Monk Parrots

Just 11 hours left.

As we close out our year-end auction, we want to say thank you to everyone who joined us on December 18 at La MaMa for Vision Forward: A Tribute to Robert Wilson — and to all who’ve already bid or donated.

We’re so close to our goal — just $317 to go — and every bid or contribution helps us cross the finish line.

Today’s photo captures a moment from the VIP reception: artists, collaborators, friends, and supporters brought together by shared purpose and care.

If you meant to place a final bid or make a year-end donation, there’s still time. The auction closes tonight at 11:59 pm.

As we head into the New Year, we’re deeply grateful for this community and wish you a hopeful, healthy, and inspiring 2026.

👉 Link to bid or donate in the comments

With gratitude,
Luke & the Monk Parrots Board

⏳ One day left! Our silent auction closes Dec 31 at 11:59 pm.

In the final stretch, we’re sharing a glimpse of the extraordinary items available:
• A Northern Qi Dynasty (550–577 CE) Head of Buddha
• Photographs by Sue Bailey
• A Robert Wilson book bundle, tracing decades of visionary work
… and many more offerings!

We’re so close to our goal, and every bid or donation helps us cross the finish line and move the work forward.

👉 Bid or donate via the link in our bio
Thank you for being part of this community. 🌿

📣 Fifteen posts in celebration of fifteen years.
We’re digging through the Monk Parrots archive—one work at a time—while we push toward the finish line of our year-end fundraiser. The auction has been extended through Dec. 31, with a goal of $2,000. We’re currently at $1,200, and every bid helps carry us across the line.

Still available: an extraordinary Buddha head and photographs by Sue Bailey—rare, striking works that would be powerful in a home or office. Truly special pieces. The winning bidder will not be disappointed: https://auctria.events/MonkParrots

No. 15: PEARLS FOR SPURS (2024)
by Gates Leonard

Set in a sweltering Florida trailer park, Pearls for Spurs is a darkly comic portrait of a family unraveling under the weight of grief, neglect, and survival. Missy, a mother numbed by pills, drifts through loss while her sister Danny forces cheer into chaos. Their children—Carousel, Kill, Spoon, and Bean—navigate violence, desire, humor, and harm in fractured ways. Absurdity masks despair as tensions escalate, asking what survival looks like when family ties are as suffocating as they are sustaining.

The 2024 premiere was presented at the Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre (A.R.T./New York Theatres) and supported by A.R.T./New York, the Puffin Foundation, Seoul Institute of the Arts, and individual donors. The work grew from an earlier public reading at La MaMa Great Jones Rehearsal Studios, carrying its history from page to stage.

Today’s images trace that journey—rehearsal, performance, and the emergence of a play that confronts cycles of grief and inheritance with humor, brutality, and fierce humanity.

Production photos 📸

Fifteen years. Fifteen works. Help us close the year strong.
📣 Auction link in bio. Ends Dec. 31

To celebrate 15 years of Monk Parrots, we’re digging through the archive with a daily post for the next 15 days—leading up to our gathering at La MaMa on Dec. 18 (link in bio).
No. 13: “Terminus” — New York Premiere at New York Theatre Workshop.

“Terminus” marked many firsts for Monk Parrots: our first collaboration with playwright Gabriel Jason Dean, our first partnership with New York Theatre Workshop, and an unforgettable performance by Deirdre O’Connell.

Written by Gabriel Jason Dean and directed by Lucie Tiberghien, “Terminus” centers on Eller, a poor white matriarch in rural Georgia whose deteriorating memory forces buried violence and racial reckoning to surface. Told in a lyrical form that blends psychological realism and expressionism, the play asks how white Americans are haunted by — and complicit in — the trauma inflicted on Black Americans.

At the center was O’Connell’s performance, which critics described with unanimity:
“New York stage treasure Deirdre O’Connell gives a heartbreaking and brilliant performance.” — The New York Times
“Deirdre O’Connell’s performance will leave you speechless.” — YesBroadway
“…an emotional tour de force.” — Stage Buddy

Presented at NYTW Next Door in 2018, “Terminus” was the New York premiere of the second chapter in Dean’s Attapulgus Elegies, following its award-winning debut in Austin.

Today’s images return to that production: rehearsal moments, performance stills, and the quiet intensity of a role that left an indelible mark.

No. 13: “Terminus”