At Barrel of Monkeys, we work towards building lasting relationships with each school in which we perform a writing residency, some of which we’ve been working with for almost a decade. Trumbull Elementary School was a new and wonderful addition to our school list last year. Located in Andersonville, cattycorner to the Neo-Futurarium (the home of our weekly long-running production, “That’s Weird, Grandma”), AND being a Literature and Writing magnet school, it was the absolute perfect addition to our Barrel of Monkeys programming. 

With this in mind, you may not be surprised to hear that when Trumbull came to us this year and said they couldn’t financially support a residency but deeply and fervently wanted us in their school a second time, we didn’t say no. 

Instead, we looked across the street to “That’s Weird, Grandma” and asked how that BOM program can reach out to help another.

Thus, the Trumbull Benefit performances were conceived. On Sunday, March 14 at 2pm and Monday, March 15 at 8pm, a very special Trumbull Benefit ticket is available for $25. The show will feature three stories from this year’s residency at Trumbull: The Twin Enemies by Carolina M. and Kayla R., Prison Break by Anthony G., and The Day I Got Locked in My Room By A Ghost by Cesar P.!  See below for the stories as they were written!

Don’t have the cash for that type of ticket? That’s okay – come to the performance, buy a regularly priced ticket ($10 for adults, $5 for kids 12 and under), and any donation you can give will go towards supporting BOM’s residency at Trumbull. Tickets can be purchased here.

Can’t make it to the performance Sunday or Monday but want to help the cause? Make a donation now.

Barrel of Monkeys’ unique writing workshops not only increase writing skills, but also give a hefty boost to the students’ confidence and enthusiasm for writing, and to top it all off, a real increase to self-esteem. But don’t take our word for it! Here’s what the fourth graders from Trumbull say about our program:

“What I learnd from barrel of monkeys is to keep on making good ideas. What I liked best is writing storys. Barrel of monkeys make me feel awesome. They were fun. Its a super program.” – Antawn

“The most thing I have learned is how to be a better writer and reader. They really made me feel special. The barrel of monkeys are alot of fun everyone was a good monkey!!!” – Yekeen

And this is what Jalyssa had to say to the next group of students Barrel of Monkeys works with, but she could just as well be talking to YOU, “That’s Weird, Grandma” audience member!

“They are great and funny. You will have a whole lot of fun. Barrel of Monkeys is the best program. You will have a time of your life. At the end of the year thank them for everything. Trust me its fun.” – Jalyssa
Come to “That’s Weird, Grandma” to support Trumbull Elementary School – as Jalyssa went on to say:
“P.S. Have the time of your life. Make urself fell proud!!!”

The Trumbull Stories:
Click here for a podcast of FOOD FIGHT, a story written in last year’s residency.
Click here for a podcast of “The Lion Who Tries to Eat Everyone”, another story written in last year’s residency.

Preview this week’s Trumbull stories and TWG runlist below…

Read more…

Imagine a universe with no men, just women. And these women happen to be intergalactic emissaries of the planets of our solar system. They have met to discuss two important issues: they want something to do and they want something not like them. Eons pass as they experiment, creating sports and eventually creating…A MAN.

All of this from the imagination of a student in our after-school program at Loyola Park. Wowee!

I always love the Loyola Park show - the stories are wild, wacky, and not afraid to push the envelope. Luke gave a great opening speech about how many of these students have participated in Barrel of Monkeys for years, and that we should step up our game to show them something they’ve never seen before! This show has a set of stories in particular centered around a town…Singing Town…and vary from cats that write letters to the editor about why singing town is great, to a song written by Ricky about how we should sing ALL THE TIME and finally an incredible argument about how constantly singing is ANNOYING.

Plus, performing in our space at Loyola Park feels like home. We can add a lot of nuance to the show when it’s in an intimate space vs. a large gym where the acoustics can be tricky and we have to play big and large. It allows us to be subtle actors. There is some particularly subtle acting work being employed in a story about a lactose intolerant dummy in a land of cheese who goes on a rampage.

Stay tuned!

Hi, the internet. I’m Alex. You might have met my fellow blogger for Columbia Explorers Academy, Alan. He’s great.

To piggy back on Alan’s last post, today ROCKED for exactly that reason!! During one of the days at CEA the students wrote raps. Today, Philip brought in some sweet beats and we broke off into a few groups and adapted 6 raps from some of the classes, we then got into a rap battle of epic proportions!!!!

There were raps about:

Skateboarding

Recycling

Beef Sandwiches

and

PUFFINS!!!!!!!!

Trust me. You can’t wait to see this.

Hi, the internet. This is Alan. I’m one of TWO official show bloggers for the Columbia Explorers show. The other blogger is Alex, who plays the banjo, also.

Here’s something I’ve always admired about my fellow monkeys. (I saw a lot of it today, at our first rehearsal, is why I’m bringing it up.) My fellow monkeys do such a consistently brilliant job of taking an incredible story, by an incredible kid; reading it over once or twice; and immediately, instinctively figuring out what makes the story tick. These stories, as we get them, are these crazy little blobs of awesome, but to figure out who says what, and when, and more importantly, where the pivotal points in the story sit - that takes some serious talent, folks. I can write a pretty good song, but this stuff, man - I marvel at this company of people who just know how to draw out the essence of a story like a delicious, delicious strand of spaghetti.

Speaking of: time for lunch.

Can’t wait to see what other stories we do!

Thanks for listening, the internet.

One of my favorite things about performing at the schools is the look on the authors face when we announce that “This NEXT story is by ______ in Ms. _________’s class”. The reactions generally fall into a a few categories: from Complete Embarassment to Shy But Excited and finally (the most fun to watch) Totally Pumped.

I have to let you know that the Kohn school offered me perhaps the single best response to a story from any child I’ve seen.

I was particularly excited to see the audience reaction during this particular story so I joined Brennan out in the audience to watch the magic unfold.

You see, one of the boys in the class had written a story called “One Day At My House”. This was a story from “Stretching the Truth” day. It was about how, one day at his house, he smelled smoke. He investigates the source of the smoke, finds that the oven was on and turns it off. Then Beyonce comes into his living room and starts dancing! He faints and realizes it was all just a “very very good good good dream”.

Now, in our adaptation, Ricky was our Beyonce. He had on a beautiful long black wig and some elbow length white satin gloves. Rachel and Christina were his/her back up dancers. Donnell choreographed a great 15-20 second version of the Single Ladies routine that hit all the highlights.

When that song started playing the auditorium ERUPTED! And when Ricky came out from behind the curtain and struck a killer pose, Malik, the author, STOOD UP AND YELLED AND GAVE THREE FIST PUMPS IN THE AIR and was then SWALLOWED by his friends pulling him down while HOWLING with laughter!!!!

It was my favorite reaction to a story I’ve ever seen!

Kohn, you were great!

From the pig song, to the presidents arguement, to explaining what a ball is, to Super Agent Max Jones, to the grandma who hates cats. We had so much fun with your stories.

I know we’ll be friends FOR A LONG TIME… For A Long Time…... for a long time….