The Art of Theater for Education: Profile with MB Developer Tai Palmgren

Tai is part of the theater and education company, Barrel of Monkeys and is their Graphic Designer. This theater ensemble works with some of the most under-served students in Chicago utilizing creative writing, self-esteem building, and adapting student-written stories for the stage. All of this is part of their mission presented in a ‘smart, funny theatre experience.’

Their 8th Annual Fancy Schmancy Benefit is this Friday!
Friday, October 16th, 2009; 7:00 — 11:00pm
$75 in advance, $90 at the door
Chicago Cultural Center, G.A.R. Rotunda and Hall
77 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL
For more information, call 773-281-0638
Proceeds from this event support Barrel of Monkeys programming in Chicago Public Schools.

Q: Tai, what all do you do with BOM?
Tai: In BOM we teach creative writing workshops in Chicago Public Schools, and adapt the kids’ stories and poems into sketches and songs that we then perform for their school (and then later for the public in our weekly show at the Neo-Futurist Theater). I have been involved in teaching, as well as adapting and performing. I also created and maintain the BOM website and design all the publicity materials.

Q: You have been a member of BOM since 2001. How did you get involved with it?
Tai: I saw a show they did back in 2000 at the Live Bait Theater while I was an intern there. I was amazed by the creativity and hilarity of the show, and I talked to the director afterwards. I was kind of a BOM groupie for a little while, until I auditioned the next fall and was accepted into the company.

Q: Tell us a little about the creative process with Barrel of Monkeys?
Tai: All kids are full of creativity and ideas, and much of what we do in the classroom is encouraging their creativity and letting them know that they don’t have to be afraid to write about anything they want. Our first rule is “Every idea is a good idea.” We play lots of theater games, write and act out stories with them, and teach them a little bit about particular genres and writing styles such as dialogues, poems or autobiographical stories.

Naturally, the stories they write are amazing, and it’s a lot of fun as a performer to adapt them into short theatrical pieces. Often a story will require a lot of elaboration on our part to make it performable, which means we throw a lot of our own ideas and humor into it. Of course the goal is always to tell the story as the author intended it, but we have a lot of leeway there. We usually just try to do things that will make us laugh, which most of the time means that the kids will find it funny, too. Occasionally there will be a story that is of a more serious, sad, or scary mood, which presents a challenge, but we always relish that. Over the past few years, I think we’ve branched out a lot in our adaptation styles, utilizing puppetry, dance, and mime in addition to our usual silliness.

Q: In your BOM bio, you cite “ninja-like silence” as your superpower. What do you have to say about that?
Tai: That was something that a director praised me for once, after a show. I’m generally a pretty quiet person, which might seem counter-intuitive as a performer, but since our first instincts in adapting a story for BOM are usually to be loud and boisterous, I think it’s interesting to try to explore the opposite. We usually perform in spaces that aren’t built for acoustics, such as gymnasiums and cafeterias, so using a performance style that doesn’t rely on a lot of talking is always useful.

Check out their benefit and spread the word.
Inspired by Barrel of Monkeys’ work? Leave a comment for Tai and BOM.