GROUPON GUIDE TO CHICAGO

Chicago Agenda: Wednesday, December 11

BY: Tyler Clark | Dec 10, 2013

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The Moth’s Chicago GrandSlam Championship VII Ten champion storytellers vie for supremacy during the seventh edition of the Moth’s GrandSlam Championship Across the city, 10 storytellers stare into their bathroom mirrors, mentally ticking through the high points of the tales they’re about to tell. These aren’t just any old yarn-spinners, though. They’re the winners of Chicago’s most recent Moth StorySlams, and tonight, they’ll face off against one another for a chance at storytelling immortality. OK, maybe that’s overstating things a bit, but winning the Moth’s Chicago GrandSlam Championship VII would make for an enviable line on a résumé. Working with the theme “Old Enough to Know Better,” contestants including WBEZ’s Don Hall, Northwestern neuroscience hotshot Moran Cerf, and interfaith expert Alana Kinarsky will fill Park West (322 W. Armitage Ave.) with stories of youth, maturity, and the lessons learned in between. Comedian and radio personality Brian Babylon hosts. ($17; 8 p.m., doors open at 6 p.m. Buy tickets here.) Soup & Bread & That’s All She Wrote A night of live lit and delicious soups benefits Swim Café owner Karen Gerod’s ongoing fight against cancer Swim Café owner Karen Gerod has a reputation as a staunch supporter of the city’s artistic community. So when word got out that she was battling cancer, the community responded—in particular, Angela Benander and J.H. Palmer of That’s All She Wrote, the live lit series that calls Swim Café home. Tonight, they’ve teamed up with Soup & Bread, The Hideout’s (1354 W. Wabansia Ave.) free winter meal series, to host a hybrid fundraiser aimed at defraying the cost of Gerod’s medical treatments. After sipping soups from Milk & Honey, Hoosier Mama Pie Company’s Allison Scott, and Mortified! producer Shay DeGrandis, guests can tuck in for readings that explore health care and the humanity behind it. Benander and Palmer will each share stories, leading a roster of readers including the Neo-Futurists’ Sheri Reda, Soup & Bread’s Martha Bayne, and writers Tom Wolferman and Dmitry Samarov. ($10 suggested donation; 5:30 p.m.–8 p.m.) Comedians You Should Know Laugh away midweek ennui at Comedians You Should Know’s weekly Wednesday showcase In a city packed with standup-comedy talent, one of the most reliable weekly shows also has one of the least abstract names: Comedians You Should Know. Founded by six scene stalwarts including longtime Colt Cabana collaborator Marty DeRosa and 2009 Snubfest winner Danny Kallas, the show regularly showcases roaming out-of-town comedians alongside some of the city’s finest jokesters. Tonight, host Matty Ryan welcomes local favorites David Drake, Joe Kilgallon, and Junior Stopka, as well as NYC interloper J.F. Harris. The laughs erupt in the back room at Timothy O’Toole’s Pub (622 N. Fairbanks Ct.). If you need a little help getting the giggles going, the bar offers 48 beers on tap as well as Wednesday specials such as $6 Fireball shots and half-priced bottles of wine. ($5 online, $10 at the door; 9 p.m., doors open at 8 p.m. Buy tickets here.) Photo by Denise Ofelia Mangen

BY: Tyler Clark

Guide Staff Writer

Tyler is a writer, storyteller, and musician from Chicago. His stories have appeared on stage at shows including Mortified, Story Club, and Lethal Poetry.