Happy Valentine's Day!

Ever since Chelsea and I went to see Texas Chainsaw Massacre together on February 14, 2004, I have tried to celebrate every Valentine's Day with a horror movie - often, with several. It probably began as an attempt to rebel against the established holiday by bitterly embracing my singledom, but I have continued the tradition even though I'm now in a relationship. (My fiancee loves zombie movies, so that helps.)

Several months ago when I wrote my Top 15 Horror Movies List, I included a little gem called Valentine. In my opinion, it is the perfect slasher flick to watch today - with a significant other, a good friend, or the stuffed alligator that your well-meaning friend gave you as a Valentine's Day pity gift. (He is eating a heart with his giant, pointy teeth!)

And remember:
"The journey of love is an arduous trek, 
My love grows for you as you bleed from your neck!"

<3,
LPM

Women in Horror Month - Fellow Ambassadors

I wanted to make sure to draw special attention to some of our fellow Ambassadors of Women in Horror Month:

• DarkMedia.com
• Bad Reputation - a UK blog which describes itself as "a feminist pop culture adventure" and includes recommendations of female horror writers, a petition to include more diversity in D&D manuals, and Things To Say about the Dead Island Torso Debacle.
• Women Who Love Horror Meetup - based in Brooklyn!
• Ax Wound Film Festival
• Zombie Grrlz - a podcast by "feminist chicks who love horror flicks"
• Horror Realm Con - takes place every March in Pittsburgh
• Dolls of Despair Radio Show
• Popcorn Horror - an app for bite-sized horror on your smart phone
• Girls Night Out - podcast by Charred Remains
• Sci-fi & Squeam - LGBTIQ podcast for horror, sci-fi and fantasy
• Sirens Call Publications - purveyors of dark and edgy fiction
• The Whorer - a punk-fem-queer approach to horror films

Want to Stage Manage "The Best of Fresh Blood"?

La Petite Morgue seeks a reliable and very organized Stage Manager for The Best of Fresh Blood, performing April 5-7, 2013. Five short (10-30 minute) horror plays will be performed, each with its own director and cast. The stage manager will be responsible for attending at least two rehearsals of each show, and coordinating production needs between the five directors, as well as stage managing the performances. A small stipend is negotiable. Please send a copy of your resume, including references, and any major scheduling conflicts between now and April 7 to: lapetitemorgue@gmail.com

Chelsea, Ava, and the Women in Horror Podcast

About 30 minutes in, hear Chelsea describe how she came up with the idea for La Petite Morgue and how we want to incorporate film and theatre elements in the creation of live horror, hear Chelsea and Ava talk about plans to expand beyond the borders of New York City, the role of women in the creation of horror, Bloody Goregeous Monologues, and the variety of things that people find scary.

http://womeninhorrormonth.podomatic.com

Quotes:

"Women make up so much of the audience for horror... despite that, men are still the ones producing [most of the] material..."
--Ava Rosenblatt

"We want to show that there is a way to put on horror that is also empowering."
--Chelsea Holland

If You Missed Bloody Goregeous Monologues...

For those of you who weren't able to attend last night's event, you missed one hell of a show. When the video is ready, you'll get to see some of the wonderful monologues, but in the meantime, here is my pre-speech. I'm kinda proud of how it turned out.

Good evening, and welcome to Bloody Goregeous Monologues. For those of you who are under the impression that we at La Petite Morgue can't spell, let me clarify something. It's not "Bloody Gorgeous" as in, British for "very pretty". It's a term of our own creation. It refers to beauty, but also, to fierceness. To blood, to gore, to guts, and to a willingness to delight in the darker side of life. We at La Petite Morgue felt that it was the right way to describe the female playwrights and performers we're celebrating tonight as part of Women in Horror Recognition Month.

When we put together our first Fresh Blood event, I asked a friend of mine to direct one of the plays. She politely declined, saying that, an activist against domestic violence, she couldn't be involved with a horror group, due to a moral objection. She wished us the best, but said that the horror genre is known for glorifying sexualized violence against women. It threw me for a loop. Because, yes, there are horror films that exploit women. But to think that a group - which is, incidentally, ran by women - can't do horror that isn't sexist, that isn't exploitative, and that is totally fucking scary and bad-ass and awesome...

I don't know about you, but I say, if you're not happy about how something you love is being done - DO. IT. BETTER.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Women in Horror Recognition Month, WiHM assists underrepresented female genre artists in gaining opportunities, exposure, and education through altruistic events, printed material, articles, interviews, and online support. WiHM seeks to expose and break down social constructs and miscommunication between female professionals while simultaneously educating the public about discrimination and how they can assist the female gender in reaching equality.

Top 10 Scariest Women In Film!

As many of you know, February is Women in Horror Month! La Petite Morgue is proud to be participating in WiHM with our Bloody Gore-geous Monologues event, tomorrow 2/2 at 8PM at Joria Productions Mainstage, 260 W. 36th St. Post Mortem (also known in some circles, as "after party") to follow at nearby Stitch Bar (247 W. 37th Street).

There is a $10 suggested donation- all proceeds will go to two very worthy causes: The Viscera Organization, a 501(c)3 that focuses on expanding opportunities for contemporary female genre filmmakers, and the Fund for Women Artists. In honor of Women in Horror Month, I will be posting a different "Top 10" list each Friday, which focuses on my favorite ladies of horror! To kick off the series, I wanted to focus on the mistresses of the macabre who have most terrified us over the years! That's right, I'm talking about the women who have starred in our nightmares. Move over Freddy and Jason- Hell hath no fury like a woman. These are my Top 10...who are yours?

10. Pamela Voorhees, Friday the 13th (played by Betsy Palmer) - Jason may be the face of the franchise, but it's really Mrs. Voorhees who got things started. There's something disturbingly realistic about the idea of a mother who kills to revenge her young son's death at the hands of negligent counselors. Mrs. Voorhees is the reason I never snuck off to have sex while I was supposed to be watching the kids during my own camp counselor days. Despite minimal screen time, Betsy Palmer gave an extremely memorable performance- I'm sure I'm not the only horror fan who thinks of her and her infamous line every Friday the 13th- "His name was Jason....and today is his birthday!"

9. Hedy Carlson, Single White Female (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh) -  I'm a sucker for a good (or bad) psycho stalker movie, and Single White Female is probably the best example of the genre. There have been countless rip-offs (*cough*The Roommate*cough) but none have been able to capture the magic that is Single White Female - and I believe that is because although the plot and dialogue may be campy, the acting is top-notch and the film is surprisingly relatable. We may have never had a roommate who killed our puppy or seduced our boyfriend, but I for one have had more than one roommate who crossed multiple boundaries with me. And I once had a roommate in college who dyed her hair the same shade as mine while we were living together- I changed dorms the next semester, just in case. Thanks, Jennifer Jason Leigh-you've ensured that I will never trust a random roomie!

Events in February and Women in Horror Month

LA PETITE MORGUE has two very exciting events coming up in February. We hope you'll join us on Saturday, February 2 at the Joria Main Stage for Bloody Gore-geous Monologues, and for the next edition of our Fresh Blood Monthly Reading Series, on Wednesday, February 6 at Happy Ending Lounge!