June Performances

Posted by Amanda Farrar on June 6, 2011 at 09:29 AM
General That's Weird Grandma Celebration of Authors Other Performances

Monkey Friends!

June is here - and it is packed full of Monkey madness! 

1) “Celebration of Authors” is TOMORROW! Call Steppenwolf and make your reservations for this free event!

2) “That’s Weird, Grandma” is OFF tonight, but returns on Monday, June 13 and runs every Monday through the end of August NON-STOP!

3) Our newest production, “That’s Weird, Abuelita” opens in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago on Friday, June 24 and runs Fridays through July 15!  Don’t miss this very special performance featuring the stories of Little Village Elementary School.

Tickets for “Celebration of Authors” can be reserved by calling 312-335-1650!

Tickets for “That’s Weird, Grandma” and “That’s Weird, Abuelita” can be purchased here!

See you soon!

10 Reasons COA will be amazing!!

Posted by Maggie on June 5, 2011 at 03:26 PM
Celebration of Authors

Attending the final COA rehearsal this morning was a pleasure that I will explain to you in the following manner:

10 REASONS THIS SHOW WILL ROCK!

1) Really excited Cheerleaders!

2) Disco Dancing!

3) The first president cardboard robot!

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Celebration of Authors! (NO “That’s Weird, Grandma” on Monday, June 6)

Posted by Amanda Farrar on June 3, 2011 at 09:15 AM
That's Weird Grandma TWG Weekly Update Celebration of Authors Other Performances

Hello BOMers!

Please note that there is NO “That’s Weird, Grandma” performance on Monday, June 6 due to preperations for our “Celebration of Authors” performance on Tuesday, June 7!  I hope you can join us at Steppenwolf at 7pm on Tuesday for our favorite performance of the year where we present 2 stories from each peformance for every school in which we worked in the 2010-2011 year.  More info can be found HERE , HERE, and below! 

Yes - there will be multiple stories about robots.  Robots in a sack race.  Robots made by a witch.  Robots on the Titanic.  Who would want to miss that?  If you must miss it, “That’s Weird, Grandma” returns on June 13, and “That’s Weird, Abuelita”, our new performance in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, begins June 24!  Tickets for these shows can be purchased here. 

MVP 2009-2010: Donnell Williams

Posted by Tai on June 11, 2010 at 11:59 AM
Celebration of Authors Company Members

Every June, after the Monkeys celebrate the authors, teachers, and schools that we work with, we reconvene at a secret location to celebrate our fellow company members at our annual post-Celebration of Authors party and awards ceremony. Awards are given out recognizing everyone’s outstanding work in our school performances throughout the past year, such as “Best Shady Character,” “Best Creature,” and “Most Heartfelt.” (This year’s stories featured numerous appearances by our nation’s President, so a “Best Obama” award was warranted.)

At the end of the ceremony, the prestigious Tom Malinowski Award for Enthusiasm and Commitment to Monkey Greatness is presented. Our Artistic Director, Luke Hatton, describes it as such: “It is bestowed upon an individual in the company who made extraordinary contributions toward the success of Barrel of Monkeys this year.” Previous recipients of this award include Sarah Goeden, Curtis Williams, Mike Spatafora, Luke Hatton, Tai Palmgren, Jason Sperling, and Rachel Wilson.

Joining their ranks this year is Donnell Williams.

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Celebration of Authors 2010: What a year!!!

Posted by Bradford on June 9, 2010 at 08:46 AM
Celebration of Authors School Shows After School Program

First and foremost, big time congrats to all the students we taught during the year, the partner classroom teachers, and all the schools that welcomed us in their doors. Yes. You guys rock!!

Celebration of Authors 2010, what can I say; there’s absolutely no better way to cap off the school year. The chance to reconnect with fellow Monkeys, seeing students you taught during the year, and of course all the wacky things that go on back stage. (IE) The ride em cowboy pre-show warm up…. enough said.
Pulling off the show is such a herculean effort, I always feel part of a rag tag army setting out on mission impossible. And after all the hard work, there’s nothing like seeing the crowd file in and then taking to the stage for Show Time.

There were countless highlights, but here’s a few that stuck in the good kid’s mind: Meeting a few of the student’s parents and taking pictures; running into the house to catch the “Snow Ball Fight”; and trying not to break when Philip came out in his fancy dress and hat as Ms. Basil E. Frankweiler…. hilarious!!

So here’s to another great year Monkeys, I’m already looking forward to COA 2011. Oh Yeah!!!