That's Weird, Grandma | Playmakers Laboratory

I am Thankful for TWG on Nov. 29

Posted by Luke on November 29, 2010

We’re back on tonight!
The current running order is off the chain!
Good times guaranteed.
Password for $2 off at the box office is ‘Konut’ (rhymes with ‘donut’). (BTW, Konut is the featured, tragic character in Dancing Donut Diaries part 2.)

Running order below!

TWG. We’re not doing ‘Thanksgiving’.

Posted by Luke on November 22, 2010

That's Weird Grandma TWG Weekly Update

Oh Yeah!
The current runlist is packed with hilarious, popular, not-to-be-missed stories: The Shopping Habit, A Guy without Manners, The Dog Was Dead, and Untitled (Beach).
Also, a certain turkey related holiday is upon us. I decided to make a clean break this year. Dipping into the archives can be risky. It’s a fine line between “classic” and “tired”. So I didn’t bring back Thanksgiving. But that’s only part of the reason I didn’t bring it back. Having originated the role of Jenny in Thanksgiving, I found I often over directed the actor stepping into the role. I would go on and on in rehearsal about Jenny’s past tribulations (as I understood them) and what I thought was the root cause of her inner turmoil. Actors would roll their eyes and say, “yeah, yeah, Luke. We know you used to play Jenny. We really need to move on.”
Marika did a good job with the role, actually. Two years ago during a rehearsal of the piece, she said of her character, “I’ve already popped a lot of painkillers by this point.” That signaled to me that Marika had a good understanding of the character.
Anyway, we’re not doing that story this year. I get too emotional about it.
Instead we are performing a story entitled, A Girl that wants to Eat Turkey but cannot Reach. It’s about a woman who has her own set of troubles. She is on a diet, has unreliable friends and can’t resist pigging out on turkey. Come check it out.
We’ve also put in Mission Impossible: Doggy Man in the Water. It’s splendid.
Password for $2 off is “Solid Man”.
And now, an interactive list of the stories.

TWG 3.1- The Mind Blow.

Posted by Luke on November 14, 2010

That's Weird Grandma TWG Weekly Update

Ba-vroom!
It is difficult for me to decide which of the new stories going into TWG on Monday is my favorite. We have the incredible Dancing Donut Trilogy musically adapted by Jason Sperling. We have a story where Hannah Montana is actually a monster and terrorizes other celebrities. Also, we have The Shopping Habit, where two girls seek the counsel of their grandmother, a recovering shop-a-holic.
Wow. Then there is the silent, funny and somewhat touching piece Two Grampas in Paris.
For all this greatness, the show this week is called The Mind Blow. I mean, it’s still called That’s Weird, Grandma. Phew, that was almost a really expensive and stressful marketing makeover. The show is only called The Mind Blow on our runlist and among insiders like you.
Okay.
Get $2 off your ticket simply by saying “Shopping Habit” at the b.o. while you’re shellin’ out your dough.
Below is the order in which we will perform the stories.
Be at it!!!

Wherein We All Learn A Valuable Lesson

Posted by Lacy on November 7, 2010

That's Weird Grandma TWG Weekly Update

Oh, the Very Special Lesson. The moral and the button to every family-friendly sitcom. Who did it better, more sickeningly, and more unapologetically than the late-80’s sitcom gem, Full House?

MAYBE ... Barrel of Monkeys. Just. May. Be.

“That’s Weird, Grandma” currently features a story called “I Remember,” where a father learns a Very Special Lesson about watching too much Full House, and then his daughter learns a Very Special Lesson about expressing opinions about others’ tv watching habits. Lessons abound, along with nostalgia. So I set off in search of some primo Full House clips to make us all remember why we loved Full House. Or hated it. Or whatever. Maybe Dave Coulier doing Bullwinkle voices or something. And instead, I found this:

WHAT.
THE.
BISCUITS.

Well, this gives us the opportunity to learn a Very Special Lesson. But what exactly is it?

a) Never, never put your child in show business
b) Stephanie has some pretty good moves in that later clip that takes place in the living room!
c) Youtube user “tvgirl9000”, aka “Linda,” has a lot of time on her hands. no. really. a lot.
d) You have now successfully identified the low point in Bob Saget’s career*, and it’s when he’s wearing a white tuxedo and singing backup to a little girl in an evening gown.

Make sure to vote in the comments! (hint: A is a pretty safe bet).

Use the secret code “Very Special Lesson” for a Very Special Discount at the box office!

Runlist is THIS:

I Hope I See Him Again
Daisy & Jimmy
Flowerhead and His Three Wives
Money To Blow
Untitled (Garden Lady)
I Remember
The Badest Day Ever
Dialogue - Suspense Thriller
Chair Argument (untitled)
Grannies lean like a cholo
The Shark that Chops
Untitled (I am normal too)
Where I’m From (Underwater)
Cheerleaders
The Dog Was Dead
Batman Saves the World

*to date

Barrel of Monkeys Fashion Feature: Lean Like A Cholo

Posted by Lacy on October 30, 2010

That's Weird Grandma TWG Weekly Update

One of my favorite stories in “That’s Weird, Grandma” right now is the killer rap from Loyola Park, “Grannies Lean Like a Cholo.” Last week, someone brought up: exactly what is a cholo?

Well, no one knows the answers to my pop culture questions like good old Wikipedia.

Fashion stereotypes
A cholo is stereotypically male, depicted as wearing loose fitting khaki pants or shorts, with white knee-high socks, creased jeans, so-called “wifebeater” white tee shirts, and button-front shirts, commonly plaid and flannel. Cholos are known for starching and pressing their pants and shirts.[citation needed] Cholos often wear military-style web belts.[citation needed] Cholos in the 1990s and 2000s frequently have their hair buzzed very short, though some continue to have the more traditional slicked-back hair, sometimes held in place by a hair net or a bandana. Footwear may include traditional athletic shoes, such as Converse, Nike Cortez, Stan Smith brand Adidas, slip-on house shoes or Huarache sandals.

So you wanna rock this look? We at Barrel of Cholos can hook you up.

First of all, get yourself some cholo kicks: