Look, we don’t want to rain on the parade that is World Puppetry Day, but there’s something that the puppetry Illuminati doesn’t want you to know about puppets: they are dead, soulless inanimate objects. So instead of staying at home and playing with your sad, motionless facsimiles of real people, how about you come on out to The Book Cellar on Monday night, March 21st, 7pm, where you’ll hear great essays and stories directly from the mouths of these living, breathing, sentient* human beings:
David Stuart MacLean is a Pen/American award-winning writer. His work has appeared in Ploughshares, The New York Times, The GuardianUK, the Times of London, and on the radio program This American Life. His book The Answer to the Riddle is Me was named a Best Book of 2014 by Kirkus Reviews. It’s very sad. Very very sad. The first non-erotica book ever printed on Kleenex.
Mark Schab has performed his own work with Story Sessions, Telling Tales Theatre, Essay Fietsta, and the Ragdale Ring to name some favorites and most recently gave his first TED Talk. In the theatre, Mark has toured nationally and performed locally with (among others) City Lit, Stage Left and received a Jeff Award for his work with Trapdoor Theatre. He is the author of the food and travel blog, “Kiss My France.” He is currently working on a non-fiction digital workshop entitled “Thank God for Modern Dentistry,” found at tg4md.blogspot.com.
The product of nine years in San Francisco and eight years in St. Paul, Rosamund Lannin is pleasantly surprised to have lived in Chicago for over a decade. During that time, she has been an editor at Gapers Block, performed stories around the city, and consumed many carne asada burritos. These days she co-hosts lady live lit show Miss Spoken, edits Story Club Magazine, and tries to write essays that make you feel things, or at the very least laugh.
Alyson Lyon is a comedic performer/writer/director/yogini who also works as a makeup artist. In the world of Live Lit, Alyson co-produced and co-founded Essay Fiesta as well as the Chicago Story Collective and has performed her essays all over Chicago. Check out www.alysonheartsfaces.com for her makeup work and alysonlyon.net for all her other antics.
Erin Diamond grew up in Arlington Heights, IL in legendary neighborhood that is filled with stories. She is a Moth winner and has told stories at This Much is True, That’s All She Wrote, You’re Being Ridiculous, and many more. Erin is a frequent contributor to The Paper Machete at The Green Mill. She is currently starring in The Condition at The Annoyance Theater in Lakeview. Erin is a proud theater school drop out, cinephile, and devoted fan of the band Third Eye Blind.
*We cannot confirm whether Karen and Willy are sentient.
Essay Fiesta 