Story Lab Chicago Launches & Other Updates!

Hello Friends! So, like Happy New Year!  Boy, is this site due for an update.  October seems so far away now.  And I’ve finally posted all my photos on Flickr of my amazing California trip. To follow up on the previous post, Story Club was an awesome time, if a little mellow due to the cold November rain that evening–which has beauty in itself of course.  Hoping to get back next month to maybe snag an open mic slot.  I have a Valentines Day themed piece that could be good….

In the mean time, I have a storytelling gig coming up on Wednesday January 19, 2011 at 7:30 pm at the Black Rock Pub on Damen and Addison in Chicago. Story Lab Chicago is a new venture by the fine folks at This Much Is True.  SLC features new and new-ish writers/storytellers.  Check us out!  And visit the web site and become a fan on the Facebook.  I’ll be debuting a new story, which is still coming together, but getting there. 🙂  If you see me in Caribou this week, you’ll know what I’m doing.

Other writerly goings on these days….

~ Coffee Boy, the movie, wrapped production at the end of August and was officially released on October 15, 2010.  World wide distribution and domination is pending film festival slots and other goings on.  In the meantime, check out the film’s page on direct0r-adapter-friend Erwan Ripoll’s site HERE.  Also with this project, I have my own IMDb page. I want to think that makes me cooler than before, but I guess not really. 🙂  Still, exciting.  There isn’t much on it, though I submitted the link to this site to be included.  So, visit it and up my “Star Meter”!  (Though I think I’d have to pay for that first….)

~ Battles With Boys took another step closer to reality thanks to a handful of friends and a class room at DePaul University where I was able to share an official first draft of the show as a full length entity comprising of various short pieces.  A discussion proceeded and there is much to think about.  The next step will hopefully reach a wider audience.  More to come….

~ Mining My Life: This past year has been in part focused on organizing all that I Have. Loose pages of high school and college poetry, 7th & 8th grade assignments, ETC, are all in one handy folder in order which works for the chaos of it all.  My 19 handwritten journals plus my private cyber journal are getting the personal indexing treatment (getting there….) so that I can quickly look up things instead of spending hours trying to find it.  My journals have been particularly helpful for my CNF work–and along the way I’ve gotten inspiration for my fiction as well.  Journal #1 will come in handy for an upcoming project landing this Spring (TBA…!)  This all helps my brain process the fact that I’ve reached the age where the past is just as overwhelming as the future.

~ NewTown Writers: Leg work to be done soonly on Solo Homo 9.  Stay tuned….

~ Open Books:  One of my goals for the end of 2010 and into the new year was to do a little volunteer work.  Thanks to the fine folks at Open Books (Chicago’s leading literacy non-profit), I’ve been able to work a couple sessions of the Adventures in Creative Writing Field trip program.  So far, I’ve worked with high school girls on prose, and 3rd graders on poetry.  The little ones were more into it.  I have a couple more sessions this month as well.  If you’re so inclined, you should check out all the volunteer section at the site.  Shown below is a cool photo someone snapped of me and my 3rd graders who make you fall in love with them, then they leave and break your heart just a little.

Well, that does it for now. If I’ve forgotten anything (it happens), I’ll shoot another post.  Cool things abound in 2011.  Can’t wait!  Cheers.

Story Club November 4th!

Hey Friends, I’ll be a featured reader at November’s  Story Club!

If you’re so inspired, sign up for an open mic slot! Get there by 8 to get a seat–unless you don’t mind a possible Standing Room Only.  Dinner reservations are not required but help.  Not totally sure what I’m reading.  I have a few ideas….

Join the Story Club Facebook Group to receive updates and invites.

See you there! 🙂

Thanks, Story Club!

Last night, in my continuing Chicago reading series exploration, I finally hit up Story Club. The series lands once a month on a Thursday at Uncommon Ground  on Clark, and features a couple of featured writers and five open mic slots.

Friends Ben & Shea joined me early for dinner.  I wanted to guarantee a seat–and hopefully a slot.  Since I was on it, I snagged the second slot.  The first went to a Club regular, which was fine by me.  I’ll take second.  Partly due to time restrictions, I read my Cub Scout piece, The PB Club, originally performed in Solo Homo 4 (2006) with NewTown Writers.  AND, soon to be published in the next issue of Off The Rocks–more to come on that!  While not solidly memorized this time, the piece is pretty much lodged in my brain.  This helped for sure.  While I’ve been doing the solo shows for a while, these reading series are fairly new to me, so each time I deal with a new space, a new music stand, microphone, etc. the better it gets.  People laughed and seemed to enjoy it.  Yay. 🙂

I had the chance to chat with a few of the other readers–Kevin (whose fable of a boy living in a box reminded me of an old play of mine from once upon a time) and Jen, who has recently trademarked the concept of the Darth Vader boyfriend.  And Dana, the Club’s host and founder–thanks again!  Photos were taken, so I’m guessing they’ll be up on the Club site soonishly.  I’ll link so you all can check out this month’s “cast.”

I hope to hit up more Club dates in the future…! 🙂