Fine Arts

BARREL OF MONKEYS

Want to see professional actors in a hilarious, great show using the styles and techniques taught in our Drama Club and musical?
Jason Sperling,directorof “Annie” and teacher of the Drama Club, is performing in a show that puts these principles into action. He works with a company called Barrel of Monkeys (or BOM), which teaches creative writing workshops at Chicago Public Schools, adapts the kids’ writings into scenes and songs, and then performs what the kids write at their school. For the past 7 years, BOM has also been performing shows for the public, composed of their favorites from the past 10 years of in-school programming. It’s like Saturday Night Live, written by kids and performed by adults. The show changes every week, is very fast-paced, funny, and family appropriate, and solidly reinforces what Jason is teaching.

The hit show “That’s Weird, Grandma”, the critically-acclaimed evening of short plays and songs adapted and performed by BOM’s ensemble from stories written by Chicago public elementary school students, performs every Monday night at 8:00. Jason is currently in the show April 28-June 2, including Memorial Day!. Shows are at The Neofuturist Theatre, 5153 N. Ashland (at Foster) in Chicago. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids, and the show is about one hour long. You can call (312) 409-1954 to make a reservation. There is street parking around the theatre.

If you have questions about any of this, please ask Jason or go to
www.barrelofmonkeys.org (where there’s also a printable coupon for $2 off adult tickets!), and thanks for your support!

Many students and parents have asked me if there are opportunities to take theatre classes this summer. This is a list of several I’d recommend. (I work at CAST with the older kids, but all of these programs are great). There are no residency requirements that I know of; CAST definitely takes any interested parties. Some of these are workshops and classes, while others result in full shows. I’m sure there are also many more at parkdistricts, etc.

CAST (going into 5th grade – going into 8th grade, Oak Park)

Dates: June 9-July 13, 9:00-3:00 Cost: $700 - Disregard the March 17 deadline, tellthem you heard about it from Jason Sperling

http://www.op97.k12.il.us/julian/cast/CASTSUM%20AP%2008%20I.pdf

CAST (going into 3rd or 4th grade, Oak Park)

Dates: June 9-July 3, 9:00-3:00 Cost: $500

http://www.op97.k12.il.us/julian/cast/CASTSUMYOUTH%20AP%2008%20I.pdf

Northlight (Grades 3-9, Skokie)

SESSION DATES SESSION 1: June 16 to July 11 (no camp July 4) SESSION 2: July 15 to August 8 (no camp July 14)
Mon.-Fri. Drop off between 9am and 9:30am; Pick up
between 3pm and 3:30pm $835 for one session or save $50 by enrolling in both sessions or enrolling two siblings in one session ($1620)

http://www.northlight.org/eduout/theatrecamp.html
http://www.northlight.org/eduout/SummerCamp08.pdf
Lookingglass Summergglass Camp (downtown Chicago)

Ages: 8 years - 14 years, Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm, Length: 2 weeks

Days: Monday – Friday, Begins: Monday, July 14, 2008 Cost: $600 per session

http://lookingglasstheatre.org/content/node/913

Lookingglass Summer Camp on the Lake (downtown Chicago)

Ages: 9 years - 15 years Time: 9:30am - 3:30pm Length: 4 weeks

Days: Monday – Friday Begins: Monday, July 7, 2008 Cost: $820

http://lookingglasstheatre.org/content/node/880

Piven Theatre Workshop (Evanston)
June 16-July 25 Days, times, and price differ by grade

http://www.piventheatre.org/youth_classes_summer_2008

BARREL OF MONKEYS

Want to see professional actors in a great show using the styles and techniques taught in our Drama Club and musical? Jason Sperling, director of “Annie” and teacher of the Drama Club, is performing in a show that puts these principles into action. He works with a company called Barrel of Monkeys (or BOM), which teaches creative writing workshops at Chicago Public Schools, adapts the kids’ writings into scenes and songs, and then performs what the kids write at their school. For the past 7 years, BOM has also been performing shows for the public, composed of their favorites from the past 10 years of in-school programming. It’s like Saturday Night Live, written by kids and performed by adults. The show changes every week, is very fast-paced, funny, and family appropriate, and solidly reinforces what Jason is teaching.
The hit show “That’s Weird, Grandma”, the critically-acclaimed evening of short plays and songs adapted and performed by BOM’s ensemble from stories written by Chicago public elementary school students, performs every Monday night at 8:00 – and has added SATURDAY MATINEES at 2:00! Jason is currently in the show through Saturday, March 8. Shows are at The Neofuturist Theatre, 5153 N. Ashland (at Foster) in Chicago. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids, and the show is about one hour long. You can call (312) 409-1954 to make a reservation. There is street parking around the theatre.
If you have questions about any of this, please ask Jason or go to www.barrelofmonkeys.org (where there’s also a printable coupon for $2 off adult tickets!), and thanks for your support!

The Fine Arts Association is pleased to announce that it has selected "Annie, Jr.," a musical adaptation of the Little Orphan Annie story, as the 2008 Spring Musical. Jason Sperling will be returning as our Director, and auditions will be held on February 19 and 20 after school. Please keep an eye on the web site and take-home mail for further details.

The Fine Arts Association Board:

Eileen Wittenberg: Co-/b>President

Peggy Powers: Co-President
Eileen Keating: Vice-President

Jenny O’Donohue: Vice-President of Grants/Projects

Helen Heylin: Treasurer

Jen Sterling: Secretary