Playmakers Laboratory

PlayMakers Laboratory (PML), formerly Barrel of Monkeys, is an arts-education and theater ensemble based in Chicago that works in under-served Chicago Public Schools. Founded by Erica Halverson and Halena Kays in 1997, PML consists of actors, musicians and teaching-artists that run in-school residency writing workshops, an after-school program and a weekly public performance, That's Weird, Grandma. The company works with elementary students in writing workshops, later adapting the students' original works to the stage.