2nd Thursday of Every Month Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro 3905 N Lincoln Ave., Chicago 7:30 PM (Doors at 7:00) FREE |
This Much Is True is the longest running monthly storytelling show in Chicago, IL. (Since 2008). Every month, we come together for an evening of true personal stories from some of Chicago's most fascinating people. An all new cast takes the stage each month to let you in on the heartbreaking, the hilarious, and everything in between.
Past guests have included writers, actors, chefs, theologians, SNL alums, musicians, bloggers, activists, professional storytellers, comedians, and more from our city and around the world. We hope that you can join us.
Past guests have included writers, actors, chefs, theologians, SNL alums, musicians, bloggers, activists, professional storytellers, comedians, and more from our city and around the world. We hope that you can join us.
August 8th Cast
Philip Earl Johnson
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Philip is a Chicago based artist, performer and family man. He has been seen on many Chicago stages, including The Goodman, Steppenwolf, Court, Chicago Shakespeare, Writers, Timeline and his artistic home, American Blues Theater, among many others. He travels around the country performing at Renaissance Faires, including The Bristol Renaissance Festival, theatres, comedy clubs and various festivals as MooNiE the Magnif’Cent: Juggler, Ropewalker, FoolisH MorTaL for the past 35 years with over 11,000 performances under his belt; gratefully some of them successful. Thank goodness, however, for the many failures, which are ongoing, the best teacher and fertilizer this fool could ask for. Feedback is always welcome.
Myron Laban
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Myron Laban is a Chicago-Based visual artist, musician, and pharmacist born of Egyptian immigrants. His work focuses on the human condition, with a constant conversation on overcoming struggle and finding one's light. These ideas are conveyed with his playful illustrations of faceless figures, including his trademark “Uplift” figure with a boy on top of his shoulders. Conversely, these ideas are also represented with his vivid surrealistic pieces exploding with elements of basketball, pastel colors, flowers, and abstract shapes. His work is heavily incorporated into the community through his numerous murals spanning every corner of the city, work with nonprofits, and countless collaborations. Myron has been featured in PBS, CNN, USA Today, and other notable media outlets. His ultimate goal is to uplift the world through his art.
Claudia Maru
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A vegetarian with a huge affinity for all animals (particularly very tiny chihuahuas), she spent most of her adulthood to this point working for the man in healthcare research. She enjoys all of the outdoors and hopes to be doing a lot more travel in the very near future. She discovered the power of storytelling just this past summer and was instantly hooked. Claudia is co-host of Do Not Submit in Libertyville, held the third Wednesday of each month She'd like you to tell her your story sometime!
Abby McNear
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Abby is a storyteller of longstanding, gifted with a dogged determination to try what scares her (eating jellyfish, going into a coal mine, traveling somewhere unusual) and then tell other people it wasn’t so bad. Abby has lived in Evanston for 30 years, where she and her husband raised their two kids, assorted dogs, gerbils, hamsters, hermit crabs, and fish. The kids were far and away the best - she doesn’t recommend raising hermit crabs.
Mark Shields
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Mark Shields is a Chicagoland native who’s settled in Andersonville after 18 years in Washington, D.C. He works in communications for lefty causes by day, and loves telling and listening to stories by night. He’s appeared in shows in Story District, Outspoken, and Steppenwolf’s “You’re Being Ridiculous.”
Willa Taylor
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Willa J. Taylor is a writer and storyteller, and an adjunct professor at DePaul and Northern Illinois Universities She has performed nationally and has taught storytelling across Chicago for both Goodman Theatre and the Chicago Parks District. As the former Walter Director at Goodman, she created and developed GeNarrations– a personal narrative storytelling program for people 55+. Her professional journey also includes impactful roles at renowned institutions such as Lincoln Center Theater, New Victory Theatre, Arena Stage and others. Taylor’s contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including the Arts Advocate Award from Ingenuity and the Exemplar Award from the August Wilson Society She holds a Master of Education degree from Concordia University, Master of Fine Arts degree in Film Studies from American University, a Certificate in Culinary Arts from Kendall College, and a Bachelor of Science from Excelsior College. She is a published author and sought-after presenter at conferences and symposia. Taylor is a proud military veteran, having served in the US Navy for 12 years.
Scott Whitehair
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Host/producer of This Much Is True
Scott Whitehair is a storyteller, teacher, and producer living in Chicago, IL. He is the producer of This Much Is True, creator of Story Lab Chicago, which has put 850+ new storytellers on stage since 2011, and director of Do Not Submit, a grassroots network of open mics across the city bringing people together to connect with each other. Scott tells anywhere someone will listen, including The National Storytelling Festival Exchange Place, Steppenwolf Theater, the historic Green Mill, and on NPR, the Risk podcast, and Siruis XM. He is a frequent guest instructor at the city's top universities, and his personal narrative class has been selling out every month since 2012. Scott is in demand as a coach and trainer, spending his days helping individuals, companies, and non-profits develop their voices as storytellers.
Scott Whitehair is a storyteller, teacher, and producer living in Chicago, IL. He is the producer of This Much Is True, creator of Story Lab Chicago, which has put 850+ new storytellers on stage since 2011, and director of Do Not Submit, a grassroots network of open mics across the city bringing people together to connect with each other. Scott tells anywhere someone will listen, including The National Storytelling Festival Exchange Place, Steppenwolf Theater, the historic Green Mill, and on NPR, the Risk podcast, and Siruis XM. He is a frequent guest instructor at the city's top universities, and his personal narrative class has been selling out every month since 2012. Scott is in demand as a coach and trainer, spending his days helping individuals, companies, and non-profits develop their voices as storytellers.