That’s Weird Grandma - Monday 6/28/10

Posted by Luke on June 27, 2010 at 06:00 AM
That's Weird Grandma TWG Weekly Update

In all my time directing TWG, I have never seen a phenomenon like the one that transpired last week.
Often, new pieces in the show take a week or two to find their legs. In many cases, these new pieces aren’t the most popular upon debut, but, with time, become hits. Last week, the two new pieces, A Guy without Manners and Monster at the Movie were the two most popular pieces in the show!! Instant classics.
So, if you haven’t seen these suckers (and you HAVEN’T unless you were there last week) come on up!
On top of it all, joining the fun this week are:
The Grandma and the Cat- wherein Grandma succinctly sings some compelling reasons as to why there should be ‘no more cats’.
Untitled (Movie)- wherein James cannot remember his part in the class film. What will they do!
$2 off password, or rather passphrase to utter at the box office shall be….‘no more cats’.
See you there!
Updated runlist is below for your interactive pleasure.

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Pop-Up Performance at the TCG Conference!

Posted by Elizabeth on June 22, 2010 at 12:15 PM
General Other Performances

Barrel of Monkeys put on their grownup shoes and dress pants this week to attend the TCG (Theatre Communications Group) Conference. We were able to get a grant from the League of Chicago Theatres and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation that enabled us to attend.  We met a lot of interesting people from all over the country, and even parts of the UK, and got to share information about all the interesting theatre work that is happening all over.  It was inspiring and exciting.

What was also exciting was to be able to share with all those folks all the incredible theatre that is happening right here in Chicago.  Throughout the conference, “pop-up” performances would, well, pop up at various points of the day.  You would be walking to Montrose Room 5 for your panel discussion on board development and BOOM, theatre would happen right in your face.  Chicago theatre companies, including BOM, were asked to present 4-minute theatre pieces that could be presented say, by the bank of elevators, or by the Womens Restroom or even while on your way to Montrose Room 5 as people scurried to snag a seat in the breakout session on board development.  It was kind of great to watch people be accosted by people making and presenting theatre on their way to go talk about theatre.

Barrel of Monkeys chose a wonderful piece to perform called “Two Thinking Tigers” presented by Luke Hatton, Rani Waterman and a third BOM company member in disguise. I think its befitting that our pop-up performance had to do with tigers.  Cuz the thing about tigers is, they can pop out of nowhere.  And you certainly won’t expect to find them in a fancy hotel.  Or in a car. Here is a picture of the trio getting ready to perform their “tigerocity.” And yes, those couches were extremely comfortable.  100 points for the person who can guess the mystery person sitting betwixt these fine actors. Extra 50 points if you can guess what Rani is thinking at this exact moment.

We were able to film the performance and you can also watch all the cool pop-up performances here.  I hope I didn’t ruin the element of surprise by telling you where you could find them.

That’s Weird Grandma - Monday 6/21/10

Posted by Luke on June 20, 2010 at 07:57 AM
That's Weird Grandma TWG Weekly Update

Dear Friends,
We are still frolicking in the plethora of new material made available with the passing of another school year. Two new greats joining the run this week:

Monster at the Movie- A monster’s attempts to scare patrons and service workers at Loews are unsuccessful because they think it’s a costume.
A Guy without Manners- Poor Bruce has no luck with women…until he meets someone also lacking manners.
Be at it.
Password for $2 off at the door shall be “MANNERS”.
Updated runlist belooowwww….

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Money for Monkeys!

Posted by Jason on June 15, 2010 at 03:28 PM
General Miscellaneous

Hi there,

They say this whole newfangled interwebs doohickey helps word travel like wildfire!  (That could be the oddest sentence I’ve ever typed…)  Let’s see if we can prove it.

Chase Community Giving is back, and there’s a chance for BOM to win between $20,000 to $250,000!

We only have a chance to get this donation if we get a lot of votes, so pleasepleaseplease go vote (why not do it right now? It’s fast!) and please get the word out to your peeps ASAP via email/Facebook/Twitter/etc. to vote for us too.

Voting Way #1: Click on this link.

Voting Way #2: Search for Chase Community Giving on Facebook, type in our name, and VOTE.

I believe you may only vote once for any organization, but you have 19 other votes to spend elsewhere if you’d like.  Many schools are having their funding cut, and this money could help keep us in those classrooms.

Thank you so much.  Please spread the word!

That’s Weird Grandma - Monday 6/14/10

Posted by Luke on June 13, 2010 at 06:00 AM
That's Weird Grandma TWG Weekly Update

This is that magical time of year when, almost overnight, approximately three-hundred-and-twenty new stories become eligible to appear in That’s Weird, Grandma. This occasion is marked by Celebration of Authors which commemorates the end of our year of school programming. All of the pieces created during this school year can now grace the TWG stage. And there are some new greats coming into the show. SEVEN new pieces to be exact! That means the show is like 33% brand new from what it was just two weeks ago. And if it’s been more than a month since you’ve seen the show? Well, that one you saw might as well have been in Elvish.
The new pieces are…
Daisy & Jimmy - Daisy is just a bunny, but she beats up bears in the forest for fun!
The Icey Ripoff - Alan’s attempts to eat ice cream unperturbed lead to one giant RIP OFF!
Bingo- winning at Bingo gets you the best prizes of all: chips, juice and many back-up dancers.
I’m- “I’m so good on my birthday, I might get an Xbox 360.” It’s a country song, naturally.
The Forbidden Planter- an epic song about the beginning of everything.
Immigration Argument- students from Little Village have some words for the president.
How to Make Me/Diamond- A first date leads to a show-stopping # by Gabriella.

All this and more if you come to the show Monday night.
Get $2 off at the box office by mentioning the password “Ripoff”.
See you there!
Running order below.

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