2nd Story: Storytellers: M

Arlene Malinowski

Arlene Malinowski is an actor/playwright whose 4 solo shows have been produced nationwide and have been honored with an LA Theatre Ovations nomination, an LA Weekly Award and Garland Award. Recent TV credits: CSI, ER, The Division, CBS movie, Sweet Nothing in My Ear. She teaches solo writing/performing in L.A., S.F. and Chicago. Her newest play Aiming for Sainthood has been commissioned by the 16th Street Theater. She is a contributing writer for Selling Lemonade for Free and The Week Behind. Arlene is a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists and produces the groovy spoken word salon Speak Easy-Speak Hard.

Margaret Marion

Margaret Marion is an undercover novelist who writes her best stuff in her sleep, then scrambles to remember it all in the morning. Born and raised in Detroit, MI, Margaret is made of first-rate survivor quality and Better Made Potato chips. Currently, Margaret is a social-worker-in-training at University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration, and works as a Youth Development Instructor at the Gary Comer Youth Center. She lives in South Shore with her beloved husband of three years, and the two kittens that she hopes he gets her for Christmas. To all storytellers around the world, Margaret says "One Love, God Bless."

Lauren Marks

Lauren Marks worked in theatre for a decade in New York City as a performer, dramaturg, director, and in the literary departments of the Tectonic Theater Project, Summer Play Festival (SPF), and Williamstown Theatre Festival. She is a PhD student in Theatre Studies at The Graduate Center at the City University of New York, though currently on leave. Her writings have been featured in Thinking Ahead, The Mad As Hell Club, and Fresh Yarn. She is a recent recipient of grants from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), VCCA France, Ragdale, and Yaddo. She is currently working on a memoir entitled A Stitch of Time: Diary of an Aphasiac.

Eric May

Eric Charles May is an associate professor in the Fiction Writing Department at Columbia College Chicago. A 1975 graduate of Columbia and a former reporter for The Washington Post, his fiction has appeared in Fish Stories: Collective One and f magazine. In addition to his reportage for the Post, his nonfiction has appeared in Sport Literate. He completed work on a novel last fall. Eric is a past a judge for the Columbia (University) Scholastic Press Association and has taught writing workshops at the Stonecoast Writers’ Conference in Maine and the Pine Manor Writers’ Conference in Massachusetts.

Earliana McLaurin

Earliana "Earl" McLaurin is a Chicago-based actor and director who haphazardly adds the title of "writer" to the aforementioned list. Earliana has worked with such companies as Stockyard's Theatre Project, Hell in A Handbag Productions, and Livewire Theatre. As always, Earliana would like to thank her family and friends for their infinite patience and support! Check her out at earlianamclaurin.com.

Patricia McNair

Patricia Ann McNair's fiction and creative nonfiction have appeared in American Fiction: Best Unpublished Short Stories by Emerging Writers, Other Voices, F, River Teeth, Fourth Genre, Brevity, Creative Nonfiction, Air Canada's en Route magazine, and others. She is also published in The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction, edited by Dinty Moore, and is a regular contributor to Elks Magazine. Her honors include a number of Illinois Arts Council Awards and Pushcart Prize nominations in fiction and creative nonfiction, Columbia College Chicago's Excellence in Teaching Award, and a nomination for the Carnegie Foundation's US Professor of the Year Award. She has served as Writer in Residence at Interlochen Arts Academy and visiting lecturer at Bath Spa University in Bath, UK. McNair is a professor in the graduate and undergraduate programs of the Fiction Writing Department at Columbia College Chicago. Her story collection, The Temple of Air, is forthcoming from Elephant Rock Books.

Photo credit: Philip Hartigan

Megan Mercier

Megan Mercier earned her B.A. in Theater from Columbia College Chicago and is finishing her freshman year in Grown-Up. She's not exactly sure what she is, but thinks she dropped it somewhere between "actor" and "writer." Megan is also an ensemble member of The Neo-Futurists where she writes and performs regularly in Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind. Her writing has appeared at The Abbie Hoffman Festival at Mary-Arrchie, The 2nd Hand, and other far corners of the interwebs. She's also has a black belt in babysitting. Megan loves her family, friends, enemies, and teachers. She is going outside to ride her bike, now.

Jonathan Messinger

Jonathan Messinger is the author of the short story collection, Hiding Out, which was named one of the best books of 2007 by the Omaha World-Herald. He's also the books editor of Time Out Chicago and founder of The Dollar Store Show. He co-publishes Featherproof Books, a small press publishing novels and downloadable mini-books, and is currently at work on Hiding Out 2: Hiding In and Hiding Out 3: Don't Stop Hiding.

Matt Miller

Intern Coordinator // Matt Miller has been a member of Serendipity Theatre since May of 2000. He is also a proud company member of Barrel of Monkeys, a group that teaches creative writing workshops in Chicago Public Elementary Schools. As a director, Matt’s recent credits include Serendipity’s staged reading of The Exonerated, Pine Box Theatre Company’s production of This Is Our Youth, and Serendipity’s world premiere of girl, 20 which will be re-mounted in L.A. this fall. Also, Matt is a Cleveland Indians fan. He cannot help himself.

Dorothy Milne

Dorothy Milne has been the Artistic Director of Lifeline Theatre since 1999 where she has directed numerous shows, receiving a Non-Equity Jeff Award (Direction) for Around the World in 80 Days; and Non-Equity Jeff Nominations for Pistols for Two, Jane Eyre (for which she also received an After Dark Award), Strong Poison, and Gaudy Night. At Lifeline, she most recently directed The Mark of Zorro and The Last of the Dragons. Outside of Lifeline, she directed Little Brother and Stardust for Griffin Theatre. She is totally geeked to be involved with 2nd Story and has big love for the storytelling form. She is a 17-year member of the storytelling collective, Sweat Girls.

Kim Morris

Director of Story Development, Curator // Kim Morris is a writer and an editor. Her fiction has been published in various publications. She is the Director of Story Development for 2nd Story and curator for the Red Kiva series. She likes random acts of kindness. Check out her blog, Power Love, at www.power-love.blogspot.com.

Daaimah Mubashshir

After co-founding the Queer Artist Collective (multi-media performance art troupe) in 1996, Daaimah completed a film/video focused BFA from the School of the Art Institute in 2002. She received the SAIC Presidential Scholarship Award and a BFA Fellowship for a short film. More recently has focused on writing and performance, continuing work on her comedic character Aquaniesha Fox who appeared in Aqua N Baum is Broke as Hell which played at The Playground in July 2010. The Untangling has been a work in progress since September of 2010, playing at DiverseWorks (Houston) and most recently at the Prop Thtr (Chicago) in July 2011.

Shade Murray

In June, Shade Murray finishes his master's degree at Northwestern University. So if you have a job that needs doing, he just might be your man 'cause he'll be a master. Shade's directed a lot of plays, but is beginning to think writing and performing is just a cool. He promises Pedro that once the school assignments thin out, he'll learn Spanish in preparation of becoming a citizen of the world.

Stephen F. Murray

Stephen F. Murray’s work has recently been seen at the New York International Fringe Festival where he directed Ivan Faute’s new play The Darling Children. Chicago credits include Lear’s Last (Bailiwick Director’s Fest), Dramatic Twerp (Links Hall & Oracle Theatre), The Fall of the House of Usher (City Lit Theatre), The Essentials (n.u.f.a.n. ensemble), and Cat & Dick (Speaking Ring Theatre). He is the former Artistic Director at Promethean Theatre where he directed Our County’s Good and other projects. Before Promethean, he was a member of Strawdog Theatre Company where he directed for their Radio Series. Stephen is excited to be working with the talented artists of 2nd Story.

Lindsay Muscato

Lindsay Muscato is a writer and performer in Chicago. Her work has previously appeared at the Around the Coyote arts festival. She's also the managing director of The Neo-Futurists, she loves being in love, and she's certified to teach grades 6 through 12. She often writes at www.lindsayliveshere.org.