Chalmers Saves the Best for Last
Posted by Rachel on May 25, 2010
Chalmers is often the last school show of the year, and while we don’t play favorites, it is true that lots of Monkeys come out for this last blast.
One of these Monkeys is Kristie Koehler, former Monkey Program Director and current emeritus member. Emeritus is a fancy way to say she used to be around all the time, but isn’t anymore. You might remember her as Bob Stickle, Funny Bunny, or the Girl Who Broke Her Two Front Teeth. That story was performed in the very first That’s Weird Grandma and is the source of the title! Kristie’s the original “Grandma” on the very first That’s Weird, Grandma posters! I mean, you guys, that is famous!
Here she is with fellow Monkey veteran Matt Miller.
Kristie is a clown, a Neo-Futurist, a college instructor, a sometime TV producer, and one of the funniest people I know.
One of my favorite things about Kristie is that she’s older than me. (I mean, in Monkey years she’s older. Kristie, that’s what I mean. I’m not telling how old anybody is in real years, though young Philip recently described me as “still springlike.” I will take it. ) Back on track—when I first joined Barrel of Monkeys, I was not always sure what to do, so I would ask myself, “What would Kristie do?” and basically rip her off. While I could never be Kristie, it worked great! At the end of that first year, people told me I had grown a lot as a performer, and I thought, yeah, I learned how to rip off Kristie Koehler . . . Secrets. Learning and growing. Barrel of Monkeys, always learning and growing together.
No, but seriously that’s part of what makes a company strong—internal leadership and a shared sense of style and humor. We copy each other and mix it up with our own special sauce, find our inner Monkey. Mine has a healthy sprinkling of Koehler.
1 Comment
Well, I am honored to be the subject of this post. Springtime Rachel, I thank you!
Chalmers was the only school show that could fit in my schedule this year and I’m so glad I would work it in!
Chalmers is one of the schools near and dear to my heart. I helped get our partnership off the ground starting in 2001 and I used to teach there all the time. While it was always a challenging school, the Chalmers kids always had crazy kinetic energy! It’s the school where Sammy the Eel was invented! One of my ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOM SONGS. And it’s the school where one young African-American child said to me, “Kristie, you was raised by black people, weren’t you?” And that’s when I fell in love.
I haven’t done a school show in long time and this has been a joy joy experience. Thanks, Chalmers Cast, Teachers, and all you Monkeys. See you at COA!!
Kristie May 26, 2010 at 03:58 PM