Fall Line-Up Announced for PlayMakers Laboratory's THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA: House Par-Tay

PlayMakers Laboratory celebrates fall with a special line-up of Halloween, election and Thanksgiving-themed performances of its popular online revue That's Weird, Grandma: House Par-Tay, a creative series of stories written by elementary school students, adapted and performed by PML's professional actors. That's Weird, Grandma: House Par-Tay streams Mondays at 8 pm CT from October 12 - November 30, 2020 via Patreon, with a completely new show released each week. Tickets ($2 - $4 subscriptions) are currently available at playmakerslab.org.

During select Mondays, PML will feature The Best of... That's Weird Grandma, featuring performances from past TWG live shows at the Neo-Futurist Theater and favorite sketches from TWG: House Par-Tay.

Now in its 19th year, That's Weird, Grandma features adaptations of stories written during PlayMakers Laboratory's creative writing residencies in Chicago elementary schools. PML's ensemble of professional actors, comedians and musicians bring the young authors' stories to life as raucous sketches, songs and movement pieces, performing first for students in their schools and then for the public. These stories - from hilarious dialogues between unlikely characters to poignant pleas for social change - resonate with adults while celebrating the imaginations of young people.

Fall Performance Schedule:

Monday, October 12 - The Best of... That's Weird Grandma

Monday, October 19 - Halloween Spectacular Part I directed by Jen Allman

Monday, October 26 - Halloween Spectacular Part II directed by Jen Allman

Monday, November 2 - Rock the Vote directed by Artistic Director Brandon Cloyd

Monday, November 9 - The Best of... That's Weird Grandma

Monday, November 16 - The Best of... That's Weird Grandma

Monday, November 23 - A Thoughtful Thanksgiving directed Artistic Director Brandon Cloyd

November 30 - The Best of... That's Weird Grandma

That's Weird, Grandma: House Par-Tay includes stories from PML's "Submit Your Story Challenge," which encourages students from across the nation to submit stories from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit playmakerslab.org/education.

About the Directors

Allman has been a member of PlayMakers Laboratory since 2017. She hails from Atlanta, Georgia and received her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Spanish from Berry College. Working with PML, has taught in the classroom, performed in schools and public shows, and is excited to direct new virtual content! Jen is a founding member and performer with the stopmotionplant ensemble. She can also be seen battling trolls, goblins and poisonous cauldrons with Improvised Dungeons & Dragons. Jen is a co-creator of the improvised table read show, Fresh Draft. Directing credits include: Panic! at the Honky Tonk (Huggable Riot), 7 Short Farces by Anton Chekhov (Little Things Theatre), dozens of shows across the nation with the wonderful Prairie Fire Children's Theatre, and two sold out runs of the award-winning, Lucky: A Musical (Chicago Musical Theatre Festival).

Brandon Cloyd joined PlayMakers Laboratory in 2007 and has been deeply involved in many facets of the company ever since. Prior to joining PML, Brandon graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and a minor in Business Institutions. Within PML, Brandon has served as an actor, teaching artist, lead teacher, a member of Teacher Corps, as well as directing shows for schools and public performances of That's Weird, Grandma. Before becoming the company's Artistic Director in September 2017, Brandon served as PML After-School Program Coordinator at Loyola Park from 2014-2016 and Program Director from 2016-2017. Outside of PML, he worked as the Associate Director of Camp Echo, where he has spent 13 summers managing campers and staff at a co-ed sleep away camp in Upstate New York. Brandon has worked with other theatre companies including Urban Theatre Company, American Theater Company, Filament Theatre, InGen Productions, ACLE's Teatrino in Italy and Purple Crayon Players at Northwestern University. Brandon recently joined the Board of Directors for the League of Chicago Theatres.

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