Excited to share that Monte K’s music video Santa’s Emergency has won an award at the Hillsboro Film Festival 2025! Click here to watch the video.

Hi, I’m Monte K. 👋
I write music, often as storytelling songs.
I discovered my love for music as a child. Creating music came later in life, when I began writing original songs in multiple genres, and singing them when appropriate for my voice (my guitar playing is solely for personal pleasure.) I have numerous songs yet to be released and a musical “The Humanity Express” to be published soon.

Feel free to follow me on Instagram so you can stay up to date on all the latest on my music and check out my Spotify below!

We’ve just published our next book: the first in what will be a series of curriculum-based play collections, each centered around a STEM subject and a theme. “Math Universe” is centered around, you guessed it: MATH. The plays are a loosely-connected collection of glimpses into the lives of those fighting the good fight in a sector of space that’s, er, rather a far distance from here and quite some time in the past, if you catch our drift.

Your author (that’s me!) grew up really enjoying such educational after-school entertainment as Square One TV, and you can definitely see that influence on these plays. Each one is centered around a different core mathematical concept, and the action of the play both helps illustrate and explain that concept, and also makes some really very silly jokes with the concept, because being able to understand jokes about something means you understand it enough to play with it in your mind. The math concepts are geared towards about a third-grade level, and the scenes themselves are sophisticated and funny enough that even eighth-graders (or even older kids than that) would likely enjoy acting in them and directing them, especially if they were for performance for an audience of smaller kids — so depending on the level of math and reading you’re working with, the age range for these is potentially pretty wide indeed.

Also important: these plays were purposefully written with no specified (or implied) gender for the characters, so ANY student can play ANYONE right out of the gate, with no script modifications; no name changes or slight rewrites necessary.

If you’re a teacher or know a teacher, we’d love to know what you think! Did you have fun with these plays? Is there a genre or style of story that your kids adore that we should work into another collection in the series?

(Licensing info: The licensing notes in the front of the book specifically state that if you bought a copy of the book, that license allows you to make as many script copies as you like for as many students as you like — we know how being a teacher is! — all we ask is that A. you don’t share the text *between* classrooms; each individual teacher should buy a copy for their own unlimited classroom use, and B. if you’re planning to do some sort of *paid* performance where either you’re paying grownup actors or charging for tickets, that you contact us for a licensing agreement.)

The book is currently available from Amazon, and will be available on other platforms soon, no doubt. May the Zero be with you…

Hello world! It’s been awhile since we’ve written you. Boy, 2020 has been a heck of a year, eh? As a family-run business, we hope you and your family are safe and healthy this holiday season. We know we’ve got projects in the works, and we hope 2021 brings all of us some good luck to make up for this crazy year.

Just as the light starts to return after this week’s Winter Solstice, may the light return to us all. Happy holidays, everyone.

The weather’s getting warmer, and the end of school is almost here! It’s the season of starry nights, road trips, campfires, running in the park on sunny days, and making the most of summertime. At times like these, it seems like you’d want to maximize your real-live face time with friends and loved ones. (Get your head out of those screens!)

Managed Mischief is full of games to play with your kids and your friends, whether you want to spend your time in the car telling stories, or whether you need something to do while running around outside. (Also makes a great thank-you gift for a teacher or coach!) Use your summer fun time to laugh a lot and create delight.

The holidays are approaching, and that means it’s almost gift-giving season! Despite (or maybe because of) the time we spend in front of screens these days, books are still very popular. All of our titles are available online or print on demand from your favorite booksellers:

Political junkies and fans of satire or speculative fiction would appreciate The Great Separation, by John Doe, Ph.D.

Families with children, or anyone appreciative of cheeky illustrated poetry (think Shel Silverstein) would appreciate What Does a Truck Driver Do? by Mary Sievert and the Khosh cousins (edited by Mary Sievert Khosh).

Teachers, parents, or anyone who wrangles children—or even groups of adults—would appreciate Managed Mischief by Mandy Khoshnevisan.

And if you want an ultra-portable electronic copy, our books are also available in e-book format! There are mad Kindle discounts on the way for What Does a Truck Driver Do? and Managed Mischief, just in time for the holiday shopping season. Stay tuned!

Now available for Kindle, and soon to be available in Trade Paperback:

Managed Mischief: A Toolkit of Improv-Inspired Games
by Mandy Khoshnevisan

Improvisation is MAKING something fun happen—and not just onstage before an audience, but ANYWHERE. Managed Mischief is an improv how-to kit, helping parents and teachers celebrate everyday creativity with the kids in their lives. Whether or not you have any prior improv experience, this book will walk you through how to teach and play these self-guided games that boost creativity, confidence, and collaborative thinking.

Managed Mischief is chock full of fun, valuable lessons, activities, games, and coaching advice to promote camaraderie and self-confidence for a creative, supportive classroom environment for all children. I have used several of Mandy’s activities with great success. I would highly recommend this book.

—Linda Beam, Elementary School Teacher for 28 years

 

Mandy, a 20-year improv and educational theater veteran, collects dozens of improv and theater games into a must-have compendium. Looking to have some fun, loosen up, or sharpen up your brain? Look no further than this fantastic book!

—Tara McDonough, Improvisor

 

A whimsical tour of how to empower kids (and their adults) through play. I’ve been improvising for 20 years, but I was at a loss to how to translate my experience into playtime with my children. This book made it easy.

—Alan Goy, Improvisor

Available in e-book and trade paperback; click here for more information!