2nd Story
Society & Culture
About
2nd Story is dedicated to creating and crafting story-sharing experiences that foster meaningful connections between individuals and communities. We believe that well-crafted, well-told stories can be a catalyst for change for artist and audience alike.We believe that stories are what bind us to each other.We want to live in a world driven by empathy.We host events in and around Chicago that elevate the storyteller’s words to deliver a unique, live, literary/theatrical experience unlike any other in the city. From small bars in Rogers Park and North Center, to big venues in Lakeview and the West Loop, to restaurants in Lincoln Park and Evanston, we produce over 30 events every season and facilitates over 145 artistic collaborations. We craft story-sharing experiences in the form of both performances and workshops and classes. A typical show or event consists of several stories dispersed throughout the evening like courses of a meal. The stories range from the earnest and serious to
Episodes
- Episode 336: Love Grows
This episode of 2nd Story, titled "Love Grows," explores parenthood through the lens of foster parenting, discussing its challenges and rewards.
- Episode 335: PJ Gray - You're Soaking In It
Teller PJ Gray recounts a harrowing day with a babysitter, detailing a survival lesson learned at a young age.
- Episode 334: Julie Ganey - (Not A) Debacle
Julie Ganey recounts a personal story about the importance of addressing problems proactively and the consequences of letting past issues go unaddressed.
- Episode 333: Geneva Norman - Oh Hell No!
In Episode 333, Geneva Norman shares her story of an unexpected pregnancy and the subsequent support she received from her community.
- Episode 332: S. Ferdowsi - Coming To Terms
S. Ferdowsi recounts the events surrounding her miscarriage, detailing her experiences during that time.
- Episode 331: Reshmi Hazra Rustebakke - The Honeymoon Period
In this week's story, teller Reshmi Hazra Rustebakke shares how counseling has helped turn her sixteen-year marriage into one long honeymoon period.
- Episode 330: Earliana McLaurin - Man Cursed
In this week's story, teller Earliana McLaurin recalls some of her shaky moments in dating and the friendship that helped ground her.
- Episode 329: Liz Blondel - Bon Courage
In this week's story, teller Liz Blondel shares a moment when, in the wake of a tragic loss, she had to learn how to support family through the haze of a language and culture barrier.
- Episode 328: Tiffany Moten - The Friendship Market
In this week's story, teller Tiffany Moten reflects on friends lost and found as well as the way our friend groups grow and change just as we do ourselves.
- Episode 327: Coya Paz - Third Culture Kid
In this week's story, teller Coya Paz reflects on the way her her uniquely global youth has impacted her identity, her values, and her family.
- Episode 326: CP Chang - The Blessing Of His Memory
In this week's story, teller CP Chang shares the many varying emotions and memories of weeks that led up to the loss of father and what we see when those around us grieve.
- Episode 325: Kirsten Baity - We Never Go Alone
In this week's story, teller Kirsten Baity recalls the ups and downs of their relationship with their sister and the way they grew together through shared yet separate work.
- Episode 324: Jess Kadish - Break
In this week's story, teller Jess Kadish shares the before, during, and ongoing process of healing from a broken hip, reflecting on the help she learned to ask for.
- Episode 323: Jenan Mohajir - One Face, Many Names
In this week's story, teller Jenan Mohajir shares the path she followed to finding her name and the pride she's learned to have in representing herself and her legacy.
- Episode 322: Kimberly Acosta - One Of The Good Ones
In this week's story, teller Kimberly Acosta reflects on the depth of her Mexican-American identity and the way it's evolved throughout her life, both as she's gotten older and as the world around her changes.
- Episode 321: Madeline Bourdenko - The World Is Waiting For You
In this week's story, teller Madeline Bourdenko recalls the pressure of raising two young children and the trip she took that helped her find herself amongst the chaos.
- Episode 320: Karla Estela Rivera - Kids Like Us
In this week's story, teller Karla Estela Rivera recalls her experience learning to love her sexuality and the way she built a home for her child that would make their own experience open, loving, and joyous.
- Episode 319: Connie Shirakawa - Journey To Jerome
In this week's story, teller Connie Shirakawa recalls her experience on a pilgrimage to the former internment camp site where her parents met and the community she found among the generations of Japanese Americans she traveled with.
- Episode 318: Dana Black - My Nana, My Mom's Mom, My Best Friend
In this week's story, teller Dana Black looks back on her relationship with her grandmother, celebrating the little traditions they found together and how she honored her loss.
- Episode 317: LaTanya Lane - Fighting
In this week's story, teller LaTanya Lane shares how she found, then learned to love, the fighter inside of her.
- Episode 316: Matthew Braun - I Needed To Move
In this week's story, teller Matthew Braun recalls his struggle with financial and personal stagnation and the way he found satisfaction and community in movement.
- Episode 315: Timothy David Rey - OUR Town
In this week's story, we celebrate Pride with teller Timothy David Rey's story of growing up gay in 1980s small town America.
- Episode 314: Darren Meyers - Meeting Mrs. Meyers
In this week's story, teller Darren Meyers reflects on some recent forays into dating and the way that growing up as an only child has impacted his philosophy.
- Episode 313: Lynnette Li - Move Those Feet
In this week's story, teller Lynnette Li shares her experience of being caught between caring for her aging father and parenting her growing children.
- Episode 312: Kim L Hunt - Momma Said
In this week's story, teller Kim L Hunt recalls the confidence and optimism her mother constantly spread throughout her youth and how it’s followed her into adulthood.
- Episode 311: Courtney Kotloski - Look For The Good Guys
In this week's story, teller Courtney Kotloski shares how she, along with her kids, developed a way to find strength and positivity in the face of fear.
- Episode 310: McKenzie Chinn & Mykele Deville - Spark & Shine
In this week's story, tellers McKenzie Chinn and Mykele Deville look back at the way they found each other through the chaos and violence of the world around them.
- Episode 309: Wyl Villacres - Pink Tutu
In this week's story, teller Wyl Villacres explores the dissonance he felt when young love clashed with harsh reality on a teenage trip abroad.
- Episode 308: Maegan Gwaltney - Motherhood (Or Lack Thereof)
In this week's story, teller Maegan Gwaltney reflects on the mother she once planned to be and the way we grieve and grow from the invisible losses of life.
- Episode 307: Finding Humanity At The DMV - Abra Millman
In this week's story, teller Abra Millman shares her frantic search for proper documentation before her wedding, and the unexpected place that showed her mercy.
- Episode 306: RJ Silva - Mangoes In Manila
In this week's story, teller RJ Silva shares his experience being pulled between two worlds when he brought his husband to visit his home country for the very first time.
- Episode 305: Bobbie & Liz Rice - West Suburban Chinese School (西郊實驗中文學校)
In this week's story, mother-daughter duo Bobbie & Liz Rice share stories of their shared Chinese values and experiences, as well as the ways they've helped each other to evolve and change.
- Episode 304: Making A Whole From Broken Pieces
In this week's story, our teller shares the lead up to - and follow up of - her marriage's end, and how she found her path forward through the grief of the transition.
- Episode 303: Martinique Haller - The Egging
In this week's story, teller Martinique Haller reflects on an act of rebellion from her youth and the understanding - if not forgiveness - that time has brought her.
- Episode 302: Stephanie Chavara - You Are Here
In this week's story, Stephanie Chavara returns home and wrestles with both the vulnerability of putting down roots in familiar soil.
- Episode 301: Jim Lupo - 4/6/14
In this week's story, teller Jim Lupo reflects on his youth spent caring for his ill mother, and how he looks towards his future with that past in mind.
- Episode 300: 25th Anniversary Story Soiree
In this week's episode, we celebrate our 300th episode! Join us for a trio of stories along with a bit of nostalgia and reminiscing along the way!
- Episode 299: Liz Blondel - Get By
In this week's story, teller Liz Blondel recalls her early college days, and the culture shock she experienced while studying just a few blocks northeast of her childhood home.
- Episode 298: Ana Martin Sagredo - And Then, There Was Sound
In this week's story, teller Ana Martin Sagredo shares the early days of her second child's life, the unexpected hurdles they experienced, and the decisions they made for their family.
- Episode 297: Nestor Gomez - Number 1 Or Number 2
In this week's story, teller Nestor Gomez recalls some notable conversations around this year's presidential election, with a particularly poignant metaphor for how he feels.
- Episode 296: Gregory and Vince Pagán-Hill - Gay As Sh*t
In this week's story, tellers Gregory and Vince Pagán-Hill share a dual story of sexual awakening and finding a partner to explore with.
- Episode 295: Jasmin Cardenas - Technicolor Me
In this week's story, teller Jasmin Cardenas reflects on bringing stories into her classrooms from a variety of cultures and languages and how she sees the joy of familiarity in her students.
- Episode 294: Ali Drumm & Christine Thoren - I Choose You
In this week's story, tellers Ali Drumm and Christine Thoren reflect on a few of the pivotal moments from their relationship, sharing the difficult choices they've made because they're worth it.
- Episode 293: Karla Estela Rivera - Sofritogate
In this week's story, teller Karla Estela Rivera shares how she and her husband navigated a particularly nasty fight that reared its head when the world around them was already in turmoil.
- Episode 292: Yongwoo - Something Easy To Work Hard At
In this week's story, teller Yongwoo recaps his internal battle to properly represent himself, and all men who share his race, in conflict.
- Episode 291: Linda Sullivan - She Said
In this week's story, teller Linda Sullivan recounts the highs and lows of one particularly impactful friendship from her youth.
- Episode 290: S and Danielle Simmons - Just Friends
In this week's story, S and Danielle Simmons share the origin story of their marriage - and how they started off on not quite the same page about romance.
- Episode 289: Courtney Kotloski - Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself
In this week's story, teller Courtney Kotloski shares the shock of her cancer diagnosis and how humor - along with the support of her family - helped keep her pushing through treatment.
- Episode 288: Jen Schroeder - A Labor Of Love
In this week's story, teller Jen Schroeder shares an intensely honest and real look at her experience just before, during, and after giving birth to her twins.
- Episode 287: LaTanya Lane - The Perfect Amount Of Water
In this week's story, 2nd Story Company Member LaTanya Lane shares how she lost one type of faith but found another in the people and community around her.