It is time to put your talents developed over years in the shower to very good use.  Sure, good hygiene is nice, but that is not the talent to which I am referring.  I’m talking about the singing!  You know every morning you are in that shower perfecting your rendition of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance.  The time has come to bring that brilliance out of the shower.  If you are ready to help save the world, you can do your part by singing your most favorite karaoke song at Barrel of Monkeys’ annual Monkey-O-Kee, coming soon to a bar near you!  (January 31st, 8pm-11pm at Mad River Bar and Grille,
2909 North Sheffield Avenue, to be exact.)

By purchasing a ticket for the extremely fair price of $25, one not only gets the chance to support BOM’s work with Chicago’s youth – igniting their imaginations, boosting their self-esteem, improving literacy, etcetera, etcetera (i.e. all that amazing good warm and gooey stuff we inspire in the kids with whom we work) – but ALSO gets beer and wine, discounted well drinks, pizza AND pasta, not to mention the karaoke, and therefore, entertainment in abundance.  Various and sundry other fun and fabulous activities will occur at the event, including a prize wheel, and sponsored Monkey performances.  “What is a sponsored Monkey performance?” you may ask – well, check back soon here, on the Monkey-O-Kee page, or on Facebook and/or Twitter for more…

Buy your tickets online, and get TWO FREE SPINS at the prize wheel!  What a DEAL.

See you there.

Hey everybody!

Holy moly.  What an excellent 2009 for Barrel of Monkeys it has been.  And, because you are awesome, you are making even the last week of the year extraordinary!  We sold out the house at “That’s Weird, Grandma” last week (Sorry to the group of Monkey fans where weren’t able to make it inside!!), and we are on our way to selling out again tonight, so buy your tickets now or call the hotline and make reservations so we don’t have to see sad faces tonight.  Please, no sad faces. 

Also!  We are delighted (absolutely delighted) to have the cost of what it takes to bring 48 stories from CPS students to life donated by our marvelous supporters in our “Sponsor a Story” campaign (mad props to Monkey fan Erik).  It’s not too late to give $10 to help bring a story like this one from Omar M., 3rd grade at Lafayette to life (see this story enacted TONIGHT):

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The holidays are a time for family, fun, and festivities, but it is also the time of year that sad puppies and children abound on television commercials and nonprofits attempt to guilt your money out of your pockets. 

But not us!  Here at Barrel of Monkeys, we are all about joy.  This week’s podcast is a very special one indeed.  It’s like a virtual cup of hot cocoa; warm, sweet, and comforting.  So take a break, kick up your feet, and delight in Artistic Director Luke Hatton, and immediate past Artistic Director Laura Grey’s description of the joyful (and educational) work we do in the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Park Districts.  Snippets of stories include such classics as: (Untitled) My Name is David, I Am Poop, I Am a Teddy Bear/I Am a Child, Argument (Food Fight), Chitterlings, Friends, Bad Car, and Untitled (There Was Nothing).  (Loyal podcast listeners, you will recognize many of these!)  Listen here.

Although we will not exploit sad Monkeys, being a nonprofit organization, we do rely on the generosity of individuals like you to allow us to keep up the good work.  In this, our “Sponsor a Story” campaign, you could give $10, the cost of bringing one story from one student to the page.  There are upwards of 5,000 stories written each year by the students with whom BOM works, so if you want to give more, that is a-okay!  You can donate here.  Not the philanthropic type?  We still like you!  Come to “That’s Weird, Grandma” on a Monday night, and show your support in that way. 

Thank you, Monkey friends, for all you do to help us inspire children, who in turn inspire us all!  All the best to you and yours this holiday season from all the Monkeys here at BOM! 

Okay.  Maybe one sad Monkey.

Meredith Milliron in “The Magical Place”.  Photo by Dean Ponce.

A wonderful student from Elgin Community College contacted BOM last week to get some information for a project that her group is doing on us.  (Flattering!)  Of course, I said I would provide whatever information she would need.  She then sent me a series of questions for me to consider.  I was going gun-ho until I got to the question that asked me to share an interesting/funny story about the company.  This was the absolute hardest question to answer.  Even as a newbie (three months plus), I could already come up with at least half a dozen.  I turned around and opened up the question to the staff. 

So many stories flowed forth.  (Stories about making stories – think about that for a while.  It’s like thinking about infinity.  Kind of.)  The majority of the stories had one thing in common: they all happened within the last month. 

There was that time during “Haunted House with Women” that a young girl was a little scared, and then was absolutely fine when the women hit the stage.

In a residency, a male student who was reserved for the first few weeks volunteered emphatically to play the role of Linda in the performance of a group story where Linda kills a bear, serves it to her family, and then throws the table over when there’s none left for her.

At the show, the Lion Martin asked the Tiger Luther a question, and young lady in the audience answered instead.

In a classroom, one student was making an argument in front of her class.  She was struggling with a word: “This is uncomfortable to say.  It’s when air comes out of your behind.”  Without batting an eye, our Monkey Mikala said, “Oh, you mean a fart?” No one laughed.  In a classroom of 4th graders.  They take our agreement “no laughing at other people’s ideas” super seriously.

When a student saw his story performed word for word, he had a revelation: “So, it’s like we are the directors, and you do what we say.” Yep!  That’s pretty much it.

Yeah, so that was last month.  Give or take a few days.  Working with kids and performing for them is fascinating and wonderful.  Every single day there are noteworthy stories, both written and carried out in reality.  It is just the nature of the work that we do. 

I didn’t share a story with the student from Elgin about a time when so and so fell off the stage, or forgot his pants, or forgot his lines – we expect that stuff to happen, and it does happen, to us and a million other theater companies.  But what matters most and what makes our work special is the stuff with the kids – that’s the important stuff. 

Donnell! It’s been a while, but I’m back and happier than ever! I’ve had the pleasure of performing in the Avondale school show so far, and I’ve signed up for a few more in the coming months. Also, if you’ve not seen That’s Weird, Grandma!, shame on you! And now on to Jelly… Nachdem jump!

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