SEASON 27: THE SHAPE OF COURAGE
MEDIA RESOURCES
QUICK FACTS
Season Title: The Shape of Courage
Season Dates: September 2025 – June 2026
Season Kickoff Show: The Long Game – September 14, 2025 at Haymarket Pub & Brewery
Venues: Haymarket Pub & Brewery, Zoom (Hygge Night & Rising Tide), Steppenwolf Education Center (Rising Tide), others TBA
Location: Chicago, IL
Website: www.2ndStory.com
Media Contact: Jess Hutchinson, Managing Director; press@2ndstory.com
ABOUT THIS SEASON’S THEME
Real stories. Real people. Real courage.
The Shape of Courage is a season of storytelling that honors the many forms bravery can take—quiet or loud, public or personal. Through our podcast, in-person performances, story-based classes, arts worker care initiatives, and intimate community gatherings, we invite you to join us in exploring what courage looks like in a threshold time like this one.
This fall, the Chicago-based storytelling collective launches its 27th season, The Shape of Courage—a season of performances, classes, and events designed to explore the many forms bravery can take, from quiet resolve to bold resistance.
“In times of chaos and complexity, we come back to story,” says Artistic Director Amanda Delheimer. “As Toni Morrison said, this is precisely the time, when artists go to work.”
KEY DATES & EVENTS
February 2026
Weds 4, 11, 18, 25, 6:30 pm: 4-week Story for Any Moment Class on Zoom
Sun 22, 6 pm: Show @ Haymarket Pub & Brewery
March 2026
Tues 10, 12 pm: StoryBuilds Lunch & Learn on Zoom
Sun 22, 6 pm: Show @ Haymarket Pub & Brewery
Sat 28, 10 am: Single Day Intensive @ 2nd Story
April 2026
Sat 11, Time TBD: Birthday Bash! @ location TBD
Weds April 22-June 10, 6:30 pm: 8-week Beginning to End Class @ 2nd Story
May 2026
Sun 3, 6 pm: Show @ Haymarket Pub & Brewery
Sat 16, 10 am: Writing the Tough Stuff @ 2nd Story
June 2026
Sun 7, 6 pm: Queer Joy Show @ Haymarket Pub & Brewery
September 2025
Sun 14, 6 pm: Season Kickoff Show @ Haymarket Pub & Brewery
Fri 19, 10 am: Rising Tide Summit @ Steppenwolf
October 2025
Sat 11, 10 am: Single Day Intensive @ 2nd Story
Sun 19, 6 pm: Show (POV Parents) @ Haymarket Pub & Brewery
Wed 29, 12 pm: Rising Tide webinar on Zoom
November 2025
Sun 16, 6 pm: Show @ Haymarket Pub & Brewery
December 2025
Wed 3, 6:30 pm: Rising Tide Story Circle on Zoom
January 2026
Sat 10, 8 pm: Hygge Family Friendly Show on Zoom
Sat 24, 10 am: Kickstart Your Art on Zoom
Sun 25, 6 pm: Show @ Haymarket Pub & Brewery
PHOTOS
ABOUT 2ND STORY
2nd Story is a Chicago-based storytelling collective committed to building spaces where people can share and deeply listen to one another’s stories. Through live performance, community events, classes, workshops, and professional training, 2nd Story helps individuals and organizations find, shape, and share their stories with purpose and power. Learn more at www.2ndstory.com.
Press Contact
Jess Hutchinson
Managing Director, 2nd Story
press@2ndstory.com | www.2ndstory.com