Dawes, Pancakes, and Super Bowl Fame

Posted by Joe on February 6, 2012 at 06:04 PM
School Workshops Company Members Miscellaneous

BOM just completed our residency at Dawes Elementary in Evanston.  It was incredible!

Students wrote so many amazing stories, and some of the most persuasive writing I have seen in a long time!

Above is the incredible teaching team! (from left to right, Emjoy, Myself, Lindsey, Carly, & Nancy)

The teachers honored the last week of the residency by feasting at Steak and Shake

mmmm

and while some of us “eastcoasters” are mourning the loss of the New England Patriots, we are celebrating the victory of Emjoy in a post SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL!!!

CAN’T WAIT FOR THE DAWES SHOW!!!!!!

Thank you to the Monkeys

Posted by Amanda Farrar on December 15, 2010 at 01:48 PM
General School Workshops Company Members

We thought you would enjoy this note written to the Monkeys from Catlalli R. from Columbia Explorers Academy. 

Happy Holidays!

Columbus Day

Posted by Rachel on October 11, 2010 at 04:25 PM
School Workshops

We’re off, we’re off!

The fact that a day off from school actually feels like a break tells me we’re well into the school year. Normally, at this time on a Monday, I’d be at Loyola Park, helping the 9-10-year-olds in our after-school program create original superhero characters. And my first residency of the school year, Avondale, is already in its fifth week.

Last week was Dialogue Day, which means the kids get to suggest lots of characters for each other to play when they improvise scenes. Dialogue Day is easily my favorite lesson because it results in conversations like this one from Dewey last year:

ME: Would you rather play Invisible Girl or Nose-Picking Boy?

STUDENT: (after a looooong pause) They’re both good.

Yes, yes, they are both so good, but these are the decisions we have to make as artists.

Last week at Avondale, a girl wrote a dialogue between a girl and the monster who was about to eat her. She gave the girl a line that went something like this: “Wait, let me put on some makeup! A girl has to look her best before getting eaten.”

Who knows whether that gem will end up on stage? We’ll have to wait for November to find out for sure. It’s kind of beside the point, because kids in every single residency we teach write lines that goofy-delicious, and they make us, their teachers, laugh, and I think they have fun doing it whether or not they ever see those words performed on stage.

Fancy Schmancy: A Magical Place

Posted by Amanda Farrar on October 6, 2010 at 12:58 PM
General That's Weird Grandma School Shows School Workshops After School Program

Hello Blogosphere!  I’m here to tell you about an amazing event that will be occurring very soon.  For the past 9 years, Barrel of Monkeys has been presenting our Fancy Schmancy Benefit for the enjoyment of all and more importantly, to support our programming in under-resourced Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Park Districts.  In order to truly embrace the nature of our writing residencies at the event, the theme of the evening will be “Magical Place”, based upon an audience favored story penned by Dulce H. from Columbia Explorers Academy* when she was in 4th grade.  Read this story and so many more in our Story Archive!

Be amazed by the Magical Place that Fancy Schmancy will be at 7pm on Friday, October 22 at the Ravenswood Event Center, 4025 N. Ravenswood Ave.  More info here!  Purchase tickets or make a fully tax-deductible donation here!

The evening will be something like this.  (But not quite.)

Fancy 10.5 from Barrel of Monkeys on Vimeo.

We are particularly excited about seeing Magical Place return to the stage after a year-long run and a four month hiatus during the live performance at the event. 

Other highlights: New this year is a raffle for a trip for two to New York City to see Saturday Night Live!  Includes round-trip airfare for two and two tickets to a live taping of SNL.  Sorry to say that raffle laws prevent selling tickets online, but they are on sale weekly at “That’s Weird, Grandma” up until the drawing on October 22 - no need to be in attendance to WIN! 

And!  We are procuring some pretty incredibly unique and exciting auction items which we will tell you more about in future blog entries.  Stay tuned, and monkey on!

*This school year will mark Barrel of Monkeys’ 10th Anniversary of partnering with Columbia Explorers Academy!

Fun at Stockton

Posted by Bradford on October 21, 2009 at 07:07 PM
School Workshops

Yes!!! I am trully enjoying “Stockton”. No doubt, it’s always a blast meeting up with the crew: Dana, Laura G., Goodrich, and Soszko over at “Angel Food” and ordering my usual English Muffin; but there’s nothing like walking into the classes every week and seeing the excitement on the kids faces. Not to tip my hat, but I think we have a few Barrel of Monkeys’ Instant Classics on our hands. Good times indeed. I can’t wait for the show. Talks to ya….

brad