Short Story Theatre Presents Stories About A Pair Of Lucky Pants, Maxwell Street Shenanigans, and More

Short Story Theatre presents an evening of four warm, wise and wonderful true stories on Thursday, October 25th, 2018, at 7:30 p.m.at Miramar Bistro, 301 Waukegan Ave. in Highwood. Tickets are $10 at the door. For pre-show dinner reservations (mention Short Story Theatre): 847-433-1078. Drinks are available during the show.

Scott Woldman of Wilmette shares a story about his worst first date ever in "Magic Pants."

Barry Chessick of Northbrook recalls his days as a teenage huckster in his story "Maxwell Street Memories."

Mary Lou Gilliam, also of Northbrook, revisits the 1960's, a small rural town, and an issue that's not so black and white in her story "Romona's Gifts."

Bonnie Hillman Shay and Frank Shapiro of Highland Park tell a story in tandem: "A Tale of Two Cycles."

Short Story Theatre was founded in 2012 and is dedicated to promoting storytelling as a vibrant, contemporary art form. Co-founder and Producer Donna Lubow says, "Stories are creative non-fiction, based on personal experiences. Our troupe of more than fifty members from Chicago and the northern suburbs melds writing skills and performance skills to entertain and inspire audiences."

For more information and for guidelines for submission: www.shortstorytheatre.com.

Scott Woldman has performed as an actor, performance poet, storyteller and comedian for over 15 years in venues across the United States. He is a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists (most recent play: Beautiful Autistic), Redtwist Theatre, and the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre. Scott's drama Beaten was produced at The Artistic Home and several of his late-night comedies-including Dates From Hell, Drunk and Ready, and Men Exposed-were produced at Redtwist Theatre as part of their Luv Cycle.

Barry Chessick has appeared in non-equity and community theatre plays around the Chicago area and in numerous film and print commercials. Several of his short stories have been published, and he has written a murder-mystery novel, which he hopes to have published by year's end. Barry has a BA in English from Roosevelt University and did post-graduate work in accounting, law and finance at Roosevelt and Northwestern Universities. After working for a prestigious national accounting firm for seven years, he joined an international distributing company as a V.P., later becoming a full partner. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of Big Brothers of Metropolitan Chicago. Using a sailboat donated by the Donnelly Family, he organized a sailing program for Chicago area scouts. For fifty-plus years, Barry cruised and raced sailboats on Lake Michigan, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Caribbean Sea. Barry has lived his entire life in the Chicago area, currently residing in Northbrook with Annie, his beautiful wife of 58 years.

Mary Lou Gilliam was an English teacher for nearly three decades and used both music and drama to engage her students. In addition to performing in musical comedies and in the church choir, she has been a wedding soloist for many years. Her writing credits include nationally distributed educational materials, user guides, and magazine articles.

Bonnie Hillman Shay was gifted with the "organizing" gene, which inspired her to establish her own organizing business in 2007. Bonnie currently specializes in photo organizing (printed and digital). Bonnie feels blessed to have found her calling, allowing her to perform "magic" for her clients. As a photo organizer Bonnie curates family photo collections to make sure they are shareable, manageable, enjoyable and most importantly safe and secure for now and generations to come. Through the organizing process, Bonnie helps her clients use their photos and other media to tell their family's story, so she is thrilled and honored to share her own story with the appreciative and encouraging audiences who attend Short Story Theatre Performances. When Bonnie isn't curating family photo collections, she bicycles, dances, walks her dog, cooks, and does crossword puzzles.

Frank Shapiro was born in New York City, grew up on Long Island and moved to the Chicago area more than half his life ago. Frank has had his life turned upside down a number of times including one time on a mountain bike (literally) while descending in Kettle Moraine and recently in his current job when it was announced eight days after he started that the company had been acquired. Luckily he survived both events and is currently a Tier 3 Support Agent at Salesforce. Frank enjoys telling stories, riding bicycles, making bad puns and good food.

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