2026! HERE WE GO.

WHOA. This was started and never finished. AS A LOT OF THINGS HAPPENED. 

But here it is... 

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Hi loves. It's the 1st: yesterday, I got to have friends over. And in response to having friends over and getting the house prepped for non-family is to WRITE A BLOG. 

 - I am enjoying all the Year End Book Lists other people have read. It's great! Someone's reading all the things, and I love it. 

 - I read a couple of books this year, as long as they weren't too sad. As, if looking for sad, *motions wildly*

 - I was thinking about yearly wrap ups, and this blog is literally A MONTHLY WRAP UP, so... How was the last month?

DECEMBER!

 - I Wrote This For You moved to Strike Theater, and we had the loviest time! Our next show is Thursday Feb. 8th, and I can't wait. (And I need to start the process!)

A dream. 

 - Will Schroeder wrote/cooked for/produced a cracking holiday show that made my eyeballs weep. So happy to have been a part of it, and also, just to witness the joy. 

 - Off Book at the Jungle Theater was a delight! Thanks to all who make that joy happen, and so happy to be a part of it again!

 - Bring Your Kids! continued with our silliness, PLUS a delightful birthday party. Your children are a dream, folks. 

We do birthdays!

- I got to yell at a number of Dakota County librarians in a workshop called "The Introverts Way: Navigating Customer Service through Improv". Librarians continue to be the best. So many thanks to COMPAS for the opportunity!

 - I drove down to Sioux City, picked up my mom, hopped a plane to Hartford CT, grabbed the rental car, drove to my sister's place, hung out in Vermont for five days, and did it in reverse. Vermont! New Hampshire! These are places! They call grocery carts carriages! Charmed.

JANUARY

 - An Art Shanties proposal got accepted! OH NO! Please watch for PENGUINS! We'll be roving on Jan. 17th and Feb. 1st in the afternoon. 

 - I get to continue Afterschool Improv at Justice Page Middle School through COMPAS! Bwahahah!

 - I start teaching for VGI!

 - Clockers play at the Buzz! Saturday Jan. 24th, 11 a.m.! 

 - I'm co-directing a show with Graceful Monsters! It's gonna be ridiculous!

 - Bring Your Kids! Twice a month!

 - Nudge at Open Eye! Monday Jan. 12th, 7 p.m.!  Cancelled! We were overwhelmed! We'll talk about that in the February blog, but it's mostly because stupid awful assholes with seemingly zero accountability are attacking our city and it's been awful. Abolish. 

I'll go update February, as it's now Feb. 22nd. 

Love. 

December! Snow and the whole thing

Hi loves. Hoping things are good by you and yours, and that care is being passed around. <3 

NOVEMBER

Finished up an almost year long residency with MSS through COMPAS. It was truly the loveliest, and so many thanks to Matt at MSS, Jesse at MSS, Jes at COMPAS, and every one of the participants. Cool things were made, we laughed a lot, and I'm so grateful. 

Adorable taught a workshop on Adorable for Stage Your Change, and it was just great. So many thanks to Mandi and Conduit Sound! (also, do a search for "Recording Studio Northeast Minneapolis" and.. that's a lot of recording studios.) We also got to get back on stage for Improv A Go Go and so grateful. 

Afterschool improv through COMPAS at Justice Page Middle School will finish up this month, and it's been great. Yesterday, unrelated to our class, auditions for the spring musical were happening and that's just about the best thing to peek at. 

Felt and Flesh (bwahahah) had it's first performance at Improvocation; so many thanks to genius dream Phoebe Bottoms for constructing the madness. 

I Wrote This For You had it's second performance, and man, is it the sweetest thing. Speaking of... 

DECEMBER 

I Wrote This For You - Holiday Edition! We're about to have our Strike Theater debut! Please join us Saturday Dec. 6th at 7:30 p.m. at Strike for holiday inspired valentines, from one performer to another. Featuring work from Alsa Bruno, Levi Weinhagen, Rachel Buhman, Holly Brooks, Mike Fotis, Felicia Cooper, and others!!

Bring Your Kids! Our monthly show at Cadenza Music, our monthly show at the Bryant Lake Bowl, and then a special FREE show at Francis Burger NE at 5 p.m. on Sunday Dec. 28th!!!

Nudge at Open Eye! An absolute dream. Please join us Monday Dec. 8th, 7 p.m. at Open Eye Theater for some grounded ridiculousness, featuring some of my favorite people, and funniest genies around. 

I'm doing Off Book! Two person scene: one person has memorized half of a script, the other person is making it up. Monday Dec. 15th, 7 p.m. show at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis. 

I'm still Patreon-ing, if you'd like to join. A song a week, with some chatter. 

And then suddenly, EVERYTHING MUST STOP. School takes a break! Classes or programs pause! Your weekdays are done. Roll into the limbo of the end of the year. 

You're great. 

<3

 

November and then whewwww

HERE COMES HALLOWEEN HERE COMES HALLOWEEN ETC

It is cold and rainy and fantastically spooky outside. 

October was busy and fun and very lucky. Three Bring Your Kids! Monster Science with the Rev. Matt Kessen! Nudge at Open Eye! Some Improv A Go Go! I started facilitating an improv class at Justice Page Middle School through COMPAS! An album was released unto the world (thank you everyone who came!) I turned 50! AHHHH!

Mon Motha was there! Photo by Forrest Wasko!

November!

 - Finishing up a residency at MSS through COMPAS and oh mannnnnnnn... It's been awesome. Dammit. Last week, they had us work on their haunted house, and I'm here to say that decorating a haunted house for friends is truly delightful. 

- Finishing up a series of workshops through Washington County Libraries. These have been a dream! Thank you to everyone who came, who made them possible.. so grateful! The last one is online at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday November 11th. Sign up is here!

 - I Wrote This For You returns! Wednesday November 12th, 6 p.m. doors / 7 p.m. show! Bryant Lake Bowl Theater. 

 - Phoebe Buttons and I will be up at Improvacation on Thursday Nov. 20th at the Phoenix Arts Nest! It's gonna be dumb!

 - Two more Improv A Go Gos! One with Butch! One solo! Oh no! November 2nd and 9th, 7:30 p.m. show. 

Are we not?!

 - Butch and I are teaching an Adorable Workshop through Stage Your Change on Sunday November 16th!

 - Nudge is up at Open Eye on Monday Nov 3rd, 7 p.m. show!

 - I'll be at the Kingfield INDOOR Porchfest on Saturday Nov. 8th, 5 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. at the Meraki Building as Penny and the Bandits!

 - Bring Your Kids! Two shows! 

And then very suddenly it's December, which logistically is only 22 days long. 

I hope, if you celebrate Halloween, that it was an absolute banger. And if you chose to stay quiet, it was quiet and cozy and that someone inexplicably brought you a potato. We love a Halloween potato. 

Onward!

HOW IS IT OCTOBER? Also, ALL THE THINGS.

But somehow, it is!

September is the new summer. Tell everyone. Getting folks into theaters is a trick, and September wins every time. (Plus, everything is a lot, in so many ways. September weathered so much here. A million heartbreaking years long.) And somehow, October's so soon. 

September held some of my favorite art making moments, and we laughed and laughed, loves. 

So many thanks to Matt Kessen for letting me be a part of another Monster Science. It was so much fun and PLACENTAS. 

LOCAL MUSIC SCENE on Friday was a dream. Such a group of brilliant generous people and it was SO GODDAMN GOOD. 

I Wrote This For You! Our inaugural show was on the 10th, and it was SUCH A GOOD SHOW. We get to do it again in November; I'd love for you to see it!

I played a porchfest kiddy corner from my house. There was almost tragedy, but then there was NONE tragedy, and now we have stories of relief. So many thanks to Jeff and Holly for putting together such an event!

Moments before!
Plus, September just always looked like this. 

Bring Your Kids! began! And we lost our gd minds. GIGGLY. 

OCTOBER?!?!

Bring Your Kids! The first Saturday of the month at Cadenza Music and the second Saturday of the month at the Bryant Lake Bowl! 

Alexis and I are doing Improv A Go Go! I am the luckiest jerk. Sunday Oct. 26th, 7:30 p.m. show, Strike Theater. 

Nudge is back at Open Eye, on my birthday, Monday Oct. 20th. We are so grateful to play on this beautiful stage. Hey look! Cherry and the Spoon said really lovely nice things about our September performance!

I get to be a part of Rev. Matt's Next Top Monster! Saturday Oct. 25th, 7 p.m. Bryant Lake Bowl

PENNY AND THE BANDITS ALBUM RELEASE PARTY. Oh. Hey. So... making albums in studios is, like... say I own a motorcycle. And every couple of years, I'm gonna add a big fancy motorcycle part to my motorcycle... using money. I know this really talented guy, and the work is so cool. What if I drive that motorcycle around a small space, charge people admission, and hope they eat nachos? 

When I play live, everything is so stripped down (out of laziness, capacity, and necessity. All of these things are true.) 

These studio album tracks are wild maximalist gems! All the things are added in! Matt Patrick is a genius! It's a lot of fun. WANNA LOOK AT THIS MOTORCYCLE?

Wednesday Oct. 22nd, 7 p.m. show. Storytelling and comedy bits too! 

*****

You're the best. Keep getting together with folks. Keep making things. LOVE.

September! A thing!

It's September 1st. 

School starts tomorrow. 

Minneapolis is in mourning. 

There's a baby squirrel on the porch. 

Here we are. 

AUGUST

The dumbdumbs in question.

Fringe was a beautiful dream. Clown Funeral was a hoot, and I'm so grateful to everyone who came, who made the thing (Chris! Mark! Levi! Matt!), magnetic coffins and squirty flowers. Floppy Body/Buddy will soon come to rest in my garage (I think), and I cold-emailed to Lakewood Cemetery to see if they're interested. 

I assume they are not. 

Butch and I got to teach a workshop through Very Good Improv and it was DELIGHTFUL. Need a monoscene workshop? Heck yeah, you do. We also got a bit of post-Fringe Adorable in at the Bryant Lake Bowl; so many thanks to Two's Company for hilarity. 

The kids and I got to briefly visit Sioux City, and my sister promptly put the children on the roof. If wondering why chores are more fun there than here, please see above sentence. 

SEPTEMBER

The State Fair closes today. 

The aforementioned school starts tomorrow. 

Everyone's going to get COVID. We're gonna be so tired. 

AND IN THE MIDST OF ALL OF EVERYTHING, WE'RE GONNA GET TOGETHER AND MAKE SOME JOY I SWEAR TO GAHHHHHHD. 

• Nudge starts a monthly run at Open Eye Theater, starting in Monday September 8th! Group improvised monoscene joy! Tickets here!

• Bring Your Kids! returns in September, the first and second Sunday of every month. Let's get the band back together!

• I Wrote This For You has its debut at the Bryant Lake Bowl, Wednesday Sept. 10th! Tickets here!

• I get to sing things and say things with the Rev. Matt Kessen in his monthly show! Thursday Sept. 4th at the Bryant Lake Bowl! Tickets here! A chunk of the proceeds from this show go to Moms Demand Action.

• Penny and the Bandits plays COLFAXFEST, Saturday September 13th, 12:45 p.m., 46th & Colfax Ave S, Mpls. FREE!

• Penny and the Bandits will also be a part of Local Music Scene at the Bryant Lake Bowl, Friday September 26th! Improv! Music! Both!

• I start teaching at MSS again through COMPAS. Also, I get to offer a number of workshops through Washington County Libraries; I'll put a list on my website. if you're in the neighborhood, come on by!

You're all great. As soon as we can, we're gonna drive a very personable baby squirrel to the WRC. Hoping you and yours are healthy, safe, and doing what you need to do. Love.

AUGUST! FRINGE! EGADS!

Hi friends... July is somehow both the long and the short of it. We made it through travel, are back in the new house, the old house has a new family in it, and there's all to do. But in a good way!  

AUGUST!

CLOWN FUNERAL!! Minnesota Fringe 2025! Levi Weinhagen, Chris Rodriguez, Mark Benzel, myself, and a very special guest you won't recognize at all. It is what it says it is: a funeral for a clown as attempted by idiots.

It's dumbdumb. We hope it makes you snort and maybe feel nice things: we are stupidly proud of it, like a kid who caught a frog. Tickets here!

******

Adorable is up at the Bryant Lake Bowl on Wednesday August 13th, with special dreamy guests Two's Company. 6 p.m. doors/7 p.m. show. A smooth midweek $10 for it all. Tickets here!

We'll also be teaching a Monoscene workshop through Very Good Improv on Saturday August 16th, 1 p.m. Info here!

******

September will come rolling in wildly... There's some music stuff, Bring Your Kids! returns, Nudge starts monthly at Open Eye Theatre, a show with the Rev. Matt Kessen, I'm producing a show at the Bryant Lake Bowl called "I Wrote This For You"... Whewwww... BUT THAT'S ALL LATER. 

Love and love and can't wait to see you so soon. :) 

JULY A SUMMERTIME BREAK? NO?

There's been a lot going on, universally speaking. We're doing it, and also, whewwww... I think you're great. I hope you're finding some time and space and joy, along with managing the terrible or things out of our control. 

All those things from June - - they happened! I'm so proud of the Bring Your Kids! cast, I'm so chuffed to have performed at TCIF, I'm so grateful for the workshops I got to take. I played Kingfield Porchfest until the sky came crashing down, and 'am so grateful for my hosts, and for those who stuck around. 

JULY!

Though technically August, CLOWN FUNERAL!! Minnesota Fringe 2025! Levi Weinhagen, Chris Rodriguez, Mark Benzel, myself and a very special guest you won't recognize at all. It is what it says it is: a funeral for a clown as attempted by idiots. 

Also, Nudge is up at Open Eye Theatre!! It's gonna be lovely! July 14th and 21st, 7 p.m. shows. Tickets here. We're so excited. 

I'm out of town for a chunk of July, and am still emptying the old house's garage. It's a lot and it's gotta get done. I'm not overwhelmed and I'm proud of what I've done! 

I'm also worried that I've mis-timed the whole thing. 

I think I'm okay. 

....

eeeeeeeeeek. 

****

Dave Kappelhoff died two days ago. Dave Kappelhoff was a fixture of the Twin Cities community for wayyy over 20 years. He was a gentle. He was funny. He was thrilled to be here. He was a fantastic teacher. He was insanely generous and believed in us dorks. He was a dork. He was a fantastic person to be in company with. He was a leader. He collected good folks and created stuff with those folks. 

He loved nature and played pond hockey and taught kids in juvie and then worked with the park system because of course. 

He gave me basically every first chance I had here in the Twin Cities, and knew me at my most idiotic. And still let me come play. 

Here's to Dave Kappelhoff, whom we loved and love. Here's to stupid cancer, who we wish would fcuk off and leave everyone alone. Here's to the ecosystem he helped shape, the lake he skated on, for years and years and years. We're so grateful and sad. 

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Love you.