Sidetrack OUTspoken! featured storytellers for April 3
Mon. April 2, 2018 12:35 PM by GoPride.com News Staff
photo credit // sidetrack
Chicago's monthly evening of LGBTQ storytelling – known as OUTspoken! and held the first Tuesday of every month at Sidetrack - returns April 3 with an exciting line-up of featured storytellers.
"The key is, we all have full rich lives," OUTspoken! curator David Fink told ChicagoPride.com. "Talking about significant moments connects us. Although we may outwardly have little in common, as humans we all have a lot in common. Personal, true stories help remind us of these commonalities."
Six storytellers will take their turn with the microphone as Sidetrack transforms its Main and Cherry Bars into a story-telling hall with chairs for seating. There is no charge to attend, but audience members must be 21 with ID.
The April edition of OUTspoken! LGBTQ storyteller series takes place Tuesday, April 3, at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted. Doors open at 6 p.m., stories begin at 7. The event is 21+.
The April storytellers are:
Lisa DeSantiago is a Dare2Dream Education Coordinator at Central Romero, which provides opportunities for those community residents with the fewest options. Through education, Centro Romero emphasizes the development of the whole family unit, the creation of community leadership and self-reliance. She studied English and Creative Writing at UIC and graduated from Lake View High School.
Elizabeth Gomez is a Chicago-based comedian, writer and storyteller. She established the city's first all-female roller derby league, The Windy City Rollers, in 2004. She is the founding writer of a writing collective called Drinkers with Writing Problems and spends her days working for an alderman on Chicago's city council.
Randy Kim is a queer Southeast Asian-American, born from a father who is a Cambodian genocide survivor, and a mom, a Vietnam War survivor. These experiences have inspired Randy to explore the effects of intergenerational trauma through storytelling and writing. He has performed at various storytelling showcases that includes PREACH, TenX9 Chicago, Am I Man Enough?, Around the World: Immigrant Stories, TALK Stories and more.
Criag Kirsch recently retired from a 36-year career as an educator. He spent 28 years as a Director of a TRIO Upward Bound program, a college prep program for low-income, first generation students. He is a writer and filmmaker who favors non-fiction and documentary film. His most recent published pieces are personal narratives included in the anthologies Stories Teachers Tell and The Buddha Next Door.
Anita Melcher is a librarian and archivist by day and a writer right before a deadline. She has told stories at Story Lab, You're Being Ridiculous, Story Corps, The Cat Diaries and Feminist Happy Hour. In her free time, she likes to avoid writing, doing the dishes and laundry by rubbing elbows with colleagues in her field, hanging out with her cat and watching Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries while in the bath. Her work "You Boys" has been published in The Vignette Review.
Emilie Modaff is a queer cat parent and artist in Chicago. They perform music with their band Modaff, produce the fiction podcast PleasureTown and watch a lot of Drag Race.
See www.outspokenchicago.com for more info.
"The key is, we all have full rich lives," OUTspoken! curator David Fink told ChicagoPride.com. "Talking about significant moments connects us. Although we may outwardly have little in common, as humans we all have a lot in common. Personal, true stories help remind us of these commonalities."
Six storytellers will take their turn with the microphone as Sidetrack transforms its Main and Cherry Bars into a story-telling hall with chairs for seating. There is no charge to attend, but audience members must be 21 with ID.
The April edition of OUTspoken! LGBTQ storyteller series takes place Tuesday, April 3, at Sidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted. Doors open at 6 p.m., stories begin at 7. The event is 21+.
The April storytellers are:
Lisa DeSantiago is a Dare2Dream Education Coordinator at Central Romero, which provides opportunities for those community residents with the fewest options. Through education, Centro Romero emphasizes the development of the whole family unit, the creation of community leadership and self-reliance. She studied English and Creative Writing at UIC and graduated from Lake View High School.
Elizabeth Gomez is a Chicago-based comedian, writer and storyteller. She established the city's first all-female roller derby league, The Windy City Rollers, in 2004. She is the founding writer of a writing collective called Drinkers with Writing Problems and spends her days working for an alderman on Chicago's city council.
Randy Kim is a queer Southeast Asian-American, born from a father who is a Cambodian genocide survivor, and a mom, a Vietnam War survivor. These experiences have inspired Randy to explore the effects of intergenerational trauma through storytelling and writing. He has performed at various storytelling showcases that includes PREACH, TenX9 Chicago, Am I Man Enough?, Around the World: Immigrant Stories, TALK Stories and more.
Criag Kirsch recently retired from a 36-year career as an educator. He spent 28 years as a Director of a TRIO Upward Bound program, a college prep program for low-income, first generation students. He is a writer and filmmaker who favors non-fiction and documentary film. His most recent published pieces are personal narratives included in the anthologies Stories Teachers Tell and The Buddha Next Door.
Anita Melcher is a librarian and archivist by day and a writer right before a deadline. She has told stories at Story Lab, You're Being Ridiculous, Story Corps, The Cat Diaries and Feminist Happy Hour. In her free time, she likes to avoid writing, doing the dishes and laundry by rubbing elbows with colleagues in her field, hanging out with her cat and watching Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries while in the bath. Her work "You Boys" has been published in The Vignette Review.
Emilie Modaff is a queer cat parent and artist in Chicago. They perform music with their band Modaff, produce the fiction podcast PleasureTown and watch a lot of Drag Race.
See www.outspokenchicago.com for more info.