Posts relating to school shows.
Posted by Sarah E on January 10, 2013
School Shows
Last night our first task as an ensemble was to read through the stories and choose the ones we thought would be great plays. We had a significant pile to get through, and over the course of the evening I found myself trying to rationalize how and why we chose certain stories.
Of course, there were some that elicited tears of laughter, knee slaps and shouts of “that would be SUCH a good song!” However, for every story that was clearly hilarious (such as one about a poopy parade….I’m not kidding) there was a story that presented a bit of a challenge. Is it entirely necessary to re-enact a student’s fantasy about meeting someone famous? Wait, this story doesn’t really conclude, how can we make it work? I found that I spent a lot of time thinking about those stories. Every kid wrote a story for a reason; and even if the story is not clear, there is a way of presenting it in a fun and entertaining way.
For example, a story I landed on was one untitled short story about a boy named Peter that liked wearing a rooster suit. The story ends with Peter being told he cannot wear the rooster suit and so he cries and cries. The end. Immediately, in my Disney happy-ending mentality, I thought of ways to wrap this story up nicely. “Peter can put his foot down and never take the costume off!” “Peter’s mom can cave and dress up as a chicken”. But then it came to my attention that I would be changing the story, which is one thing that we never ever ever want to do. That would be the equivalent of saying “Romeo and Juliet survive and live happily ever after!!”, to which Shakespeare would roll over in his grave.
Life does not always have happy endings and neither do stories. So the best that I can do is do this particular tale justice by leaving the ending with poor Peter crying. And maybe write a song about how he could be a million different things for Halloween besides a rooster.
Posted by Zoe on November 23, 2012
School Shows
After School Program
Ah, November. The last few leaves are tumbling to the ground, the days are becoming increasingly darker and colder, and three months of frozen toes lurk just around the corner. As you sit in your car and groan that the airwaves are already polluted with christmas music, fret not! I am here to say “Take solace my sweet friends!” I have found a glorious place of warmth and delight to make this annual transition into winter a GREAT one. And NO, I’m not talking about a certain holiday where you recently cozied up to your besties and stuffed yourself until you could not possibly fit anymore cranberry turkey pumpkin pie into your belly. I speak of the Loyola Park After School Program Fall Show!!!!
This show is made up of stories from 21 incredible students at the Loyola Park After School Program. In case you don’t know- The Loyola Park Program encompasses students from across the city from ages 7-13 and runs for the entire school year. There are three shows throughout the course of the year. The first two are set up as regular BOM school shows (Ensemble and Company members read, adapt and perform stories) but the third show gives some of the older students a chance to get in on the adaptation process and perform their own stories for their peers, friends and family. Its pretty much awesome. But thats later in the year. Lets get back to this tremendous line up of stories being featured this coming Monday!
This show has is all! A stolen White House! Luxury cars! A walking and talking goat! A glimpse into the beautiful life of Pocahontas and John Smith! A war between gerbils and hamsters! Elvis! Pie you can’t have! Puppets! Smart pens! Pigs! The Olympics! Zombie cheese cows! Three beautifully composed songs! I bet you want a sneak peak, don’t you? Ok, FINE. If you’re going to twist my arm about it.
Rani and Justin practice lifts while portraying a very accurate relationship between a girl and her cat.
Caleb falls to the ground after being knocked out by two very excitable characters- Captain Loaded Underpants and Ultra Fart Fruit!
Meredith and Nick take a break to ponder the age old question: pretzel crisp or regular pretzel?
And last but not least, here is a short film of the cast perfecting our moves to the hit song Oppa Gangnum Style. (For those of you who may not know about this internet sensation: Oppa Gangnam Style is by Korean pop star Psy and has made its way into the hearts of millions including almost every child under the age of 15. I can assure you, this will not be the last time you see or hear Psy on a monkey stage this school year. Psy is to 2012 as Bieber was to 2010.)
LP FALL GANGNAM STYLE from Barrel of Monkeys on Vimeo.
In the midst of these 21 stories, this show also features three brand new Monkeys- Taylor, Mara, and Gwen- and two volunteer teachers- Justin and Melissa!!! They are all doing an amazing job and taking very nicely to their first BOM school show process!
Don’t you feel warmer already!?
Posted by Mary T on November 12, 2012
School Shows
We have completed one week of rehearsals for the Lorca School show, but to me, as a new member of the Monkey crew, it feels like we have completed a month of rehearsals! We have gotten so much accomplished! With stories featuring transformers and bionicles*, John Cena roundhouse kicking some multi-grain bread into existence and best friends from all walks of life, I have learned a thing or two about what it means to be a Monkey this week. A few things I have learned:
-Style changes everything. Sometimes a story has many different layers. Unexpected characters, contradicting points of view, or physical action that seems difficult to execute are all things that can be brought to life in a new way through simply making a story into a musical number or adding a Wrestlemania announcer as narration.
-Zombies don’t even care about people. They just want to eat berries.
-The answer to creating something new is “yes” and then you figure out the specifics after. Sometimes that means that your original idea doesn’t get to stay, but the attitude of enthusiasm and eagerness in this group makes every idea worth exploring.
-There are some specific terms that Monkeys use for different aspects of rehearsals. For instance, “plug-ins” are actors that are needed for a scene that has already been adapted but requires more characters than were available during the original adaptation process. In “Soda and Juice” by Alan B. we got to see the original dialogue between Soda and Juice, but to make the scene complete, we added “plug-ins” to help create the environment of a cooler full of sodas and juices.
-Music, music and more music! Music makes me lose control! Monkeys sing all the time in rehearsal, even when nobody is asking them to.
-Lorca School is going to love this show. Stay tuned! More to come!
Also, look at these pictures!
Jeff as John Cena holds a customer (Brandon) hostage while he checks to see if his bread really does taste terrible!
Brandon (played by Andres) recounts the story of how he was chased by Zombies (Tim)!
*I didn’t even know what a Bionicle was before we started adapting “When I Was Playing with My Toys” by Tony O. They are really cool and sometimes come over to your house and hang out with you and sometimes star in action movies, depending on the day.
Posted by Tim Soszko on October 23, 2012
School Shows
I am so happy to be back with the Monkeys for another school year. We’re rehearsing for the Chalmers show right now, my first show of the year, and its a wonderful mix of the new ensemble members we’ve just hired and some old guard pros!
The new guys are ridiculously talented. Gymnastics, energy, singing, piano playing, characters, the list is endless! There’s a story, untitled by Latavia, that will knock your socks off. Music, monsters and fight choreography, that’s all I can say.
Another story, I got to work on, is so epic that it took us a half hour to adapt into a scene. The other Monkeys watching, and Molly the director, gave us a standing ovation when we finished. I was sick that night, but in that moment it all went away. I think I take for granted sometimes just how good I feel being a part of this company. It’s unlike any other theatrical experience I’ve been a part of.
The Chalmers students are in for an amazing show!
tim
Posted by Jeff Trainor on September 26, 2012
School Shows
The 2012/2013 Season has begun and the students from Learn Campbell Campus are starting the year off right! We have only had one day of rehearsal and already the Learn Campbell fall show has love, heartbreak, annoying boyfriends, bananas, and a really proud mother!
Look at Brad and Zoe go!
Nick is learning a great lesson here.
The Characters are taking flight in this show!
I can’t wait to see what else the students from Learn Campbell Campus have in store for us!
SEE YOU SOON!
