Despite the long-awaited emergence of nicer weather, it was another packed house at The Hopleaf last night for the May edition of This Much Is True.
Thanks to our amazing audience for being so supportive and attentive, and to our special guests, Arlene Malinowski, Kelsie Huff, Jamie Buell, and Patrick Brennan, for blowing us all away with their stories.
It was a night not to be missed, but if you did, don’t fret – June is going to get even hotter.
See you next month? Details to come …
This Much Is True loves to bring you new faces alongside returning favorites. On May 10th, we introduce you to Patrick Brennan, who joins our talented friends Arlene Malinowski, Kelsie Huff and Jamie Buell in telling new, funny and sometimes very vulnerable stories. We’ve got a fantastic line up that will leave you thinking, laughing and oh, so glad you came out to spend the evening with us.
Last month due to space constraints the owner of The Hopleaf himself was at the door turning away people as early as 7:00pm, don’t let this be you. Grab your friends and a seat and get yourself there early. The bar will be open, the beers will be pouring and the stories they will be a telling.
This Much is True
The Hopleaf — Upstairs
Tuesday, May 10th
7:30pm — FREE!
Join Regulars:
Dorrie Ferguson
Deanna Moffitt
Scott Whitehair
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With special guests:
As actor and playwright Arlene views her solo work as an artistic extension of the social justice work she has been committed to for the last twenty years. She has been performing her critically acclaimed solo shows, in theaters and colleges across the country. Her solo work has been honored with 3Arts nomination, Garland Award, LA Theatre Ovation award. In addition to her TV and film work (Some of it good- a lot of it bad) Arlene teaches several private writing classes in Chicago and LA and at Victory Gardens and Chicago Dramatists. As a Spoken Word Artist she will shamelessly perform anywhere, anytime. She has been a contributing writer for Selling Lemonade for Free, More.com, The Week Behind and Paramanu Pentataquark. She is a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists. Check it! arlenemalinowski.com
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Patrick Brennan is a member WNEPTheater and hosts their annual SKALD Storytelling competition (later this month at the Chicago Cultural Center). Patrick won the SKALD in 2002 and has been coasting on that since. He is a dear friend and we’re all pulling for him not to disappoint us.
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Kelsie Huff is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago, Second City’s Conservatory, Writing and Stand-up Program, and iO’s Writing Program. Currently she performers and produces the kates; an all female comedy showcase in Lincoln Square. Kelsie has performed at The Lincoln Lodge, Doyle’s Pub, Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, Chicago Underground Comedy, Dairy Center for the Performing Arts, Lakeshore Theater, Olive Black, and Circuit. Kelsie has performed with sketch teams Children of the Absurd and Cornman, improvised with Theatre Momentum and Playground Theatre’s RECESS, and has written two one woman shows – HUFFS and BRUISER. Kelsie likes eating cupcakes in the bathroom, they taste better there. www.kelsiehuff.com
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Jamie Buell is a writer/ comedian and a proud member of the Playground Theater company and Laugh Out Loud Theater in Schaumburg, IL. He can be seen occasionally around town as half of the olde-tyme comedy duo Montgomery & Cooke. He was also the first champion of the Blewt! Productions comedy-talent competition Impress These Apes, now in its 6th season. He’s married, has a dog, and lives within walking distance of a real good sushi place. The dream is real.
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Who has seven fresh stories and a show you don’t want to miss? You guessed it–it’s This Much is True and you will definitely want to be with us on Tuesday, April 12th.
Not only will co-host Deanna Moffitt be back after a three month absence but her fellow writers Dorrie Ferguson, Larry Kerns and co-host Scott Whitehair are thrilled to have a few surprises up their sleeves including: our first musical guests Duck and Goose, funny man Prescott Tolk, and talented actress, writer and former SNL cast member Nora Dunn!
Get there early to get a seat and visit Johnny at the cash bar upstairs for a beer. We’ll see you there.
This Much is True
The Hopleaf — Upstairs
Tuesday, April 12th
7:30pm — FREE!
April’s line up includes regulars:
Dorrie Ferguson
Larry Kerns
Deanna Moffitt
Scott Whitehair
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With special guests:
A cast member of Saturday Night Live in 1985 through 1991, the iconic show was Ms. Dunn’s first job on camera. The cast that returned with Lorne Michaels was considered the strongest ensemble since the shows original inception. She created memorable characters such as Liz Sweeney and Pat Stevens. Dunn spent three years on NBC’s night time drama, Sisters, playing opposite Swoosie Kurtz, and performed in such films as Working Girl, Miami Blues, How I Got Into College, The Last Supper, Runaway Jury, Bruce Almighty, Three Kings, Laws of Attraction, and It’s Complicated. She has appeared in way too many TV dramas as a lawyer, a madam, a judge, and recurs on Entourage as a therapist, which she enjoys. She has also appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm as an NBC executive though her salary was far from what an executive gets. She has two features coming out in the spring and summer, LOL with Demi Moore, and Frankie Go Boom, with Chris O’Dowd and Christopher Noth. Ms. Dunn is currently working on a one-woman show, Mythical Proportions, which she will perform in its first theatrical form in Madison, Wisconsin in May. Her last one-woman show, Small Prey, was a critical success and ran for 16 weeks in Los Angeles in 1999. She is the author of a small book, Nobody’s Rib, published by Harper/Collins in 1991.
Ms. Dunn supports unions, labor, collective bargaining, and prank phone calls. She has stopped drinking tea. It might be poisoned.
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Duck and Goose is the homegrown indie-folk collaboration between Chicago-native Emily Claire Palmer and Alabama-native Charles Murphy. Having first met at a children’s theater camp, the two began performing around town last summer at farmers markets. A brief jaunt in the Northwest and a number of serendipitous events propelled them forward into the official creation of their two person band. They’ve been steadily gaining momentum all winter, performing at venues such as Uncommon Ground, Goose Island Brewery, and the Elbo Room. They’re ready and waiting for another musical summer to begin. Check out their videos at www.youtube.com/user/duckandgooseband, and visit them on Facebook here.
This Much is True is gearing up for yet another outstanding show at The Hopleaf on Tuesday, March 8th. With peeks of sunshine and the temperatures out of the teens we at TMIT are feeling giddy with anticipation of spring time. Which is why we feel like this month’s story tellers are as fresh as daffodils on a hill of green grass.
Please join us:
This Much is True
The Hopleaf — Upstairs
Tuesday, March 8th
7:30pm — FREE!
Our regulars this month include:
Dorrie Ferguson
Larry Kerns
Scott Whitehair
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Along with featured guests:
Marsha Harman moved to Chicago nearly 10 years ago. She has performed with New Leaf Theatre (where she is part of the Producing Ensemble), WNEP, The Plagiarists, and Polarity Ensemble Theatre, and very recently with the Victory Gardens’ Literally Sexy festival. She has told stories at the Moth StorySLAMs, Story Club, WNEP’s Transistor, and is the winner of the 2010 SKALD storytelling competition. Her upcoming projects include re-imagining her day job and improving her baking skills.
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Alyson Lyon is co-producer of Essay Fiesta (every 3rd Monday at the Book Cellar) and a member of the Chicago Story Collective — Not only does she perform her essays all over town, but she also has a background in comedy and music and currently works as makeup artist — She also loves to make soup –
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Michael is a Chicago-based writer & performer and the current Artistic Director of NewTown Writers’ performance arm. He has appeared in and co-produced several installments of NTW’s performance series (Working Stiffs, Solo Homo, etc.). He has also presented work with Story Lab Chicago, Essay Fiesta, Story Club, and Blue Moon Studio Theatre’s Solo in Blue series. He is slowly but surely working on his full-length solo show, Battles With Boys. Check out his stuff at www.michaelvankerckhove.wordpress.com
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Shiow-Jiau Yung spent the better part of her 20s at WBEZ, where she editedthe Schadenfreude radio show, built the This American Life podcast, and also worked withSound Opinions and the Third Coast International Audio Festival. She’s performed with 2nd Story and WNEP, and yes — she’s rocking some Asian blush in this photo. It’s an enzyme deficiency, okay? Plus, it was her birthday.
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Once again This Much is True brings you a show packed with amazing stories from some of the best writers and storytellers in Chicago. This month we’ve got the host of the hot open-mic series, StoryClub; a past SKALD winner; and one of the most talented actresses and directors this side of Sicily.
This is a not to be missed show; get there early, grab a seat and a beer, and prepare for a great night of stories.
This Much is True
Tuesday, February 8th
7:30pm sharp!
The Hopleaf (upstairs) – 5148 N Clark St.
FREE!
Our regular storytellers:
Dorrie Ferguson
Larry Kerns
Deanna Moffitt
Scott Whitehair
Are joined by:
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Jen Ellison is a writer, performer and director in Chicago. She has workedwithWNEPTheater, Trap Door Theatre, Collaboraction, The Neo-Futurists, The Process Theatre Group, and The Mammals. Ellison teaches Writing and Improv at DePaul University, The Second City, and Columbia College. She is also the creator of the funny-ish and sad-ish web comic The Comique, which can be found at www.the-comique.blogspot.com.
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Dana is the founder and host of Story Club, as well as the Managing Editor of TriQuarterly Online. She received a Bachelors in Creative Writing and Religion and from Wittenberg University and a Masters in Religious Studies from The University of Chicago. Dana also has a Certificate in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Chicago and is currently pursuing her MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Northwestern University. Recently won the AWP Intro Journals Creative Nonfiction prize and will be published in the Tampa Review. She also received a Writers Studio Student Prize from the University of Chicago Graham School, was a finalist for the Guild Complex Nonfiction Prize and was first runner-up at the February & April 2010 MothStorySLAMs in Chicago. She performs around Chicago with Cafe Cabaret, Essay Fiesta, Stories at the Store, This Much is True, and Beast Woman. She is a founding member of the Chicago Story Collective.
Dana loves hosting an open mic and she especially loves it when the stories get weird.
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Dave has been writing and performing in Chicago for twelve years, with plays producedat WNEP Theater, the Bailiwick, EP Theater, and the New York International Fringe Festival. He’s a past winner of WNEP’s SKALD storytelling competition, and he wrote “The Banquet of Life,” a now-defunct food column for the online magazine The Simon “The Sound of One Hand Withholding Applause” is a fiction blog he used to update regularly. Perhaps someday he will again. Just in case, here is the address: http://shaxpur.livejournal.com/
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Shannon is the recent champion of The Moth GrandSLAM storytelling event in Chicago. He has been a featured storyteller at StoryClub. He also went to a few schools and even graduated from some. Get to know Shannon at the podcast he hosts on iTunes called: Shannon Cason’s Homemade Stories. He is a native Detroiter and is currently finishing his first crime novel.
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Kevin is thrilled to be part of This Much is True & humbled to be counted among such talent! Kevin is an actor who has worked around town with companies such as WNEP, New Leaf, Griffin, Steep, and Timeline theatres to name a few. Kevin has just started getting up the courage to tell his own stories in front of people. He was last seen as part of WNEP’s Frequency at Transistor, as well as The Moth, where he won the Story Slam in October. He came to This Much is True through Story Lab go check it out!!
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While This Much is True went dark for the month of December it doesn’t mean that we weren’t out and about telling stories. Some of our TMIT storytellers took part in The Chicago Story Collectives premier show and fundraiser for Howard Brown Medical Center and helped raise $800. We also helped out Wicker Park Grace raise funds for 826 Chi. Larry Kerns was seen at The Steppenwolf Theater with 2nd Story and both Deanna Moffitt and Scott Whitehair took part in iO Theater’s Holiday Punch in the Face.
But man does it feel good to be back hosting our own show.
This Much is True
The Hopleaf — Upstairs
Tuesday, January 11th
7:30pm — FREE!
This month’s show brings back some of our favorites from 2010 and a couple of bright new faces that we can’t wait to introduce to you.
Our regulars this month include:
Dorrie Ferguson
Larry Kerns
Scott Whitehair
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Along with featured guests:
Has worked as a writer, producer, director and actor with Comedy Central, Disney, Nickelodeon, PBS, The Oxygen Network, Showcase, The Movie Network, UPN, VH-1, Noggin, CTV, The Family Channel and The CBC. On The World Wide Internets her shorts and public service announcements have been viewed millions of times, and no, not all of those hits are because of her mom. She also reated a live comedy show and performed at the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. She co-created and produced “Ripe Tomatoes” a sketch comedy show for Carsey-Werner-Mandabach and The Oxygen Network and would like to thank the 17 midwestern housewives who watched it. Oh and did we mention she’s kick-ass funny? You can check her out at: http://www.jojostein.com
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Vincent Lacey moved to Chicago by way of having absolutely nothing better to do in 2004. Since then he has trained and played in many improv theatres of questionable merit. He has also worked with the production companies WNEP and The Mammals on plays, and co-wrote a two-person Catholic comedy called Hopelessly Devoted. He considers his Catholicism an addiction. Watching people do good, weird works of art in unexpected places is a personal love, and thus Vincent is Associate Producer of the Chicago Fringe Festival. www.chicagofringe.org.
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Jill’s work can be heard with increasing infrequency on Chicago Public Radio and has appeared in Stop Smiling, Ninth Letter, VAIN, and MAKE magazines among others. She has received the Illinois Arts Council Literary Award and is a former Opium Magazine Literary Death Match Champion . You can find her online at www.callingallmonkeys.com.
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Don Hall is the Events Coordinator for Chicago Public Media and the Audience Services cat for NPR’s prolific game show “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!” He is also a producer, director, and writer of Chicago Off-Loop Theater; the Founding Director of Chicago’s prolific WNEP Theater, and every now and again, can be seen performing on a Chicago stage or teaching advanced improvisational technique.
Also an angry liberal and a dissatisfied artist. With an incendiary blog.
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Another reminder in case you were planning on coming down to the Hopleaf to enjoy a beer and stories, there is no show tonight. You can still go down and get a beer but there won’t be any stories, at least not from TMIT.
If you’re lucky you’ll get trapped in a booth with a sexy guy or gal and trade your own stories all night long. If you’re not so lucky, some guy named Fred will sit down next to you and tell you about his gout.
But fear not loyal TMIT fans there’s another show in the mix and this one is rather swanky.
We’re joining forces with Wicker Park Grace Church and Gallery to raise funds for 826Chi a fantastic non-profit reading and tutoring program. There’ll be food, music, stories and all the proceeds go to something great. So you’ll be acting like Santa Claus for a lot of great kids who need help in the classroom.
Benefit is at the Wicker Park Grace Gallery
1741 N Western Ave
7-9pm
Featuring TMIT regulars:
Larry Kerns
Deanna Moffitt
Scott Whitehair
and special guest:
Martha Reeves
A sliding scale of $25 – $50 whatever you can give
Just a reminder that the THIS MUCH IS TRUE December show has been canceled due to a conflict with scheduling at Hopleaf. Fear not though dear fans we’ve got another event coming up that promises an extra amount of “kick-ass” in its place.
Friday, December 10th at 10:00pm we inaugurate the Chicago Story Collective a coming together of the hosts of Chicago’s best reading events all under one roof. The event is a fundraiser for the Howard Brown Medical Center which finds itself woefully in the red and we’ve got an amazing night of stories lined up to do our part to get them back in black.
Along with stories we have fantastic raffle prizes including: theater tickets to The Goodman, iO, and ComedySportz, Groupon Cash, a PowerMat wireless recharger, an improv class at Annoyance, itunes gift card, a Threadless gift certificate, wonderful Terry’s Toffee and more!
If you’re a fan of story telling it’s a not to be missed night.
Chicago Story Collective presents:
HOLIDAYS ARE HELL
Town Hall Pub – 3340 N Halsted
Friday, December 10th
10pm
Tickets are $10 are and with your donation you get 5 raffle tickets. ALL proceeds go directly to Howard Brown Medical Center.
The Chicago Story Collective is:
Deanna Moffitt & Scott Whitehair from This Much is True
Alyson Lyon and Keith Ecker from Essay Fiesta
Dana Norris from Story Club
Jen Bosworth from Stories at The Store
This Much is True frequent guest and friend Dennis Frymire takes to the stage in Hubris Productions‘ “Frankie and Johnny”. It opened this weekend at Greenhouse Theater and is already Jeff recommended! The play runs through December 31s: Thursday-Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm. We can’t say enough about Dennis’ story telling ability and we’re sure you will be delighted with his command of the stage as an actor too. Joining Dennis on stage is Patricia Savieo who not only acts, but also has directing and writing credits on her resume, and has been seen in the audience of TMIT on several occasions. We’re going, we hope you will too.
Our friends, Alyson and Keith, are celebrating the one year anniversary of Essay Fiesta tonight at The Book Cellar in Lincoln Square. This Much is True regular Deanna Moffitt is more than excited about her invite to join in on the festivities. The lineup is packed with talented writers and performers and it promises to be a fantastic night of entertainment.
If you’re looking for something to do tonight, look no further; get there early–seating is limited and they pack the house.
Essay Fiesta
The Book Cellar
4736 N Lincoln Ave (right in the heart of Lincoln Square)
7:00pm
FREE – with a kickass raffle afterwards, proceeds go to Howard Brown.