Barrel of Monkeys Blog

“Not a Thing”

2009-06-29T12:37:50+00:00

“The same to you Spikey Bones”. It’s back!

If you were at TWG sometime between 2004-2006, chances are you saw “Spikey Bones and Rose”.

It’s a Harold Pinter-esque dialogue, and a company and audience favorite, and we’re bringing it back, starting TONIGHT. That’s what you get in Ye Olde Tymers round of TWG. Well, that and the beautifully eerie “The Woman in the Red Dress”, a new piece which will haunt your dreams.

Come see the show! Yes!

That’s Weird Grandma - Monday 6/22/09

2009-06-21T19:25:48+00:00

The first summer round of TWG was totally rockin’ last week!

9 Monkeys dancing, singing and acting their hearts out to a crowd of over 100 people!

2 new winning stories are joining the fun this week.

1. The Magical Place in which Dulce discovers a dream world filled with “barbies, toys, clothes, shoes, and lots more.”

2. The Three Friends - 3 old men dance and sing through their day at the park. A+ entertainment.

Buy tix here.

Running order below!

My Argument Why Kids Should Ride Motorcycles
The Magical Place
Untitled (Spies)
Untitled (because I am deaf)
I am the President of the Map
The Three Friends
Star Wars 3
I Am a Dog
The Love Comedy
Buy One House Get One Free
What Mother Nature Does to You
Essentialism Poems
Monkeys are Smart
Going to the Party
The Tiny Door In the Back of My Closet

That’s Weird, Grandma: Monday, June 15th 2009

2009-06-14T15:40:21+00:00

There are so many compelling reasons to see TWG this week…I don’t know where to start.

First, the wonderful Laura Grey is directing this round!
Second, Founding Artistic Director Halena Kays makes her debut as a performer in TWG (she directed it for basically the first six years).
Third, it’s our first Monday night back after a long stretch of Sunday shows!
Fourth, It’s our House Manager Maggie Block’s last show for at least a few months, as she heads to NY for the summer.
Fifth, there is an all-star cast including many folks who haven’t been able to do the show in, well, years.

Amazing.

Laura’s bringing back some old classics to join new favorites, such as “I am President of the Map”, which made its public debut in Celebration of Authors last week.

As always, reserve tickets by calling 312-409-1954 or buy them online in advance.

Full running order below.

My Argument Why Kids Should Ride Motorcycles
Untitled (brunch)
What Mother Nature Does to You
Untitled (Spies)
Going to the Party
Untitled (because I am deaf)
Buy One House Get One Free
The Love Comedy
Star Wars 3
I Am a Dog
Essentialism Poems
Radio Play (Go Getta the Missing Gem)
Monkeys are Smart
I am the President of the Map
The Tiny Door In the Back of My Closet

MVP 2008-2009: Rachel Wilson

2009-06-12T16:36:01+00:00

Last year, I told you all about how at BOM’s post-COA party, we are all given silly awards for our various roles in school shows over the year, such as “Best Villain,” “Best Choreography,” or “Best Improvised Line.” There are a few awards given out at the end of the evening that are a little less silly, the most notable being the MVP Award, officially known as The Tom Malinowski Award For Enthusiasm and Commitment To Monkey Greatness. Company members nominate the Monkey who we feel has, in Artistic Director Luke Hatton’s words, “gone far beyond the call of duty in their, well, enthusiasm and commitment to the company.”

This year, the prestigious Malinowski Award went to Rachel Wilson.

Rachel has been in the company since 2000, left for Los Angeles in 2005, and returned (in the oft-repeated words of Ricky Gamboa, “with a vengeance”) in 2007. Since then she has truly been a force in Barrel of Monkeys: teaching multiple residencies including Loyola Park, doing many school shows and rounds of TWG, writing wonderful blog entries, AND being the “Head Twit” on the BOM Twitter.

Here’s a little of what Rachel’s fellow company members had to say about her:

She always creates beautiful adaptations and amazing characters. Her characters also always have subtle mannerisms (her “new girl” in Cheerleaders mouthing the cheers in the corner as she learns them) and intricate backstories, which only she knows, but we all enjoy the results. She knows her strengths and plays to them, but is never afraid to try a different style.

So much love. Involved everywhere.

This year in particular, has been quietly yet passionately dedicated to all aspects of the company and perpetually strives to make us better.

She’s kind to everyone and always has a great outlook at rehearsals, and also is a heck of a Twit.

They’re all totally right, of course. Rachel’s enthusiastic involvement in every part of this company exemplifies the spirit of BOM. She has a lot of love for this company, and we love her too. Congratulations Rachel, from all of us.

“That’s Weird Grandma” now back to MONDAY NIGHTS

2009-06-11T17:32:07+00:00

Now that Celebration of Authors and the matinee run are over, we are back to our regularly scheduled performance time.

That’s Weird, Grandma
Monday nights, 8pm, 5153 N. Ashland Ave.

99% Inspiration, 1% silly hats.

Every week this summer, except for July 20 and 27th, when we’ll be preparing for / recovering from Theater on the Lake.

Authors, Celebrated

2009-06-10T17:29:58+00:00

Thank you so much to everyone who came to Celebration of Authors last night! 22 of our student authors, along with their friends and family, helped us celebrate the end of the school year. More than 450 people in total saw the show, and most stuck around for some juice and cookies to close out the night.

We’ll have a lot more to say about CoA in the next days and weeks, and I’m pretty sure that there will be some photos and videos making their way online soon. In the meantime, here is a shot of two of the authors taken at the “celebrity author photo booth” where kids got to play dress up and pose for the paparazzi.

It’s the day of the show!

2009-06-09T13:58:09+00:00

Just a final reminder! Tonight is our annual “Celebration of Authors” show. This heartwarming event brings together some of our students from across the city, their families, teachers, supporters and members of the public.

We hope you can join us. The show starts at 7pm and is free, though members of the public are encouraged to make a small donation. You can make reservations online or by calling 312-409-1954.

If you can’t join us, never fear…we’re sure to post delightful photos over the next couple of weeks.

Celebration ‘09 rehearsals!

2009-06-08T21:23:18+00:00

Celebration of Authors is tomorrow night and the Monkeys have been wildly rehearsing. CoA rehearsals are a madhouse, with some 30-plus performers together in our little Loyola Park rehearsal room.

You’re coming to the show, right? Here are some rehearsal photos (and a video!) to entice you:

Mary Winn and Mikala serenade us on the uke.

Brennan and Laura blast off.

Geoff sings about his unusual morning.

Brandon and his pony are exasperated. (He’s just acting!)

I’m not even going to tell you what this is.

And here’s a video of Philip leading one of several (!) big dance numbers:

If you haven’t already, reserve your tickets! It’s FREE!

See you at the show!

Arts Funding

2009-06-08T16:45:52+00:00

We at Barrel of Monkeys get funding from a lot of sources so that we can continue to work with schools that have the greatest need for our programs. You can see a list of our major funders here, and as you know we also rely on the generous support of some of our individual fans.

One of our largest funders is the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Funding for the arts in Illinois was already drastically cut by former Governor Blagojevich and now it looks like in addition to sustaining those cuts the IAC will endure a further, even more drastic, budget cut. The proposed IAC budget will leave the agency—one of the largest and broadest supporters of the arts and arts education in this state—with a budget equivalent to less than 50cents per citizen of Illinois. This is nearly a national per capita low.

If you support Barrel of Monkeys—and since you are reading this, I imagine you do—please take a few seconds to contact your elected officials to urge them to reconsider. The Illinois Arts Alliance has created an easy template for this, with some suggested facts for you to use and plenty of room for customization so that you can write a letter or email that comes from the heart. Their website will also automatically send your email to the appropriate officials, if you so choose. So please, visit their website and urge support for the arts in Illinois.

While we do not yet know what the specific impact of this budget cut would be on Barrel of Monkeys, we can only assume that cuts this deep would effect the IAC’s ability to fund us. A substantial cut to our grant from the IAC could have an effect on our ability to sustain our program goaks, and we strongly urge you to take less than the time it took to read this post to express your support for the arts.

It has been a busy month

2009-05-25T15:42:42+00:00

Happy Memorial Day!

Here are some of the things we’ve been up to in May:

*Poetry show performances.
*Loyola Park After-school Program final performance (in which many of the kids took on the starring roles).
*Chalmers School show (our last school show of the year)
*“That’s Weird, Grandma” matinees
*Preparing for Celebration of Authors

...so you can understand why we haven’t had much time to blog. But don’t worry, there will be new blog entries about all of these things soon, not to mention our exciting plans for the summer.

As a reminder, the last matinee (5/31) is sold out, but we would love to see all of you at Celebration of Authors on Tuesday, June 9th. The regular Monday night schedule will resume June 15th at 8:00pm.

Thanks for being a monkey fan!