Posted by Amanda Farrar on December 14, 2009
The holidays are a time for family, fun, and festivities, but it is also the time of year that sad puppies and children abound on television commercials and nonprofits attempt to guilt your money out of your pockets.
But not us! Here at Barrel of Monkeys, we are all about joy. This week’s podcast is a very special one indeed. It’s like a virtual cup of hot cocoa; warm, sweet, and comforting. So take a break, kick up your feet, and delight in Artistic Director Luke Hatton, and immediate past Artistic Director Laura Grey’s description of the joyful (and educational) work we do in the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Park Districts. Snippets of stories include such classics as: (Untitled) My Name is David, I Am Poop, I Am a Teddy Bear/I Am a Child, Argument (Food Fight), Chitterlings, Friends, Bad Car, and Untitled (There Was Nothing). (Loyal podcast listeners, you will recognize many of these!) Listen here.
Although we will not exploit sad Monkeys, being a nonprofit organization, we do rely on the generosity of individuals like you to allow us to keep up the good work. In this, our “Sponsor a Story” campaign, you could give $10, the cost of bringing one story from one student to the page. There are upwards of 5,000 stories written each year by the students with whom BOM works, so if you want to give more, that is a-okay! You can donate here. Not the philanthropic type? We still like you! Come to “That’s Weird, Grandma” on a Monday night, and show your support in that way.
Thank you, Monkey friends, for all you do to help us inspire children, who in turn inspire us all! All the best to you and yours this holiday season from all the Monkeys here at BOM!
Okay. Maybe one sad Monkey.
Meredith Milliron in “The Magical Place”. Photo by Dean Ponce.
Posted by Luke on December 13, 2009
That's Weird Grandma
It is our first show of the holiday round!
Newsflash:
.....I have been informed that the holiday show has its own special OPENING NUMBER…..
.....That song we normally sing at the beginning of the show will have a new arrangement for the holiday round….
Don’t tell too many people or it will spoil the surprise.
Also, you will get a special holiday prize at the show.
Also, here’s a zinger. There are SEVEN new stories going into the show this week. Some of them are true holiday classics. Some are new holiday fantastics. Some are about a Bubble Boy who’s going to save the world from being stupid.
They are:
Monica’s Special Christmas Eve
Untitled (OMG I Found My Sister’s Friend)
Snow Storm
Untitled (Bubble Boy)
The Time I Ate a Christmas Ball
I Believe que Todos los Dias cae Nieve
Snowmen from Pluto
Wow. It’s gonna be a craze! Join us at the Neo-Futurarium for all the fun.
Buy tickets here!
Full running order below.
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Posted by Amanda Farrar on December 9, 2009
A wonderful student from Elgin Community College contacted BOM last week to get some information for a project that her group is doing on us. (Flattering!) Of course, I said I would provide whatever information she would need. She then sent me a series of questions for me to consider. I was going gun-ho until I got to the question that asked me to share an interesting/funny story about the company. This was the absolute hardest question to answer. Even as a newbie (three months plus), I could already come up with at least half a dozen. I turned around and opened up the question to the staff.
So many stories flowed forth. (Stories about making stories – think about that for a while. It’s like thinking about infinity. Kind of.) The majority of the stories had one thing in common: they all happened within the last month.
There was that time during “Haunted House with Women” that a young girl was a little scared, and then was absolutely fine when the women hit the stage.
In a residency, a male student who was reserved for the first few weeks volunteered emphatically to play the role of Linda in the performance of a group story where Linda kills a bear, serves it to her family, and then throws the table over when there’s none left for her.
At the show, the Lion Martin asked the Tiger Luther a question, and young lady in the audience answered instead.
In a classroom, one student was making an argument in front of her class. She was struggling with a word: “This is uncomfortable to say. It’s when air comes out of your behind.” Without batting an eye, our Monkey Mikala said, “Oh, you mean a fart?” No one laughed. In a classroom of 4th graders. They take our agreement “no laughing at other people’s ideas” super seriously.
When a student saw his story performed word for word, he had a revelation: “So, it’s like we are the directors, and you do what we say.” Yep! That’s pretty much it.
Yeah, so that was last month. Give or take a few days. Working with kids and performing for them is fascinating and wonderful. Every single day there are noteworthy stories, both written and carried out in reality. It is just the nature of the work that we do.
I didn’t share a story with the student from Elgin about a time when so and so fell off the stage, or forgot his pants, or forgot his lines – we expect that stuff to happen, and it does happen, to us and a million other theater companies. But what matters most and what makes our work special is the stuff with the kids – that’s the important stuff.
Posted by Luke on December 6, 2009
That's Weird Grandma
THREE new stories going into the show this week. LAST show of this round before a new cast comes in and changes everything.
The new pieces are:
The Escape, in which Robert must overcome years of his mother’s objections in order to get to go to the museum.
Man in Jam - an oldie, goodie and groovy musical duet!
Yoga Ball - a sweet and touching poem from our Words @ Play show. The yoga ball has a life of its own!
You don’t want to miss it!
Buy tickets here.
Full running order below.
Read more
Posted by Luke on November 29, 2009
That's Weird Grandma
Buzz among the Monkeys is that this show is not to be missed. Only two weeks left before it’s a whole new round, new cast, new show!
Also, here at BOMCOM, we consider Monday to still be part of the greater Thanksgiving holiday experience time. I know it’s strange. But you win, because it means one more week of SPECIAL THANKSGIVING PRIZES!
Enough about prizes.
The art:
The two new pieces going into the show this week are:
W-I-A-R-D – a dialogue in which 3 girls discover a cryptic note. Who wrote it and why? It was definitely written by a boy as “boys don’t have good handwriting.”
Expensive Things – a persuasive argument with the thesis “I believe all expensive things should be dropped down to three dollars!”
Insert Black Friday joke here.
See you at the show!
Tickets available here.
Running order below.
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