Mac MacDevitt
Since moving to Chicago last year from a small town in the Adirondacks he has plunged into life in the urban wonderland of the Second City with both feet. He is riding his bike in city traffic, building furniture as a member of at Pumping Station: One, fixing two wheelers at the Recyclery and Working Bikes, and singing his heart out with the sea shanty rowdies at the Atlantic Bar and Grill. He is splashing around in storytelling and buoyed up by the support and deep friendship he has with the kindred spirits in his storytelling class.
Wendy Mages
Wendy is a native Chicagoan who lives on the East Coast where she is a member of the faculty at Mercy College in NY. She performs at storytelling events in the US and abroad and has told stories for Fail Better, The Moth, The Mouth Off, Speak Up, Stories from the Beat Lounge, Story Barn, Tell Me Another, and We Rise Storytelling Collective.
Lisa Maggiore
Lisa Maggiore is the author of a children’s picture book, Ava the Monster Slayer: A Warrior Who Wears Glasses and a fiction short story, Pinterest Saved My Marriage. She also has a novel,Home from Within, coming out in a few short weeks. When Lisa's not working on writing projects you can find her being silly with her husband and four children or on the couch cheering da Bears...and, maybe even the Cubs!
Dave Maher
Raised in Oklahoma and Cincinnati, Dave Maher is a Chicagoan of a dozen years and as many apartments. He has acted and improvised comedy around the city since 2008, including a glorious stint at the now-defunct Upstairs Gallery, before he transcended improv and realized that stand-up is where his brand of energetic, intellectual and autobiographical intensity fits best. He tells stories and jokes at shows around the city, including Ultimate Pleasure Forever, the show he produces and hosts at Transistor in Lakeview on the last Saturday of every month.
Mike Maimone (Musical Guest)
"Out singer/songwriter Mike Maimone sounds like the long lost son of Tom Waits," according to Greg Shapiro of Chicago Pride Magazine. Leading the ragtime-rock trio Mutts, the former auditor is one of Chicago’s most prolific front men and session musicians. Since 2008 Maimone has written and released 4 albums and 4 EPs on his own label, and contributed to over two dozen releases from other Midwest artists. Originally from Ashtabula, OH, Maimone attended the University of Notre Dame. Graduating with a business degree in 2004, he took an auditing position at KPMG in Cleveland and moonlighted as a session keyboardist and songwriter. Less than a year later he nearly collided with a semi on an icy stretch of I-90 coming home late from work. At that point he decided to dive into music entirely, quit his job, and moved around the country for the next few years joining bands and taking session work. The most recent LP from Mutts, Object Permanence, is their third consecutive independent release to chart on the CMJ Top 200 for radio airplay among other distinctions. In 2014 Mutts have already written and recorded their 4th LP while playing over 30 shows. This promising start to the year follows a 2013 in which Mutts supported their new LP with over 150 tour dates, plus appearances on Daytrotter, National TV, WBEZ and and WXRT. They also performed at several festivals, and opened for national acts including Murder By Death, Maps & Atlases, Imagine Dragons and Company of Thieves. In 2008 Maimone released his first solo LP entitled Open Mic Nights, Empty Bottle Mornings. The album received many favorable reviews, and the track Prizefighter won Honorable Mention in the Billboard Songwriting competition.
Arlene Malinowski
Malinowski is an actor/playwright whose 5 award-winning solo
shows have been
produced at venues through out the country and internationally. In addition to her
film and TV work (some of it good- most of it bad) he has appeared on stages in
LA and Chicago including the Goodman and Victory Gardens. She is a recipient of
Illinois Arts Fellowship and a Ragdale Residency. When she wants to show off she
mentions that her work was cited in the Huff Post. She teaches writing at Chicago
Dramatists, coaches privately and is to her knowledge, the only actor to appear both in
Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure AND Doogie Howser and in the same 24 hours.
www.arlenemalinowski.com.
produced at venues through out the country and internationally. In addition to her
film and TV work (some of it good- most of it bad) he has appeared on stages in
LA and Chicago including the Goodman and Victory Gardens. She is a recipient of
Illinois Arts Fellowship and a Ragdale Residency. When she wants to show off she
mentions that her work was cited in the Huff Post. She teaches writing at Chicago
Dramatists, coaches privately and is to her knowledge, the only actor to appear both in
Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure AND Doogie Howser and in the same 24 hours.
www.arlenemalinowski.com.
Heather Mangan
Heather is a writer and do-gooder living in Chicago. Her writing has been featured on Elite Daily and Thought Catalog, and she was published in an anthology of essays about her home state, South Dakota. While serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho, her story blog was named to a list of top 40 volunteer blogs throughout the world. She’s told stories for Do Not Submit and Story Lab.
David Manilow
David Manilow is the Creator & Executive Producer of the Emmy Award and James Beard Award winning Check, Please! television show in Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, Phoenix & Washington, DC.
Mike Manship
Mike Manship is a local writer / performer. He recently published his first novel, Cambridge Street, and is happy to report that people who review books on amazon.com are liking it. His second book, Off Track, which chronicles his vegetable-oil-powered trek across the country, is due out next year. Mike is a drop-out of the Second City Training Center. You can learn more about him at darkandstupid.info.
Jesús Manteca
Jesús is a self-described, middle-class socialite who grew up in Mexico, Arizona, and Chicago. He's a photographer, officiant, strategic planner, copywriter, and yogi wannabe. When he's not telling stories he dreams about taking up running again someday when the weather is perfect and he gets enough sleep. He also believes in the power of human connection and makes it his life's journey to connect people to one another just for the fun of it.
Betsey Manzoni
Betsey Manzoni grew up in Joliet where her vivid imagination supplied the neighborhood kids with endless adventures. She is a piano-playing, story-writing, comedy-adoring, LOVER OF LIFE. Betsey has had numerous on stage opportunities in the South Suburbs, acting, directing and storytelling. She has done voiceover work and industrial videos and she loves to travel and experience the world. She is the extremely proud Mom of the two most incredible humans on the planet. Betsey is thrilled to be back on stage storytelling LIVE!
Andrew Marikis & Sarah Hollenbeck (tandem story)
Andrew Marikis is an actor, teaching artist, and the host of Story Club South Side. As an actor he’s worked with Seanachai, BoHo, Lifeline and The Artistic Home among others. As a teaching artist, he works with kids of all ages through Emerald City and Adventure Stage Chicago. He’s also really into dinosaurs. Like, a lot. Sarah Michael Hollenbeck‘s personal essays have been published in TriQuarterly and The CAF Review, among other literary journals and blogs. Her essay, “A Goldmine” won the 2013 Dogwood Literary Prize and was nominated for a Pushcart. She has performed at Guts & Glory, The Bodies of Work Festival, Essay Fiesta, and Story Sessions. She is also the new co-owner of Women & Children First, one of the last feminist bookstores in the country. She is presently ignoring Andrew as he impersonates a raptor in his underwear. You can learn more about Sarah by visiting www.sarahmichaelhollenbeck.com.
Stephen Markley
Stephen Markley, author of Publish This Book: The Unbelievable True Story of How I Wrote, Sold, and Published This Very Book, will be reading from a new essay, available on Kindle and iBooks, called The Great Dysmorphia: An Epistemological View of Ingesting Hallucinogenic Mushrooms at a 2012 Republican Presidential Debate. His blog, Off the Markley, appears regularly at the RedEye's web site, and you can visit him online at StephenMarkley.com.
Martin E. Marty
“Marty” is one of the most prominent interpreters of religion and culture today. He is the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, where he taught for 35 years, chiefly in the Divinity School, where the Martin Marty Center for advanced studies has since been founded. Marty is the author of more than 60 books, including Righteous Empire, for which he won the National Book Award, and is author, edtior, coauthor, coeditor, or contributor to hundreds of books and more than 5,000 articles. Marty was president of the American Academy of Religion, the American Society of Church History, and the American Catholic Historical Association, along with serving on two U.S Presidential Commissions. He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the National Humanities Medal, the Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the University of Chicago Alumni Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal of the Association of Theological Schools, the Order of Lincoln Medallion (Illinois’ top honor), and 80 honorary doctorates.
Claudia Maru
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!
Sara Mathers
Sara is the Director of Organizing for a community organization committed to racial, social and economic justice. She likes interrupting people during dinner to talk about politics, whiskey soda and bitters, and all things inappropriate.
Sylvia Mavaji
It should be stated right away that Sylvia is not a fan of talking about herself. She is much more comfortable asking others about themselves and listening with intention. But with that said, this is her bio and therefore here are a few tidbits about her. Sylvia absolutely loves spending time with her fiance. Whether it's trying new recipes, going on road trips, running errands, or giggling at funny animal videos, time zooms by when they are together. She also finds pure enjoyment working out, dancing, and listening to a wide range of music. If there is music, Sylvia will be groovin'! Professionally, after two degrees and 20 plus years, Sylvia left the travel industry to pursue a career as a life coach. While it has been challenging, it has also been equally fulfilling. Mavaji Coaching is centered around helping women gain self-empowerment and find inner harmony. Additionally, Sylvia is a caretaker for her Mexican mother who is affectionately nicknamed, Taquito. Sylvia is a dreamer, a realist, a jewelry lover, a Toastmaster, a bit spacey, a lot patient and a big fan of spicy cuisines.
Fiona Maxwell
Fiona Maxwell is a rising senior history and theatre major at Northwestern University, where she studied storytelling with Rives Collins. She is the student organizer and a student teller at the Evanston Public Library’s Annual Storytelling Festival. She studied at the Piven Theatre Workshop, where she was a member of their youth performing ensembles, and is currently an assistant teacher. Last fall, Fiona performed the one-woman play The K of D on the Lab@Piven Series. She also researches the history of children’s dramatics and storytelling, and is working on her senior thesis about the community impact of children’s dramatics and stories at the Hull-House settlement house in Chicago during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Jim May
Jim May is an Emmy Award-winning storyteller and writer. His collection of stories, from his growing up in Illinois, THE FARM ON NIPPERSINK CREEK, won a “Best Book” award from the Public Librarian Association. He is cofounder of the Illinois Storytelling Festival and for 20 years it's artistic director. He was inducted into the National Storytelling "Circle of Excellence" (Hall Of Fame) in the year 2000. He has toured the U.S. and Europe telling his stories at storytelling and folk festivals, as an artist/author-in-residence at schools and universities, and in nonprofit and corporate venues. His workshops and seminars emphasize the role of myth, story, and culture in the personal, family and community context. Recent publications include an article in LITERACY AND THE STORYTELLING CLASSROOM, Sherry Norfolk, Jane Stenson, and Diane Williams, Editors (Libraries Unlimited,2009), and most recently, in 2010, his story “Christmas Eve In The Barn” appears in CHRISTMAS IN ILLINOIS, a University of Illinois Press publication that also includes stories by Carl Sandburg, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Mike Royko.
Michael D. McCarty
In 1992 I met Joel ben Izzy and discovered there was a world of professional storytelling. A week later I had business cards printed and immersed myself in that world. I've been running my mouth around the country and around the world ever since. I loves my job!
Jessica McCloud
After toying with unemployment in Chicago for 15 months, losing some
creative partnerships, and being the victim of an aggressive hit and run
incident on her bicycle, Jessica told 2009 to go “F” itself and has
been working to make 2010 the best year yet! This year has been all
about getting back to what is most important in Jessica’s life…talking
about herself. Seriously though, 2010 has been all about getting back to
and recreating that artistic life that Jessica embarked on in 2004,
after graduating with a BA in Theater from Columbia College Chicago and
starting work with various independent film and stage projects. After
appearing on The Story w/Dick Gordon (Mar 23rd airing), Marketplace
w/Mitchell Hartman (June 2010), and doing both Rec Room and THE SKALD 11
in May, Jessica couldn’t pass up this wonderful opportunity to read
along side some great people here with T.M.I.T. Recently she had the
pleasure of Stage Managing the 365 Sketches at Strawdog and is inspired
by the demiurgic direction this crazy life seems to be taking her.
Sandra McCollum
Sandra McCollum has lived in Chicago for twenty years after graduating from college. She returned to her home, New Orleans, Louisiana, until Hurricane Katrina disrupted the lives of the residents there. She returned to Chicago and has lived here for the last seven years. Ms. McCollum has two Master of Education Degrees. She was the liaison for The New Orleans Public Schools with the New Orleans business community. She was also an adjunct professor of the Humanities at Southern University of New Orleans for eighteen years. She has been a participant with GenNarrations, a writing performance group, for two years. “The Fear of Water,” was published in The New Orleans Tribune, volume 30, number 8, in August, 2014. It was reprinted for publication in The New Orleans Agenda, on August 29, 2014, the Ninth Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. “The Son,” a historical narrative and genealogy research was published in the July, African American Historical Genealogy Society of Chicago Newsletter.
Paulette McDaniels
Paulette McDaniels has more then 25 years of experience in the arts. She
is the author of A Deathly Silence commissioned by the Department of
Health and Human Services for World AIDS Day. Ms. McDaniels has served
as a community organizer in the Middle East, Europe and America. The
grandmother of two, she studied at Northwestern University and Yorkshire
College in the UK. She is co-author of Achmed’s Return: Legend of the
Lost City, and is currently working on a Christian comedy, 10 Plagues.
Karrie McDermott
A native of the Midwest, Karrie tells stories in the Chicago area. She has told at the Moth, First Person Live, Story Lab and Teller’s Night. Her favorite night of the summer is her annual event where she brings storytellers together in her backyard for a show. Many of her stories come from her life as a coffee brewer, constant traveler, and a tandem bike rider. Karrie is the founder of In Their Own Words. She helps women capture their essence in a verbal story.
Megon McDonough
Megon McDonough is a nationally known singer-songwriter who has been performing around the country for more than four decades and has performed on stages as varied as Carnegie Hall, The Birchmere, The Wolf Trap and more. Best known as an inaugural member of the group The Four Bitchin’ Babes, Megon delights audiences with her mixture of heartfelt and humorous songs and she has 15 solo albums to her credit. She currently tours with her show “Dedicated to the Ones I Love: Great Women Singers of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s,” a show that honors the greatest women singers of a generation, and performs entertainment for corporate workshops and events. Find more information at www.megonmegon.com
Holly McDowell
Holly McDowell lived in Colorado, Georgia and South Carolina before discovering the magical city of Chicago. Now, she can be spotted drinking glögg, searching for the world's best tapas bar, and writing in coffee shops all over the windy city. Holly's current project is an interactive, digital series called King Solomon's Wives, a modern thriller about women alive today who descended from King Solomon's ancient harem. It's full of historical conspiracy and, well, harem sex. And because the series is interactive--meaning readers get to vote on the direction of the story--Holly was recently featured in an article in the Huffington Post. Here are a few quotes from HuffPo readers about the very concept of an interactive series: "Dear God, NO." "UGH." "Just what we need, more writers acting like parrots." "[This could be] the end of our civilization." All Holly knows is she's having a blast writing it and wants to keep doing so. If people buy one episode, she gets to write the next. The first two are available at Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, and via Googleplay, and the third comes out October 12th.
Abby McEnany
Abby McEnany is an actor, improvisor, and writer. She wrote and performed a one-woman storytelling show, “WORK IN PROGRESS”, in 2016. She performs weekly with the acclaimed Virgin Daiquiri on Wednesday nights at iO.
Deb McGarvey
Deb McGarvey wrote her first story at the age of 5 and hasn’t stopped since. From folk tales to fairy tales to first person real life tales, she loves to tell all kinds of stories. After years of working both onstage and offstage in Chicago theater, Deb spent even more years as a social worker in youth development and school community partnerships. She has recently begun working as a therapist focused on grief and loss, and she also writes children’s picture books. When she’s not telling stories, you’ll find her hanging out with her daughter, husband, and adorable but anxious dog, as well as gardening, sewing, cooking, and whatever other –ings she has time to explore.
Antwan McHenry
Antwan McHenry AKA “Mr. Openyonated is a photographer, businessman, blogger, author, life coach and community activist. His passion for mentoring and developing youth pushed him to cofound Called2Serve NFP and later launch U Can Turn It Around Inc. At an early age he participated in oratory competitions and reporting current events at his elementary school under the direction of Judith Abbey which he credits for planting the seed for his desire to blog, write and perform. In September 2011 he published his first blog at Openyonated.com with an article entitled “The Problem With Fear.” In addition to writing articles on the blog he would later start attending local music and poetry events of Chicago artist taking photos and video to give their talents exposure that he felt they needed to enhance their profiles. Throughout the years he has collaborated with various organizations in the city that serve the community.
Katie McKenzie
Katie works for a medical association, helping medical students figure out what kind of doctors they would like to become. In her free time, Katie enjoys learning new and impractical skills and spending time with her boyfriend and the dog she plans to steal from him. She also leads the knitting club at the local library (living proof that there is a gang for every gangster).
Earliana McLaurin
Earliana (Earl) is a Chicago-based actor, writer, and teaching artist. As an actor, Earliana has worked with several Chicago theatre companies including Steppenwolf Garage Series, Prologue Theatre Company, and is company member with 2ndStory Chicago. Earliana is also a passionate solo artist whose credits include: Miss Mattie’s Story (Stories Connect Us All 2013 Festival), Bubbling Lights (Side Project Theatre 2012 Choosing to Be Here Storytelling Festival), and Quit Being So Overdramatic! (Stockyards Theatre Project: 2008 Women’s Performance Art Festival). Earliana is a graduate of Truman State University and the University of Missouri.
Errol McLendon
Errol McLendon is a Chicago solo performer and storyteller. His stories have been heard at Backroom Stories, Do Not Submit, This Much is True, Serving the Sentence, Ten X Nine, Soul Stories, Stories on the Square before it got too cold and online at the Elmhurst History Museum. He is a recent MothSlam winner. Errol also has a solo show, Inner State, which he hopes to tour across the US to roadside attractions next summer, if Covid will cooperate. His young adult novel, The Foulbrood Alliance and the Babysitter Mansion, will be published this summer.
Anee McNamee-Keels
Anne McNamee-Keels is an educator, a podcaster, and the former reigning Wrightwood Irish Princess of Chicago’s South Side Irish Parade (5-7 year-old division). She is also a two time Moth StorySLAM winner and Chicago GrandSLAM champ. Anne co-hosts and produces Lapsed, a podcast about growing up Catholic. She lives in Oak Park with her husband, two adorable kids, and two very furry dogs.
Abby McNear
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.
Amy Meadows
Amy is a designer, artist and educator living in Chicago. Enjoying her now-empty nest, she also spends time gardening, cooking and correcting other people’s grammar (with or without their permission).
Lee Melchior
Lee Melchior grew up in a small town on the Mississippi River, emigrated to Canada, lived briefly on the Caribbean Island of Saba, then returned to the states to work on Wall Street and later Madison Avenue. Now she lives in Evanston and works as a Third Life Coach. She’s an avid fly-fisherman.
Reba Meshalum
Reba Meshulam is a video producer, making a living telling her client's stories. Her most eye opening experience (so glad you asked) was as a photographer at the Ponderosa Sun Club, a nudist camp. A native Chicagoan, she now lives and works in the northern suburbs where her office is six steps from her kitchen. When she's not downing handfuls of sprouted cashews, she's doing down dog in her yoga studio.And speaking of dogs, she wishes people were more like them.
Jodi Meusel
Jodi Meusel grew up on a 2nd generation farm here in northern Illinois, working at her family's ice cream shop. After spending her sophomore year in high school as an exchange student in Germany, she fell in love with cross-cultural learning and travel. She and her husband spent 2 years teaching English in Japan followed by another 8 years of working internationally in Switzerland, England, and China in project management. She moved back to Chicago 4 years ago for a job. When the company went bankrupt last year, she decided to work for herself. It is not easy and still not stable, but exciting. Recently she heard the quote, 'if you can't find the miracle...be the miracle'; a path she hopes to pursue in this next chapter of her life.
Brendan Meyer
Brendan Meyer is an award-winning narrative non-fiction writer living in Chicago. His human interest stories have taken him to newspapers and magazines all across the country and London, such as ESPN, Outside Magazine, The Dallas Morning News and The Independent (UK). Normally, he sits in his writing chair with sweatpants and Black tea, writing these stories for an audience of none. That’s why he relishes opportunities like this to share his love for stories and storytelling, on-stage, surrounded by all of you.
Avesha Michael
Avesha Michael is a recent transplant back to her hometown in Chicago, after 22 years in Los Angeles. She is a ceramic artist, writer, storyteller and is trained in many healing arts, being certified as a Breathwork Facilitator and Reiki Master. Avesha is deeply committed to speaking truth to story, bringing awareness to mental health and trauma informed shared human experiences. To her, connection is everything. She wants chickens and goats one day, and is counting the days until she can escape the city and start a peaceful homestead.
Roberta Miles
Roberta Miles is an award-winning monologist, published poet, Jazz singer, and staple figure in the Chicago art community. Her autobiographical monologues chronicle her wild life and quest for mental and physical health with brutally hilarious candor. Taking “edgy” to the edge, these monologues form the basis of her one-woman show, “I Want a Banana, and Other Desperate Love Stories,” which debuted in 2009 at the StrawDog Theatre. She is the producer of Cafe Cabaret and co-producer of Loose Chicks.
Ursa Miles
Ursa is an Ozarker storyteller and theatre artist currently living in Chicago. She holds a degree in theatre education from Harding University, a degree in Oral Traditional Storytelling from East Tennessee State University, and is nearing completion on a PhD in Theatre from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Her work has appeared on stage at Regeneration Story Slam, Big Muddy New Play Festival, Center on the Square, and numerous regional theatres and elementary schools as well as in print at Sirens Call, Danse Macabre, Rupkatha, and Rune Bear journals. Her book
Passive Aggressive Fables for Adults is available wherever books are sold. She is also the voice of Bella in the audio drama "Planet Nine" and has a deep love of cheesecake.
Passive Aggressive Fables for Adults is available wherever books are sold. She is also the voice of Bella in the audio drama "Planet Nine" and has a deep love of cheesecake.
Jeff Miller
Jeff Miller is an expert-level jaywalker from Kent, Ohio. He just finished his first book for ten-year old boys. It is about video games, the Air Force, and on ostrich named Reggie - it will be out next summer.
Sarita Miller
Sarita Miller is a retired English/language arts teacher and the mother of two fine adults, a lovely daughter-in-law, and one adorable pup. Presently, Sarita tutors reading, writing, and grammar, something she greatly enjoys. During her days as a middle school teacher, Sarita was known for telling stories during lessons. Although her students thought they were pulling one over on her and getting her “off task” when they asked for a story, she explains that doing so was her plan from the beginning. To Sarita, life is simply stories. She has shared several of hers with audiences at Short Story Theater in Highland Park and Story Lab in Chicago and is cohost of Do Not Submit Lake Forest.
Kohl Miner
Kohl Miner (Ho-Chunk Nation) is a playwright, storyteller & performer He was a company member or has performed with The New York City Hysterical Society, In the Heart of the Beast, The Ark Improv, The Blood & Milk Poets and American Indians in the Arts. His solo work includes; "Christopher Explained", "Native Fruit", “Left at Life,” "Heartflight Kohl Miner OR How my heart was hijacked by a handsome terrorist. This is my story.", "Dreams of Cheerleading", The Trip" and "The Semi-Conscious Memoirs of a Negligent Native" He has performed at Highways (Los Angeles), On The Boards (Seattle), Bumbershoot Wild Stage (Seattle), Alice B. Theater (Seattle), Josie’s Cabaret & Juice Joint (San Francisco), “In the Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theater” (Mpls.), The Walker Art Center (Mpls.), Southern Theater (Mpls.), Red Eye Collaboration (Mpls.), ABC No Rio (NYC) and others. He was last seen in the Guthrie’s production of “The Master Butchers Singing Club”. He was one of the singers. In addition, he has a 16-year history in resource development. He has worked for AIDS Project Los Angeles, On the Boards, Covenant House California, The Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), Native Americans in Philanthropy, Oregon Native American Business Network and First Nations Composer Initiative.
Janki Mody
Janki Mody is a teacher, writer, performer, and pregnancy loss advocate. She has written and staged two solo shows, The MTHFR Gene: Evidence of a Uterus in Crisis in 2018, and This is All Fine, earlier this year as part of the 2019 Fillet of Solo Festival. Janki is the mother of two beautiful boys who love to leap off the furniture, allowing her the gift of amazing reflexes. She is always so honored to have the opportunity to speak on her advocacy, her experiences, and just to be able to share a little of the human vulnerability that connects us all.
Caroline Mooney
Caroline Mooney is a veteran road warrior, calling on consumer packaged goods companies from sea to shining sea. Having given up on ever having a semblance of a normal life, she now looks at daily disasters as opportunities for great stories.
Edward Kelsey Moore
Edward Kelsey Moore is the author of two novels, including the New York Times and international bestselling novel THE SUPREMES AT EARL’S ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT, a feature film adaptation of which is currently in production at Searchlight Pictures. His work has appeared in the New York Times and numerous literary journals and has also been featured on Chicago Public Radio and Minnesota Public Radio. In addition to his writing, Edward maintains a career as a professional cellist.
Maia Morgan
_Maia’s critically acclaimed plays and monologues have been produced on stages throughout Chicago. As a teaching artist, Maia has designed and taught workshops and residencies for Urban Gateways, Columbia College, Gallery 37, Steppenwolf, Lookingglass and the Lyric Opera. She has created performances with students in dozens of Chicago schools, health care facilities and jails. In 2010 Maia was awarded first prize in a national non-fiction writing competition, and she’s about halfway through writing the book that began with that winning essay. Read more at maiamorgan.com.
Kim Morris
_Kim Morris earned her MFA from Columbia College Chicago and her BA from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous publications. She’s written short plays included in Theatre Seven of Chicago’s “Yes, This Really Happened to Me” and “We Live Here.” Her work has been performed in New York as part of Bohemian Archaeology’s “Holidays Uncorked” and “BOOzy: An Evening of Spirits and Storytelling.” She’s performed her stories at Victory Gardens Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Lincoln Hall, and many other venues in Chicago. She wrote and performed original pieces for the Fillet of Solo festival in 2010 and 2011. She’s a company member of 2nd Story. Check out Power Love for more: www.power-love.blogspot.com.
Marya Morris
Marya Morris is city planner, geography buff, and GPS denier. She was born in Goshen, New York, grew up in Madison and lived in Chicago for 20 plus years. In 2008 she threw it all away by getting married and moving to the North Shore where she lives with husband Andy, their three daughters (each at various points on the launch trajectory), and her mother, Wilma. They have Eloise (a Yorkie), MissyJane (a 3-legged Siamese cat with a shocking backstory), Violet (age 18) and Penny (age 117, judging by her attitude)). Marya is a two-time Moth StorySlam winner, a regular storyteller at Louder than a Mom, and played the role of herself in two films in 2018.
Carol Solberg Moss
Carol is a storyteller, singer, actress, trainer and psychotherapist. She has told stories at “Story Lab,” “Story Jam,“ “Tenx9,” "Pour One Out," “Cabaret on the Lake,” “Serving the Sentence,” “7 Deadly Sins,” and “Do Not Submit.” She believes that stories help us make sense of our lives.
Amy Nadal
Amy Nadal is an actor, theatre educator, and storyteller based in Chicago. All of her work, both onstage and in the classroom, is motivated by a belief in the power of empathy and its capacity to change the world. Amy graduated from Northwestern University this past spring with a BA in Theatre and a module in Theatre for Young Audiences. While in school, she had the opportunity to learn the art of storytelling from the wonderful Rives Collins, a true storytelling extraordinaire, and performed twice at the Annual Evanston Public Library Storytelling Festival. She is excited to continue telling stories as she delves into this next adventure of post-grad life…or just simply, LIFE. For more information: www.amynadal.com
Nick Narcisi
Nick Narcisi was an actor before the pandemic. Now he works at a cancer research laboratory. (He is as surprised with that career pivot as you are.) He was really good at telling other people's stories, but only recently started telling his own. Some of his favorite credits include: Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (Arkansas Shakespeare Theater), Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams Festival of St. Louis), Ethan in Sex with Strangers (Renaissance Theaterworks), A. of Syracuse in Comedy of Errors (Montana Shakespeare in the Parks), and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (Macklanburg Playhouse). He has also worked with the Milwaukee Rep, the Great River Shakespeare Festival, Third Avenue Playworks, and the Children's Theater of Madison. Nick is a Moth StorySlam winner and has worked with a variety of other storytelling shows in Chicago and Milwaukee.
Willy Nast
Willy Nast is originally from Aurora, Illinois; and yes, he has seen the movie Wayne's World an astounding number of times. He co-hosts a "completely unpretentious literary podcast" called All Write Already!, and you can catch him telling stories on the third Monday of every month at the Book Cellar in Lincoln Square, where he has recently taken over as host of Essay Fiesta. His greatest accomplishment is being the only Willy Nast on Facebook.
Katurah Nelson
Katurah comes from Cleveland and has travelled all over the world. And has recently reached her seventh continent. She is happy to return to the Chicago stage and start telling her own stories, instead of telling stories by others.
Darlene Neumann
Darlene Neumann has been a librarian, educator, and storyteller for longer than she wants to tell you. Her stories range from growing up on a farm to world folktales and experiences abroad. She loves sheep, bunnies, her students, and her family, and has discovered that person stories are fun to tell. She has had lesson plans, stories and articles published in storytelling magazines and books. Darlene loves to present workshops, and regularly teaches children how to tell stories.
Jackson Nogahl
On Valentine’s Day, 2011, Jackson Nogahl started a long-term relationship with a new partner: Prostate Cancer. Jackson has stayed faithful to his partner, in sickness and in health, through a dozen years of needle jabs, finger pokes, surgical cuts, radiation beams, funky drugs, and suspenseful blood tests and scans. Needless to say, the experience has been comic gold, like an enchanting romantic comedy. Tonight, he’ll tell a story from his collection, War and Pee.
Jim Noonan
Jim Noonan was a shoe salesman, park ranger, landscaper, fitness instructor, student, waiter, actor, comedian and nanny before deciding to become a stay-at-home dad/unemployed writer. He lives with his wife and two daughters and hopes that one day he'll have enough interesting experiences to warrant a 2500 character bio. Until that time comes, he'll be happy if he's recognized as "That one guy. You know, the one with the stories."
Geneva Norman
Geneva Norman is a Chicago vocalist, songwriter, musician and music arranger. She has performed throughout Europe, including, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Poland, France, Spain, etc. She has performed with musicians along the W. Coast of Africa traveling South along the Atlantic coast to South Africa and in 47 of the 50 United States. She wrote the locally popular “Obama Vote Song” in 2007. She is a storyteller and has been a student and actor at The Goodman Theatre, 2nd Story, Free Street Theater, About Face Theatre, The Looking Glass Theatre and many others. She is the lead vocalist of the Geneva Convention Band and the G2 band. She has arranged many pieces of work throughout her career and is currently the creator and executive producer/director of “The Aretha Project- Chicago Tour”.
Dana Norris
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 Moth StorySLAMs 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.
Lupe Nuñez
I'm a Director of IT at a major video game company, 22q Dad, first generation Mexican-Chicagoan, the baddest emcee you've never heard...and now a story teller. With all but a couple of creative dreams and ambitions completely faded away, I was looking for an outlet. I felt like I needed to fuel the creative fire or it may extinguish completely. So, I took a story telling class and started telling stories around Chicago. I found what I was looking for. It's been an extremely gratifying experience and the response has been great. I thoroughly enjoy crafting a story and getting up in front of an audience and sharing that moment together. I look forward to telling more stories in my own way and taking the whole experience and medium even further.
Queen Nur
Queen Nur is a highly interactive international storyteller, teaching artist and community cultural ambassador from Willingboro, NJ. Following the griotic tradition, her stories capture historical victories, celebrate folkloric traditions, and speak to the quintessence of humanity. Audiences may experience tears upon the soul; and, within the same breath of story, have a toe-tapping, hand-clapping good time. Queen is President-Elect of The National Association of Black
Storytellers. www.queennur.com
Storytellers. www.queennur.com
Shanta Nurrulah
Since 1978 Shanta has been presenting storytelling programs at festivals, colleges, museums, schools and libraries throughout the U.S. She brings a unique blend of music and message to her work. Career highlights include two storytelling trips to China, as well as appearances at the National Storytelling Festival, Yukon International Storytelling Festival, A(ugusta) Baker's Dozen Storytelling Festival, the Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska and Las Vegas Storytelling Festivals, and the National Festival of Black Storytelling on ten different occasions. Shanta's children's recording, The Adventures of Shedoobee, has been used to teach English in some elementary schools in southern China and South Korea. She has appeared in instructional videos from the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Children's Museum. Shanta has received an Illinois Arts Council Artist Fellowship and a Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award. She has served as Teller-in-Residence at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, TN. Other awards include grants from the Nevada Arts Council and the American Association of University Women. Shanta has an original story on permanent display at Brookfield Zoo (IL) and has been a storytelling teacher and mentor for many years.