Barrel of Monkeys spends one day of each creative writing residency teaching students to write persuasive arguments. Students choose something they’re either for or against, and then they identify three compelling reasons to support that position.
1. “I Believe That Everything Should be Chocolate” by Luis M., Seward School
Like many of us, Luis loves chocolate - and they’re adamant that everything from your house to your homework should be made of it. Barrel of Monkeys company member Laura McKenzie adapted this song into a soulful musical number, capturing just how amazing a world filled with chocolate would be.
I believe that everything needs to be chocolate. My first reason is that you need to have chocolate because you could eat your house. My second reason is that you could eat everything instead of buying it. My final reason is that you could eat you homework and your teacher wouldn’t know what color is your paper. That is why you need to have chocolate.
We all have a favorite local restaurant, and Jamari’s is Buffalo Joe’s. They argue that feeding kids more Buffalo Joe’s barbecue wings and seasoned fries will help them do their homework and chores - even if it turns them into barbecue-addicted, zombie-like people.
I believe people should buy more buffalo joe’s to eat so they can have more juicy (drewling)
Delicious bbq chicken and seasoned fries and when they get their juicy (drewling) delicious buffalo joe’s they can just give it to their kids, then the kids can go to their room and watch tv or play video games and then when their done they can go ask their parents to buy some more juicy (drewling) delicious buffalo joe’s. And when they get they are going to get good grades, behave, cut the grass, and wash the dishes, and also wash their laundry. And then they will freak out. And they will freak out because they’ll get more buffalo joe’s then they’ll had more then they had before. THE END.
Not all of our students argue for more of a specific type of food. In fact, some argue that we should avoid a certain dish.
For example, Samuel at Harold Washington Elementary wrote a persuasive argument condemning chitterlings. We adapted his disgust for pig intestines - and all pork save for pepperoni - into a slow, rolling song that’s a That’s Weird, Grandma audience favorite.
I believe nobody should not eat chitterlings. 1st because, they’re yucky pig intestines. 2nd because, it is where the poop goes. 3rd because, they eat mud. 4th because, they are pork and I can’t eat pork, except for pepperoni.
See our adaptations of these pieces, as well as other food-related stories by Chicago elementary school students, at our next performance of That’s Weird, Grandma: Stories About Food on Monday night. The fun starts at 8, and we can’t wait to share this batch of sketches and songs with you!
Tonight’s the press opening for That’s Weird, Grandma: Stories About Food - so we sat down with the show’s director, Joseph Schupbach (a former artistic director of Barrel of Monkeys) to learn more about the show, the stories he’s excited to share with Chicago theatre audiences, and of course, his favorite foods.
Join us for a delicious lineup of sketches and songs - all adapted from pieces written by Chicago elementary school students - at the Neo-Futurists Theater. The show starts at 8, and you can grab your tickets here. We can’t wait to see you!
That’s Weird, Grandma: Brand New Stories closed last night, but don’t despair - the first performance of That’s Weird, Grandma: Stories About Food is this Monday, July 23!
The show - directed by former Barrel of Monkeys Artistic Director Joseph Schupbach - features a side-splitting lineup of food-related sketches adapted from our students’ stories. Get a taste (pun intended) of the show in our promo video below, and then join us by purchasing your tickets here.
Caleb Probst has been in Barrel of Monkeys for more than 10 years. He and his family will be moving to Madison, Wisconsin by the end of summer. Here’s some insight into the inner workings of Caleb!
How did you discover BOM?
A friend of mine took me to see That’s Weird, Grandma shortly after I’d moved to Chicago. She described it as, “I’m not really sure how it works, but kids in CPS write stories, and actors perform them. It’s like Saturday Night Live, kinda.” Sounded cool. While watching the show, I realized that this was actually the reason I’d moved to Chicago.
When I got home I did some internetting to find out how to join, only to discover that I’d missed the auditions by about a week. Then, the next year, there weren’t auditions. Fast forward another six months, Tim Soszko and I were teaching together and he was wearing a Monkey shirt and I asked him if he had any advice on how to join the company. He told me that I should ask about volunteer teaching, and I did. The rest is history.
What were some of your feelings when you auditioned and made it in?
I wasn’t really sure what to do for my audition, so I did a monologue from Amadeus and played the piano. I remember sitting outside the room and hearing lots of auditions that were NOT monologues, and were really making people laugh, and I thought, “I’ve made a terrible decision.”
Once I was in, I remember being in the rehearsal room for the first time and thinking, “I am sooo not good at this. These people are really talented and really funny, and I mostly do Shakespeare tragedies.” It took a long time before I really felt like I belonged in the room, and sometimes I still feel like the classical-actor guy who doesn’t really know what he’s doing.
Tell us three memorable BOM stories that you’re proud of being a part of.
1. “Crazy Monkey” by Tyler B. from LP [Loyola Park After School Program], which is in Grandmaright now.
2. “Veronica the Vegan Vampire” from Lorca [Elementary]. I didn’t actually adapt this, but I taught the author. During the residency, she asked me what “vegan” meant, and I explained it was someone who didn’t eat, drink, or wear anything from an animal. Then she asked, “So is a vegan vampire a vampire who doesn’t drink blood?” I said, “I guess so,” and she said, “Go away, I know how to write this story.”
3. Every persuasive argument about ending violence. Sadly, we read them every year, but I’m honored to have worked with this group of humans who respect the depth and gravity of a child’s writing as much as the humor and absurdity.
Three things you’re going to miss about Chicago.
1. Templestowe Pub
2. Horner Park Farmers’ Market
3. Barrel of Monkeys
Three things you can’t wait to explore/discover in Madison, Wisconsin.
1. Tip Top Tavern
2. Dane County Farmers’ Market
3. Whoopensocker [a theatre program run by Barrel of Monkeys co-founder Erica Halverson]
(What can I say, I’m a creature of habit . . .)
Two things you learned about yourself being a teacher for Loyola Park After School Program?
I learned that I actually love teaching more than performing. And, now as a parent of toddlers, I’m beginning to see how things I learned while teaching have prepared me for parenting.
Catch Caleb in our final two performances of That’s Weird, Grandma: Brand New Stories. We perform tonight and next Monday, July 16th at 8:00 p.m - we can’t wait to see you there!
Caleb donning appropriate swimwear for “Pizza People” by Amelia, Bella, Drew, and Keeling from Cherokee Elementary.
From anthropomorphized creatures, to talking food, to normal, everyday people, students in Barrel of Monkeys’ arts education programs create unique and imaginative characters that we love bringing to life on the Neo-Futurists’ stage. Some of these characters are so loved by Chicago audiences that they even become staples of the That’s Weird, Grandma repertoire!
Chanyeol - the main character in “With any dark path there is a light at the end…Right?” by Libby P. in our Loyola Park After School Program - is like many other moody teenage boys. He sits in his room, chronicling his angst in a secret journal. The one difference? Chanyeol’s father is a Mafia boss.
With any dark path there is a light at the end…Right? Asking that question every day gets tiring for chanyeol. Being only the mafia’s son, he had no control over his life. He was controlled, every move. Friends? Even if they knew, or cold do something, it wouldn’t make a Difference. His father, the only thing he did was the mafia himself. Controlling, manipulating, feard. Not a thing in Chanyeols life was free, he was destined to be the same as his father while the coming of age . . .
2. Duli
Duli, a duck featured in “Duck Sili” by Isael C. from Graves Elementary, loves being silly. Unfortunately, his mother doesn’t appreciate his unbridled energy and constant dancing - so we watch as she learns to accept her son for who he is, silliness and all.
De Duck whas so sili sosososososo sili the he never stop Bin sili an her mom sed stop and Duli stop den duli fil to never stop den wen duli went to wis room and he stars bin sili. The End
3. The Girl With No Memory
The Girl With No Memory comes to us from Amiyah S., a student at Johnson School of Excellence. No one knows why Racheal lost her memory - not even the host of the podcast that explores this mystery. Their mother and a local doctor try to wrap their minds around this strange phenomenon, accompanied by melodramatic music and spooky narration.
one day their was a little girl who didn’t have any mamory when she got hom she brong her report card and she had all Fs and one a her Mom said how did she get The grade she had but she said nothing mom said racheal yes sweety do you know i got all these Fs sweety said her mom do you remember what happend at school? No i don’t it’s like i lost my memory . . .
We can’t wait for you to meet these folks now through July 16, along with even more characters that our students created during the 2017-18 school year. Our next performance is tonight at 8 - you can grab your tickets here!
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