In the Frunchroom: Jeff Danna

Whenever possible, we want to feature people not seen at other live lit events. So we’re very pleased to welcome Jeff Danna – author of the popular Main Street Beverly blog – to The Frunchroom on July 16th.

Frunchroom PhotoJeff’s passion for cities and neighborhoods — especially Chicago and its many enclaves drives his writing on his blog, Main Street Beverly. Tackling the subject of urbanism, or how the built environment shapes social interaction, Jeff started the blog partly as a personal, creative outlet but also in hopes of sparking a dialogue about the future of a community that inspires such devotion in those who call it home.

By day, Jeff works in internal communications for Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, helping tell the stories of the tens of thousands of healthcare providers and support staff members who make the health system function. Previously, he spent seven years as a journalist for the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times News Group, covering municipal government, schools and a variety of other stories in Chicago’s suburbs. He graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 2006 with a degree in magazine journalism.

Jeff and his wife, Amy, moved to North Beverly in 2012 with their long-haired Maine coon, Echo, after living in the South Loop and Uptown. He grew up in the far north-suburban village of Antioch and has lived in Chicago neighborhoods from Lincoln Square to Pilsen.

To learn more about Jeff and to read his blog, visit mainstreetbeverly.wordpress.com.

Jeff will be reading about…walking. Specifically, why he uses his feet as his primary mode of transportation, why building a community for walkers is important and the differences between his experiences walking on the North Side and walking on the South Side.

You can see Jeff and our other readers at O’Rourke’s Office on July 16th at 7:30pm.

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In the Frunchroom: Shay DeGrandis

We’re really excited to open up The Frunchroom again on July 16th at O’Rourke’s Office (11064 S. Western). We have a new lineup of South Side writers and we’re excited for you to get to know them.

DeGrandis HSFirst up is Shay DeGrandis. She’s an artist, writer, producer, administrator, well-meaning amateur therapist, and accidental comedian. After some time in Humboldt Park, she moved to Beverly six years ago from Pilsen, making her slow descent to the furthest reaches of the South Side so she could fill a huge house with all of her weird stuff. She’ll talk about becoming a South Side during her reading at The Frunchroom.

Shay also produces and hosts the Chicago edition of Mortified, a comedy show of “personal redemption through public humiliation.” As someone who persuades others to share their most awkward adolescent writing in front of strangers, she also likes to share her shame both on stage and off, occasionally producing objects and images out of the vagaries of her existence. See them at shaydegrandis.com.

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Listen to the stories from the very first Frunchroom event

By now I hope you’ve marked the next Frunchroom event on your calendar – July 16th at 730pm!

But perhaps you missed our first event. Or just really enjoyed the stories and wish you could hear them again. Great news, you can!

The Soundcloud playlist below contains almost the entire Frunchroom from April, live as it happened. No edits, no audio sweetening…with one exception. Due to a technical difficulty, we didn’t record all of Chuck Sudo’s excellent story “The Distance You Can Travel.” So Chuck was nice enough to re-record it for us in full.

Have no fear: we will eventually be posting the video from The Frunchroom in April, which will contain Chuck’s story and everyone else’s.

In the meantime, enjoy the show and see you on July 16th!

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Who’s reading at Volume II of The Frunchroom? 

The first event was a great success and I’m hoping for more on July 16th at 7:30pm when The Frunchroom will once again be open at O’Rourke’s Office (11064 S. Western) for stories of, and by, people and places on the South Side. 

 It’s still a free event, but donations are welcome and benefit the non-profit Beverly Area Arts Alliance, our production partner. Check out the Alliance website for some exciting upcoming events. 
Here’s who you’ll see at O’Rourke’s Office that night:

Jeff Danna

Writer/Blogger, Main Street Beverly

Shay DeGrandis

Artist: shaydegrandis.com, Mortifier: getmortified.com 

Mikki Kendall

Writer and occasional feminist

Evan F. Moore

Political sportswriter

Scott Smith
Writer, ourmaninchicago.net

I’ll be emceeing as well as reading that night. 

You can read some initial press for next month’s event over at DNA Info Chicago.

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The Frunchroom: Flush with success and focused on what’s next

Photo: The Frunchroom Audiance

It’s been a little more than a week since The Frunchroom and I’m still overwhelmed with all the support for the Alliance’s new reading series.

We packed the house at O’Rourke’s Office on April 16th.  It was standing-room only to hear the tremendous talents of Jen Sabella, Dmitry Samarov, Adrienne Samuels Gibbs, Natalie Moore and Chuck Sudo. Howard Ludwig of DNA Info Chicago was there and filed this report.

There was also a reviewer from South Side Weekly in attendance. Julia Aizuss wrote a very thoughtful piece on what we’re trying to do. These lines stood out to me:

This quest for balance between local and universal may be what most differentiates The Frunchroom from the rest of the South Side’s live lit scene.

[SNIP]

How do you bring a disparate city together while maintaining its vibrant plurality? This is the question The Frunchroom asks, and which it will continue trying to answer…

I want the Frunchroom to reflect the South Side – its people, its places, its history and its future – and particularly the immediate neighborhoods of Beverly/Mount Greenwood/Morgan Park. But I also want to bring in people from the North, West and East Sides of the city – both to hear stories and read them. Keeping this series accessible while remaining personal will always be a challenge, but it’s an exciting one.

Thanks for making our first event such a huge success by coming out and supporting live lit on the South Side. We’ll have audio and video coming soon. Meanwhile, mark July 16th on your calendar for our next Frunchroom event at O’Rourke’s. See you then!

If you have questions about the Frunchroom, you can email me: scott at beverlyarts.org.

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Everything you need to know for tomorrow’s Frunchroom

theFrunchroom_032015Holy Moses, this is actually happening tomorrow. Can’t wait to see you. Here’s what you need to know.

What’s the time? 730pm

Where’s t
he place? O’Rourke’s Office (11064 S. Western Ave.)

The readers:
Adrienne Samuels Gibbs; arts and entertainment writer
Natalie Y. Moore; reporter, WBEZ, and author
Jen Sabella; director of social media and engagement, DNAInfo Chicago
Dmitry Samarov; painter and writer
Chuck Sudo; writer/editor

Is it free? It is! But if you want to bring a few dollars to donate to the Beverly Area Arts Alliance (see below) then everyone will think you’re smart and good-looking and generous.

Are there seats? Yes, but it’s limited. So get there early. Otherwise, wear shoes for standing.

Where do I park? The Leona’s lot on 111th St. (trust me, it’s fine)

How do I get there via transit?
 Take Metra’s Rock Island line to 111th. Walk west toward Longwood then up the hill and keep going until you hit Western Avenue. Make a right and you’re there.

Where can I eat?
 Get to O’Rourke’s early and order in from Waldo Cooney’s or Leona’s and you can get a 20% discount. Five Star Burgers is also nearby. If you don’t mind a walk there’s Home Run Inn Pizza up the street or Horse Thief Hollow for an after-show beer.

What are the stories like?
Some are sincere, some are tongue-in-cheek. One may be a call-to-action, another might make you think. One might be historical, one might make you remember a place you haven’t been since childhood. Basically, like having a conversation with someone you haven’t seen in a while.

Who’s helping you with this?
I’m producing this in partnership with The Beverly Area Arts Alliance (or The Alliance, for short). They’re a great non-profit and you should check out some of their other upcoming events including a figure drawing workshop on April 27th and the 2015 Beverly Art Walk on October 3rd.

A big thanks to Monica Wilczak, Sal Campbell, David Barsotti, Chris Wilczak and Lizzy Benner who’ve given this event material, financial and moral support. And a huge thanks to O’Rourke’s Office for hosting us. (Thank them by purchasing beverages tomorrow and tipping profusely.)

And, of course, huge thanks to all our readers and, in advance, to you for coming.

Where can I find out more? Check out some press we’ve received from DNA Info Chicago and The Beverly Review.

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In the Frunchroom: Chuck Sudo

As I’ve said, The Frunchroom started after several conversations with friends. Chuck Sudo was one of those people and he’ll be reading with us next week.

photo 1Born and raised on Chicago’s Northwest Side, Chuck dreamed of living east of Halsted Street near a baseball park … but he was a Cubs fan back then. He traded in his Cubs hat for a White Sox ballcap and has called Bridgeport home for 16 years—long enough to be considered a ‘naturalized’ resident of the ‘neighborhood of mayors.’

Most recently the editor-in-chief of Chicagoist, Chuck’s reporting has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, Time Out Chicago, Playboy.com, Centerstage, Chicago magazine, the Chicago Reader and Eater Chicago. He’s read onstage at Tuesday Funk, That’s All She Wrote and The Paper Machete, all while trumpeting why he wished he moved Out South sooner. He will be available for beers, bullshitting and job offers after the show.

Chuck will read about how his love of biking informed his greater knowledge and love of the South Side.

See Chuck and the rest of our readers at O’Rourke’s Office on April 16th at 730pm.

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In the Frunchroom: Dmitry Samarov

image1 (1)The origin story of The Frunchroom starts with conversations between me and Dmitry Samarov over coffee at Ellie’s Cafe. I’d said I wanted to do a reading series on the South Side but wasn’t quite sure what that would entail. Dmitry was great about holding me to my initial ponderings (“So are you going to do that thing or what?”). So I’m very glad he’s agreed to read at our first event and create the art for our posters.

Dmitry Samarov was born in Moscow, USSR in 1970. He immigrated to the US with his family in 1978. He got in trouble in 1st grade for doodling on his Lenin Red Star pin and hasn’t stopped doodling since. After a false start at Parsons School of Design in New York, he graduated with a BFA in painting and printmaking from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1993.

Upon graduation he promptly began driving a cab—first in Boston, then after a time, in Chicago—which eventually led to the publication of his illustrated work memoir Hack: Stories from a Chicago Cab (University of Chicago Press, 2011) and Where To? A Hack Memoir (Curbside Splendor, 2014).

He has exhibited his work in all manner of bars, coffeeshops, libraries, and even the odd gallery (when he’s really hard up ). He paints and writes in Chicago, Illinois. He no longer drives a cab.

Dmitry will read about a place near and dear to many folks in Beverly: Hardboiled Coffee.

See Dmitry Samarov and the rest of our readers at The Frunchroom on April 16th at O’Rourke’s Office at 730pm.

Photo: Paul Germanos

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In the Frunchroom: Adrienne Samuels-Gibbs

Adrienne_Our third reader for this quarter’s Frunchroom event is Adrienne Samuels-Gibbs.

Adrienne is a writer who specializes in cultural analysis, urban affairs, and the arts.  Her award-winning work has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, Ebony magazine, The Miami Herald, and the Boston Globe. She also can be seen or heard on the Mary Mary show and WBEZ’s Afternoon Shift.

Adrienne attended Sutherland and is a graduate of both Morgan Park High School and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.  She lives in Beverly with her husband and son. Learn more about her at www.adriennewrites.com. Her piece will be about the sounds of Beverly.

See Adrienne and the rest of our readers at the very first Frunchroom event on April 16th, 730pm at O’Rourke’s Office (11064 S Western).

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In the Frunchroom: Jen Sabella

largerNext up in our writers’ lineup for April 16th at O’Rourke’s is Jen Sabella.

Jen Sabella is a writer, editor and social media strategist living in Chicago. She is currently the Director of Social Media and Engagement at DNAinfo.com.

Jen helped turn DNAinfo into a well-known and beloved site for local news in Chicago’s often under-covered neighborhoods. She also helped train dozens of editors and reporters on SEO, headline writing and best practices for social media. She was also named one of the 10 Most Powerful Women in Chicago Journalism by esteemed media writer Robert Feder and the Windy City Times named her one of Chicago’s “30 Under 30” in 2013.

Before joining DNAinfo, Jen was the Chicago Editor for The Huffington Post and a breaking news reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Southwest Side native attended Columbia College Chicago and Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School. Her days at McAuley will be the subject of her Frunchroom piece (and this will be her first time doing a live reading).

She now lives in Lincoln Square with her fiance, Ali, and their two fat cats.

See Jen and the rest of our readers at O’Rourke’s on April 16th at 730pm.

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