closing our Philadelphia Fringe run, presented with The Lemonade Stand, and all four of our performances sold out.

The Making of My Carmilla
The show has a much bigger physical world than we originally imagined. Our director, Rayne, came in with a bold vision for the production, and Sabrina and I took on the job of figuring out how to make that world actually exist.

That meant sourcing large pieces of furniture, turning them into trees and a bathtub, and sourcing and customizing costume pieces, including all of the blood effects. Our homes turned into scene shops, and our fingertips are still healing from hot glue. We hauled heavy furniture back and forth to rehearsals, and carried it up the stairs into the theatre. Fun fact: in order to store the table between performances, we have to unscrew the legs and then re-attach them before the next show!

It's a lot of hard graft. But once we saw it all together under Bless Rudisill's beautiful lighting design, we knew it was all worth it.

We're so proud of what our team created together. Broad Street Review's Alaina Johns wrote that "under Rayne's direction, the cast handles both intimacy and combat with aplomb." August Hakvaag described the production as “delightfully atmospheric and moody,” and called Asha's Laura “riveting,” Sabrina's Carmilla “charming,” and the ensemble “talented and well-utilized.” Horror producer Jon Kobryn called the show “fierce, tender, poetic,” and wrote that “the choreography and lighting were gorgeous and it was just so captivating.”

What's Next
Due to the success of our Philly Fringe run, we think My Carmilla has the potential to scale and even travel. Our next step will be to submit the script to playwriting competitions and development labs, as well as larger and more established theatre companies for possible production. Because of time constraints and other work already booked, we will likely need to take a step back from performing the show again, focusing our energy on perfecting the script and seeking a great publisher.

How You Can Help
With the help of generous donors, the two of us have personally covered production expenses throughout the process, including not just scenery, costumes, props, rehearsal rentals, and marketing but also paying every member of our cast and crew except ourselves.

We are now raising a final $1500 to recoup our remaining out-of-pocket costs. Once those expenses are covered, anything more we raise can go toward playwriting competition fees and other development expenses to give My Carmilla another life beyond Philly Fringe!

If you have seen My Carmilla and enjoyed it, we'd be grateful if you would contribute.

Thank you for supporting My Carmilla, and for supporting the artists who make independent theatre in Philadelphia.

Asha & Sabrina