Time to Include Everybody

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Taking a moment to help a worthy cause. Local Chicago actress Emjoy Gavino has launched The Chicago Inclusion Project, an effort to encourage greater diversity in theater, including different people of different ethnicities, physical abilities and gender identities. On the horizon is a staged reading of William Saroyan's play The Time of Your Life at Victory Gardens Theater, which will hopefully be the first of many such performances. 

If you would like to contribute to this effort, The Chicago Inclusion Project currently has an indiegogo campaign to raise funds for its activities. 

I have something new on the immediate horizon. Wednesday, March 25 I will be taking part in HOME: A Festival of Storytelling III, an annual festival of rotating storytellers at The Side Project Theatre in Rogers Park. That night I will be joining two others in telling stories that each of us wrote with live musical accompaniment. 

This is a bit of a first for me. I had taken a shot at storytelling years ago at open mike nights held at coffee shops like Uncommon Ground, but had let it fall to the wayside. And I have friends and colleagues who regularly participate in 2nd Story, The Paper Machete and other local venues for spoken performance, but have never tried it myself.

I caught the call for story submissions about one week before the deadline, then spent that week hemming and hawing about whether to come up with something before cranking out my piece in 24 hours. The fact that the curators seemed to like it surprised me to no end. 

So, if you happen to be free that night, stop on by. Show starts at 7:30 pm; I'm the last of the three taking the stage. It's nothing huge, just a little piece titled YES/NO that touches on some of my Korean family's history, the Korean War and the legacy of the North/Side divide. 

The Side Project Theatre Company is located at 1439 W Jarvis Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60626. 

Tickets are available at www.brownpapertickets.com. Use the promo code HOME for discounted tickets.