For the first time since 2006, Barrel of Monkeys will be performing at Theater On The Lake, July 22-26!

“Fun O’Clock: A Very Special That’s Weird, Grandma” collects some of our favorite stories from our almost 12-year (!) history. You’ll see some TWG hits from the past couple years, some brand new stories from the last school year that have never been performed for the public, and even a really old story from the formative years of BOM (the author has likely graduated from high school by now). The stage is big, the stories are amazing, and there’s even a set! (Whoa.)

Please note that because of this very special TWG, there will be no regular Monday night TWG on July 20 or July 27. However, we will return to Mondays at the Neo-Futurist Theater on August 3.

Here’s the full listing of Theater On The Lake shows (scroll down a bit to see the BOM listings). We’re running Wednesday, July 22 through Saturday, July 25 at 7:30pm, and Sunday, July 26 at 6:30pm. Tickets are $17.50. The theater is at Fullerton and…well, the lake. You may call the Theater On The Lake Box Office at 312-742-7994 for ticket information.

Hope to see you there!

You may have heard tell about the Poetry Show we’re doing in collaboration with Words @ Play program as part of the 2009 Children’s Humanities Festival “Stages Sights and Sounds.” We did our first two performances for school groups on Thursday at the Thorne Auditorium downtown. So much fun! There are shows open to the public on Saturday, May 16th if you’d like to check us out.

Here are some pics from rehearsals!

Dixie and Matt rap about a girl named Imani Pastrami . . . “So get my name straight before you come up to my face!”

Laura and Laura play the inside emotions of each other’s cool exteriors in “I Seem to Be . . .”

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For the last several years, we have been delighted to collaborate with the Chicago Park District and Humanities Festival on their Words@Play program. Our role is, perhaps not surprisingly, to turn poems written by children into stage performance. Each year we’ve presented an original show based on the kids poems. This year we are super pleased to get to perform this show four times, as part of the 2009 Children’s Humanities Festival “Stages Sights and Sounds”. 

Here are the details (also available at the Chicago Humanities Festival website) for the BOM shows:
Thursday, May 7th 10:00am and 12:30pm at Thorne Auditorium, Northwestern University School of Law, 375 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago
Saturday, May 16th, 11:00am and 5:00pm at Josephine Louis Theater at Northwestern University, 20 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston
Single tickets cost $10 in advance or $12 at the door for adults, $5 in advance, $7 at the door for children.
More venue and ticket information is available online.

All of the “Stages Sights and Sounds” programs are fabulous, and we hope that you’ll have a chance to check out the full program listing.

Monkey fans, we have some exciting news. We are pleased to announce that this summer for the first time since 2006 we will be returning to Chicago’s Theater on the Lake. Huzzah!

“Fun O’ Clock: A Very Special That’s Weird, Grandma” will run Wednesday - Sunday, July 22 – 26th.  The show will be similar to a regular TWG performance but with more elaborate production elements (such as, ahem, a set) and more suited to the larger environs of the TOTL space.

Performing at Theater on the Lake is always a great joy for Barrel of Monkeys, and an opportunity for us to show our work to a new audience of folks who haven’t had the chance to check out the Monday night (or Sunday afternoon, as the case may be) show. It’s also a great opportunity for more established monkey fans to see new interpretations of favorite stories. No promises, but in the past we’ve added video and projections to some stories, along with more elaborate orchestrations and the aforementioned sets.

Tickets go on sale June 9, 2009 at 2 p.m. at the Theater on the Lake box office at Fullerton Avenue and Lake Michigan or via phone at (312) 742-7994. More information about the full Theater on the Lake season is available on the Park District website. 

So much happened a few weeks ago, so let’s hop in the Delorean and buckle up!

We’ll go back to 15 March 2009. Barrel Of Monkeys was invited to participate in “Milly’s (Almost) All-Kid Revue” at the Old Town School and perform our opening song and 2 stories -  we were headlining, you guys! Brigid (“Milly”) personally selected “Going to the Party” and “The Dance of Yousail,” two of her favorites, and presented us with the wonderful opportunity of performing in this almost all-kid variety show that’s been a staple here in Chicago for 21 years! Pictures and more after the jump!

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