PERFORMERS
80 Minutes Around the World: Immigration Stories
Curated and produced by Nestor Gomez. Celebrated storyteller and 40-time Moth Slam winner Nestor Gomez has assembled a group of local performers to help illuminate the voices of immigrants in our city. Featuring: Nestor Gomez, Miyo Yamauchi, & Mara Menzies
AAPI Stories
Hosted by Archy Jamjun, featuring: Eleanor Cement Glass, Emil Guillermo, Jin-Soo Huh, Archy Jamjun, M.J. Kang, & Anne Shimojina.
Anu Bhatt
Stories from my Motherland
Written and performed by Anu Bhatt
A young woman leaves her home behind, forever.
Back Room Stories: FourSquare
BACK ROOM STORIES features stories from across the storytelling spectrum. Our shows were produced for several years at the Oak Park Brewing Company in Oak Park on the 3rd Sunday evening of every month. Co-producers Margaret Burk, Peter LeGrand and Megan Wells switched it up to BACK YARD STORIES the past two summers and performed in inviting outdoor spaces. FourSquare features 4 tellers that share true experiences of leaning into resilience and the laughter that emerges. One Zoom Room, four squares, four stories from the heart.
Featuring: Megan Wells, Peter LeGrand, Alton Takiyama-Chung, and Margaret Burk
Christina Calvit
Rats ‘R’ Us
Written and performed by Christina Calvit
Learn about these charming creatures!
Jimmy Carrane
The Terrorist
Written and performed by Jimmy Carrane
What happens to Jimmy on a flight from Chicago to LA?
Heather Currie
It’s a Sunny Day
Written and performed by Heather Currie
Trust yourself and take a breath.
Jimmy Doyle
Sweet Jane
Written and performed by Jimmy Doyle
Being a Chicago boy in L.A.: Love, Loss, Friendships, and White Castle.
Is This A Thing?
Produced by Jake Cowan, Damian Raszewski, and Suzy Kahn Weinberg. Is this a thing? is a storytelling show that features new and experienced writers and tellers of true personal tales in a welcoming and nurturing space and place. Since 2014, our theme-inspired monthly show happens in the warm embrace of a Northside neighborhood pub, O’Shaughnessy’s at Ravenswood and Wilson on the second Monday of the month, February-July and September-December. The stories all benefit from a super helpful and supportive workshop for the performers and producers to listen to each other and share ideas. Is this a thing? Yes. Yes it is. Featuring: David Barish, Jake Cowan, Carissa Letz, Leah Stallone, Suzy Kahn Weinberg, & Joy Wright.
Shelby Marie Edwards
Antidote in Weeping Willows
Written and performed by Shelby Marie Edwards
Directed by Jasmine Eileen Coles
Antidote in Weeping Willows is a work in progress story about escaping what you can’t run from and breath where there is smoke.
Nona Flores
I Sleep With Dogs
Written and performed by Nona Flores
The wet spot on the bed is snot.
Kevin Gladish
The Canvass
Written and performed by Kevin Gladish
A man’s first few weeks going door to door canvassing for donations proves to be rough going.
John Hahm
The Drawing Wall
Written and performed by John Hahm
Two Banksys make their mark on my heart.
Ayun Halliday
Japanese Penpal
Written and performed by Ayun Halliday
Cultural exchange comes to 1970s Indiana. Revisiting correspondence between Ayun Halliday and Rika Yasuno.
Archy Jamjun
A Boy & A Diva, Part 2: Love’s Lost and Found
Written and performed by Archy Jamjun
Bryan Kett
Grouper
Written and performed by Bryan Kett
A valuable lesson learned on a trip overseas.
Georgia Knapp
Was möchten Sie?
Written and performed by Georgia Knapp
Trying to string a sentence together in Germany.
Kristina Lebedeva
The Edges of the Mind
Written and performed by Kristina Lebedeva
A work of quiet, nocturnal intensity.
Amanda Link
Surrender
Written and performed by Amanda Link
Mice, meditation and motherhood.
Betsey Manzoni
Why Not?
Written and performed by Betsey Manzoni
Why not get to know the monster next door?
Adam Marcantoni
The Potato Coat
Written and performed by Adam Marcantoni
My step-dad gave me the tools to look at the world and find fun — even in our brightest and darkest moments.
Errol McLendon
Roadside Attraction
Written and performed by Errol McLendon
Traveling a vanishing landscape.
Victoria Montalbano
The Princess Strikes Back: One Woman’s Search for the Space Cowboy of her Dreams
Written and performed by Victoria Montalbano
Director: Vincent J. Greco
Stage Manager: Molly Garrison
Videographer: Matthew Mahaffey
Costume Designer: Emily Nelson
Kim Morris
Peace of Pi
Written and performed by Kim Morris
A mountain, some mice, and a miracle.
Harrison Ornelas
Zen and the Art of Cable Coiling
Written and performed by Harrison Ornelas
Reflections on life while performing menial tasks.
Claudia Reilly
Bowling in Hollywood
Written and performed by Claudia Reilly
Life (and death) as a TV writer.
Serving the Sentence
Serving the Sentence is a live lit show in which different storytellers take the same first sentence — each in their own direction. At the end of the show, a new sentence is drawn that the next show’s storytellers will embark from! Featuring: Israel Antonio, Michael Herzovi, Matt Pavich, Francesca Peppiatt, Kendra Stevens, & Tori Szekeres
Connie Shirakawa
Connie’s Covid Chronicles
Written and performed by Connie Shirakawa
Director: Sharon Evans
Art Director: Barbara Bejna
Consultant: Lauren Blumenthal
Mike Speller
Temptation Twins
Written and performed by Mike Speller
Too much of a good thing can alter your thinking.
Francesca Sobrer
TAXI
Written and performed by Francesca Sobrer
A wild cab ride in NYC.
Stir-Friday Night!
A 24-year-old Asian-American comedy group, based in Chicago and performing at Second City, iO, Annoyance, Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theatre, and at festivals all over the country. Stir-Friday Night! alumni include Danny Pudi from Community, and Steven Yeun from TheWalking Dead. Stir-Friday Night! is a nonprofit theater company, specializing in sketch comedy and improvisation, and offers touring shows and workshops for schools, companies, and organizations. Featuring: Scott Hanada
Story Sessions presents Friends With Words
Friends with Words is a monthly writing group that has been supporting each other’s stories since 2012. Produced and hosted by Jill Howe. Story Sessions is a monthly show in Edgewater featuring a collection of curated performers and open mics sharing true personal stories that will tug at your heart strings, tickle your funny bone and take your mind on a wild adventure. Featuring: Anne Beall, Judi Lee Goshen, Jill Howe, Sheri Reda, Stephanie Weber, & Debbi Welch
Survivance: Series 2
Dear 21 Year Old Me
SURVIVANCE: the ongoing survival; the continual reclaiming of one’s presence and voice; a collective renunciation of systemic oppression and intentional harm on a person and/or a people. Survivance is our voices, our lived experiences; this is our moment. Featuring: Mikki Adams, Taneesha Jackson, Kai Love, & Lakeisha Rivers
Sweat Girls
With 29 years of shared history, the Sweat Girls represent the greying edge of Chicago’s Live Lit community. Known for their “contagious gusto” the Sweat Girls have been called “the undisputed tribal elders” of the solo performance scene (Chicago Reader, 2014). Featuring: Caroline Andres, Cindy Hanson, Dorothy Milne, Clare Nolan, Martie Sanders, & Pamela Webster
Tellin’ Tales Theatre
Tellin’ Tales Theatre shatters the barriers between the disabled
and non-disabled worlds through storytelling. Rewind is a
sampling of some of our favorite pieces from our various 2021
shows including Divercity, Genetic Karma and two from our
Hands Up! series that spotlights controversial topics—Hands Up! Police and Hands Up! Gender. Featuring: Shane Hendrix, Michele Lee, Tekki Lomnicki, & Shui Sheppard
Jameson Wentworth
[Out of] Context: Identity War
Written and performed by Jameson Wentworth
Each of us is the hero of our own story, but what if we become the villain in someone else’s?
Bernard White
Up, Up and Away
Written and performed by Bernard White
We’re thrilled to be able to take advantage of hosting the Fest virtually to bring you incredible LIVE zoom events with storytellers from all over the country! Take a look below at the current events we have sprinkled throughout the Fest:
WELCOME TO FILLET OF SOLO 2022
Join us on Wednesday, January 19 for a FREE virtual Kick-Off to the Fest – Open to all! Hosted by Dorothy Milne, Lifeline ensemble member and festival co-organizer and Ilesa Duncan, artistic director of Lifeline Theatre. Tune in from the comfort of your home for an evening of performance and conversation with Fillet of Solo storytellers. Learn about the form, the history of the festival, and details on Chicago’s many storytelling nights from the people who make them happen. *WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19th, 7-8PM CST*
PANELS:
Storytelling in Community — Panelists Margaret Burk (co-producer, Back Room Stories), Archy Jamjun (producer AAPI Stories and A Boy & A Diva, Part 2), Suzy Kahn Weinberg (co-producer, Is This A Thing?) and Kai Love (co-founder, Survivance) join Dorothy Milne (Lifeline ensemble member and Sweat Girls) and Ilesa Duncan (Lifeline artistic director) to share what first drew them to storytelling, how and why they produce group shows, and the power of storytelling in community. *WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9th, 7-8PM CST*
The Meaning of Vulnerability — Lily Be hosts a panel of BIPOC storytellers and producers to converse about the meaning of vulnerability, how to tell stories that are not your own, and how to show care and respect in storytelling.
Lily Be is a Moth StorySLAM and GrandSLAM champion and the host of The Stoop Storytelling Series, which performs at Rosa’s Lounge in Humboldt Park. Lily nurtures the next generation of storytellers by teaching “Discovering Your Story” courses at Second City, the Hairpin Arts Center, and Northeastern Illinois University as well as leading an ongoing Stoop workshop for newbie storytellers. She is also the co-host/producer of Story Collider Chicago and Game Developer for URLife. *SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12th, 3-4PM CST*
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WORKSHOPS/EVENTS:
Diving Into Scene with 2nd Story: Join 2nd Story Artistic Director Amanda Delheimer and Company Member Julie Ganey for this skill building workshop focused on how to write scenes in personal narrative. Through a combination of full- and small-group work and plenty of interactive exercises, participants will hone their writing skills in 2nd Story’s signature scene-based style. Participants will leave with a draft of a scene, as well as tools and techniques for how to identify potential scenes in their stories, and how to flesh out those opportunities once discovered. (Note: this is *not* scene writing as in plays or screenplays.) *WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2nd, 7-9PM CST*
Story Neighborhood by Lily Be of Stoop Style Stories:
The class will work on a theme and a prompt and together we will build an inclusive, compelling, and relatable community of stories. A place where strangers become friends, one five word story at a time! *SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5th, 3-5PM CST*
Live Bait Theater developed more than 200 world premieres over its 20-year history and was nominated for over 50 Non-Equity Jeff Awards, predominately in the category of New Work. Sharon Evans was the Artistic Director from 1987-2008, and in 1995 she created the Fillet of Solo Festival, which featured over 200 solo artists in its first 13 years.
In 2009, Live Bait closed its doors, but Evans’ enthusiasm for new work and for the Festival remained undiminished. When searching for a new producer of the Festival, it was important to her that it be a theater dedicated to new work and she was delighted to find a perfect fit with Lifeline Theatre. In 2010, Lifeline and Live Bait co-produced the 14th Annual festival, and Lifeline has been carrying on the tradition ever since.
