Lifeline Theatre Announces 21st Annual FILLET OF SOLO Storytelling Festival

Lifeline Theatre Artistic Director Dorothy Milne and former Live Bait Theater Artistic Director Sharon Evans are pleased to announce the 21st Annual Fillet of Solo Festival, running January 12-28, 2018. Celebrating the breadth of Chicago's enduring storytelling and live lit scene, Lifeline brings 12 storytelling collectives and seven solo performers together for a three-week, multi-venue selection of powerful personal stories.

The 2018 Fillet of Solo festival will perform January 12-28, 2018, in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood at Lifeline Theatre (6912 N. Glenwood Ave.) and Heartland Studio Theatre (7016 N. Glenwood Ave.). Free parking and shuttle available. Performance times are Fridays at 7 and 8:30 p.m. at both venues; Saturdays at 4 and 5:30 p.m. at Heartland Studio and 7 and 8:30 p.m. at both venues; and Sundays at 4 and 5:30 p.m. at both venues. Ticket prices are $10 for regular single tickets, and $50 for a Festival Pass (allows admission to any performance). Tickets may be purchased at the Lifeline Theatre Box Office, 773.761.4477, or by visiting www.lifelinetheatre.com.

FREE KICK-OFF NIGHT

The 21st Annual Fillet of Solo Festival offers easy access to 12 Live Lit groups and numerous solo performers that perform regularly throughout Chicago. On Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 at 7 p.m., at Empirical Brew Pub,1328 W. Morse Ave. Lifeline Theatre Artistic Director Dorothy Milne will lead a conversation with numerous local storytellers and share a taste of things to come in the festival. Discounted Passes: Fillet of Solo Festival Passes will be offered at a special discounted rate of $25 at the free kick-off event (regularly $50). The Kick-Off Night is free, no reservations required. Contact the Lifeline Theatre Box Office, 773.761.4477, for more information.

FEATURED PERFORMERS

The 21st Annual Fillet of Solo Festival will feature solo performances by:

· Lily Be: "No Hay Mal"· Ada Cheng: "Breaking Rules, Broken Hearts: Loving across Borders"· Shelby Marie Edwards: "Holly's Ivy"· Julie Ganey: "Vacationing in the Moral High Ground"· Carly Jo Geer: "I Come From Hoarders" · R. C. Riley: "Wrong Way Journey"· Jameson Wentworth: "[Out of] Context"

Plus the work of the following storytelling collectives:

· Around the World: Immigrant Stories: Curated and produced by Nestor Gomez. Celebrated storyteller and 20-time Moth Slam winner Nestor Gomez has assembled a group of local performers to help illuminate the voices of immigrants in our city.· GayCo (gayco.com): An ensemble that specializes in creating sketch-comedy revues based on gay/lesbian themes. Since starting as a lesbigay focused workshop at the Second City Training Center in 1996, they've performed for massive, enthusiastic, sexy gay audiences in Chicago and across the country

Featured performers, continued:

· GeNarrations (goodmantheatre.org/Engage-Learn/education-programs/GeNarrations/): A personal narrative story performance workshop hosted at Goodman Theatre and in senior centers around Chicago.· the kates (thekates.org): An all-female comedy showcase that provides an intimate night of comedy dedicated to showcasing talented and hilarious female-identified performers by creating inclusive and positive environments. Artists are encouraged to express their comic point of view in unique and non-apologetic ways - proving that women are equal in the eyes of comedy.· The Lifeline Storytelling Project (lifelinestorytellingproject.com): The Lifeline Storytelling Project produces live music & storytelling events designed to develop and showcase artists affiliated with Lifeline Theatre.· Sappho's Salon (facebook.com/sapphossalon2): A monthly performance salon at Chicago's Women and Children First bookstore featuring expressions of queerness, gender and feminism.· Serving the Sentence (facebook.com/servingthesentencechicago): Different storytellers take the same first sentence -- each in their own direction. At the end of the show, a new sentence is drawn that the next show's storytellers will embark from!· Stir Friday Night (stirfridaynight.org): A 22-year-old Asian-American theater company, specializing in sketch comedy and improv. Alumni include Danny Pudi from Community, and Steven Yeun from The Walking Dead.· The Stoop (facebook.com/StoopStyleStories): The Stoop is hosted by Moth GrandSLAM champion Lily Be and Badass Clarence Browley. Featured storytellers are given a theme and each share a short story related to that theme. The Stoop is a platform to bring Chicagoans to a better understanding of each other and to inspire change. Performing regularly at Rosa's Lounge in Humboldt Park, it is as much about community and survival as it is about entertainment. · Sweat Girls (sweatgirls.org): With 24 years of shared history, the Sweat Girls represent the greying edge of Chicago's Live Lit community. Known for their "contagious gusto" the Sweat Girls have been called "the undisputed tribal elders" of the solo performance scene (Chicago Reader, 2014).· Tellin' Tales Theatre, featuring Tekki Lomnicki (tellintalestheatre.org): Tellin' Tales Theatre shatters the barriers between the disabled and non-disabled worlds through personal story - adult solo performances as well as "Six Stories Up," a mentoring program and show featuring kids and adults, with and without disabilities. Tekki Lomnicki is a solo performer, playwright, director and educator.· You're Being Ridiculous (yourebeingridiculous.com): "Good stories are better than good times!" A group of real people telling real funny stories about their lives with a theme as their guide. They laugh at themselves and with each other.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

WEEK ONE (January 12-14):

Friday, January 12Lifeline Theatre Heartland Studio7:00 p.m. Around the World: Immigrant Stories 7:00 p.m. GayCo8:30 p.m. Lily Be ("No Hay Mal") 8:30 p.m. Serving The Sentence Saturday, January 13Lifeline Theatre Heartland Studio7:00 p.m. Julie Ganey ("Vacationing in the 4:00 p.m. GeNarrations Moral High Ground") 5:30 p.m. Lifeline Storytelling Project8:30 p.m. the kates 7:00 p.m. R.C. Riley ("Wrong Way Journey") 8:30 p.m. Sappho's SalonSunday, January 14Lifeline Theatre Heartland Studio4:00 p.m. Tellin' Tales Theatre/Tekki Lomnicki 4:00 p.m. Jameson Wentworth ("[Out of] Context")5:30 p.m. Sweat Girls 5:30 p.m. Shelby Marie Edwards ("Holly's Ivy")

WEEK TWO (January 19-21):

Friday, January 19Lifeline Theatre Heartland Studio7:00 p.m. the kates 7:00 p.m. Sappho's Salon8:30 p.m. You're Being Ridiculous 8:30 p.m. Stir Friday Night

Performance schedule, continued:

Saturday, January 20Lifeline Theatre Heartland Studio7:00 p.m. Lily Be ("No Hay Mal") 4:00 p.m. Serving The Sentence8:30 p.m. Julie Ganey ("Vacationing in the 5:30 p.m. Carly Jo Geer ("I Come From Hoarders") Moral High Ground") 7:00 p.m. GayCo 8:30 p.m. Shelby Marie Edwards ("Holly's Ivy") Sunday, January 21Lifeline Theatre Heartland Studio4:00 p.m. Tellin' Tales Theatre/Tekki Lomnicki 4:00 p.m. GeNarrations5:30 p.m. Lifeline Storytelling Project 5:30 p.m. Ada Cheng ("Breaking Rules, Broken Hearts: Loving across Borders")

WEEK THREE (January 26-28):

Friday, January 26Lifeline Theatre Heartland Studio7:00 p.m. Julie Ganey ("Vacationing in the 7:00 p.m. Carly Jo Geer ("I Come From Hoarders") Moral High Ground") 8:30 p.m. Stir Friday Night8:30 p.m. the kates Saturday, January 27Lifeline Theatre Heartland Studio7:00 p.m. Around the World: Immigrant Stories 4:00 p.m. Lifeline Storytelling Project8:30 p.m. You're Being Ridiculous 5:30 p.m. The Stoop 7:00 p.m. Ada Cheng ("Breaking Rules, Broken Hearts: Loving across Borders") 8:30 p.m. Jameson Wentworth ("[Out of] Context") Sunday, January 28Lifeline Theatre Heartland Studio4:00 p.m. Tellin' Tales Theatre/Tekki Lomnicki 4:00 p.m. Serving The Sentence5:30 p.m. Sweat Girls 5:30 p.m. R.C. Riley ("Wrong Way Journey")

Lifeline Theatre presents the 21st Annual Fillet of Solo Festival, January 12-28, 2018, in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood at Lifeline Theatre (6912 N. Glenwood Ave.) and Heartland Studio Theatre (7016 N. Glenwood Ave.). Free parking and shuttle available. Performance times are Fridays at 7 and 8:30 p.m. at both venues; Saturdays at 4 and 5:30 p.m. at Heartland Studio and 7 and 8:30 p.m. at both venues; and Sundays at 4 and 5:30 p.m. at both venues. Ticket prices are $10 for regular single tickets, and $50 for a Festival Pass (allows admission to any performance). Tickets may be purchased at the Lifeline Theatre Box Office, 773.761.4477, or by visiting www.lifelinetheatre.com.

Now in its 35th season, Lifeline Theatre is driven by a passion for story. Our ensemble process supports writers in the development of literary adaptations and new work, and our theatrical and educational programs foster a lifelong engagement with literature and the arts. A cultural anchor of Rogers Park, we are committed to deepening our connection to an ever-growing family of artists and audiences, both near and far. Lifeline Theatre - Big Stories, Up Close.

Lifeline Theatre's programs are partially supported by Alphawood Foundation; A.R.T League Inc.; Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation; Chicago CityArts, a grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; The Common Cup; Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation; FGMK LLC; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; The Grover Hermann Foundation; Illinois Arts Council Agency; Illinois Humanities Council; Lagunitas Brewing Co. Community Grant Program; MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at Prince; The PAV Grant Fund; The Polk Bros. Foundation; Poubelle Fund, a Donor Advised Fund of Renaissance Charitable Foundation; Rogers Park Social; The Saints; S&C Electric Company Fund; The Shubert Foundation; and the annual support of businesses and individuals.

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