‘M’ is for monkey; an animal family that Deke Weaver, performance artist and University assistant professor in Art and Design, said plays an important role in American culture. That is why he wrote “Monkey: Prehensile Tales by Deke Weaver.”

The show opened last Wednesday at the Station Theatre in Urbana and is the second performance Weaver has done for the venue. He said the show is hard to describe.

“It’s not the easiest thing to sum up,” Weaver said.

The show is a collection of fairy tales that focus on two characters whose lives intertwine. Actually, Weaver said there is more to the story, but the use of video, dancing and monologues make it difficult to accurately describe.

Weaver said audiences should expect appearances by the likes of Paul Bunyan, the Sopranos and other pop culture figures. The show, though, is virtually a one-man act with Weaver’s wife Jennifer Allen making appearances throughout to perform various dance routines.

Weaver said the show is much like a CD, where each track makes sense on its own, but can come together for a collective meaning.

“Monkey” opened on Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday. Weaver said the show relates to Darwin as it focuses on monkeys.

“As soon as you start talking about monkeys and apes and (humans) being the ‘great apes,’ it’s hard to go very far without tripping over Darwin,” he said.

Centering a new show on the primates stemmed from a larger project Weaver is working on, he said. “The Unreliable Bestiary,” attributes an endangered or existent animal to each letter of the alphabet. Weaver said ‘M’ is for monkey.

Animals play an important role in our culture, Weaver said. They are in our dreams, our fairy tales and everyday language. Monkeys are seen as cunning individuals of power. That is why the giant ape King Kong also appears in the piece. Weaver believes that between mascots, logos and sayings, animals are always seen in American culture and he wanted to demonstrate the connection. He said many people value animals in everyday life.

“When the tiger is gone, what’s Exxon going to do?” Weaver said.

The Station Theatre, a small train station turned black box theater, holds only about 100 audience members. Weaver said this creates an intimate environment for his show where he gets to be really close to his audience.

The show should make audiences appreciate theater, Weaver said.

“I hope they feel something,” he added. “When live performance is at its best, I think it does something that you can’t get from TV, from the net or from film.”

The show runs until February 21.