Past Events
Trying to remember who that fantastic storyteller was at that great 2nd Story show you saw last month? Want to find out the name of the band at the Stories and Music show that just ended? Check out our past shows here!
Sometimes doing the right thing is much easier said than done. But when we finally accomplish a truly noble deed, we often discover that the journey is the greatest reward. Join 2nd Story this Mother’s Day Weekend as our tellers share stories by, for, and about mothers, as we bring you tales of valiant effort. From a single mother pressed to make a decision about a new boyfriend with a complicated belief system, to a young woman who travels across the globe to take a job as a ‘professional’ mother, this May we celebrate the month of mothers with a show that is sure to make them proud.
“Grit” is defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals – or just plain pluck. We offer you four stories of everyday people standing up, setting out and refusing to crumble. A woman steps into conflict on the el, a small business remains an anchor for a family and a neighborhood, a quest for a boyfriend leads down an unexpected path, and a 7th grade girl survives gym class.
Doors open at 6:30pm. Stories begin at 7:00pm.
The learning curve of life can be steep and treacherous, not only during adolescence but well beyond. This April, in a special appearance at the University of Chicago’s Logan Center for the Arts, Memoryhouse presents 2nd Story. In three stories of extreme learning, a young girl learns to navigate the choppy waters of dating boys, a sister who is more like a cousin searches for acceptance in her foster family, and two friends experience a miracle together in a very unlikely location. Join 2nd Story for our unique blend of page and stage as we share stories of being schooled in the classroom of life.
How do you define home? Is it a physical place, a state of mind, or maybe just the company of a certain group of people? April is 2nd Story’s Birthday month. And this year we celebrate by exploring the concept of home on many different levels. From a woman navigating her way through an impossible situation brought on by her husband’s infidelity, to a young mother exploring the complexities of raising a family in Humboldt Park, this month we take you back, way back, with stories inspired by where we come from.
2nd Story is teaming up with Fete Chicago, a weekend-long festival of local food and design, for a delicious culinary-themed reading. Come out to Ina’s in the West Loop for “Tales of the Table,” featuring Sky Full of Bacon’s Mike Gebert, 2nd Story company members Jessica Young and Molly Each, and the Breakfast Queen herself, Ina Pinkney. From a young girl learning how to cook to a father’s quest to broaden his kids’ palates; from a restaurant meeting with an idol to server’s online restaurant review, our storytellers share their tales of taste, memory and the role food has played in their lives.
What are the stories that reside in our names? And how do our names define us? This March we bring you four stories rooted in names, and the journeys we take to define and defend who we are. From a young man’s playground battle to defend the name given to him on another continent, to a woman struggling to make peace with the parts of her mother now living inside her, this month we ask you to say our names, as we bring you stories of journey and identity.
Join us in the Brewer’s Lounge at Revolution Brewery for an evening of our some of our favorite stories, by some of our favorite tellers, about one of our favorite subjects: Family. Darwyn Jones will spin a tale about truth and lies in the family dynamic, Margaret Marion will share her story about sisterly love (and competition), and CP Chang will meditate on the search for faith and religion in a relationship. All that story greatness against a backdrop of two hours of tasting of Revolution’s signature beers and tasty food. How can you resist?
