This Much Is True

My “This Much Is True” Debut & Other Updates

Hello Friends! March is here.  Isn’t that awesome?  Treated yesterday, the 1st, as a sort of mini New Year’s re-boot.  Feeling good, though I still need to make that massage appointment.

I’d like to first add another thank you to Story Lab Chicago for an amazing night back in January!  I’m still basking in the afterglow of that packed, standing room only night at the Black Rock.  I debuted a new piece, More Than Words, which combined best friends, Mom, and rock star dreams all in one.  Cheers to the cast and the audience!

Story Lab’s mother ship, This Much Is True recently invited me to be a part of their summer line up, but as things go with producing sometimes, they needed help this month.  So I’ll be making my TMIT debut Tuesday March 8, 2011 at 7:30 at the Hopleaf Bar, 5148 N. Clark St. Chicago. And it’s free and they have good beer there.  I’d love to see you there!  I have a pretty good idea of what I’ll be doing that evening….

~ Mortified: The following week, on Friday night, March 18, I’ll be sharing select high school journals with Mortified Chicago at the Beat Kitchen.  Not sure what this is all about?  Click HERE. And get your tickets HERE.  Should be a brilliant time!!

~ Twitter: Yes, I finally got sucked into Twitter.  For businessy writerly things.  For the most part.  Follow me @mvankerckhove.  The feed also appears on this here site. Groovy.

~ YouTube: And while I’m at building my web domination, I’ve also launched a YouTube channel.  Eventually, performance clips may be added.  But until then, you can check out the rapid fire photo videos I made at Pummelvision.com. This one is from an unfinished “365” Flickr project from late 2008-early 2009, living in South Bend.

~ NewTown Writers: Solo Homo 9 is in the works…. Stay tuned!  Also, check out the call for submissions to the next Off the Rocks!

Thanks for checking everything out.  Much more in my brain I hope to be able to share down the road….

Cheers!

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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.