The Courage to Be

Stories of Insisting on Ourselves

October 4, 2026
Doors @ 5:30 pm || Stories @ 6 pm

When the world works mightily to impose its presumptions and biases on us - tries to tell us who we are and how we must be - it is an act of great courage and determination to insist on our unique identities. We are proud to present three stories about the struggle for the self and the necessity of discovering and fighting for the beauty and power of who we are.


Black rectangle with white and pink text: Join Us in person. There is a black and white heart with pink lines around it.
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Learn more about everything from buying tickets to accessibility from our Frequently Asked Performance Questions.

Working on this show has been a great joy. The stories came together beautifully, coalescing around themes of empowerment, identity, and purpose. Each story has a unique take, tone, and personality mixing warmth, humor, and just the right amount of rage. The writing is sharp, graceful, and poetic. Lightning strikes often!

White man with grey hair, black rimmed glasses, and white shirt.

Jim Lupo

Returning Collaborator

Brown woman with short straight dark hair, smiling to camera.

Endira
Ferrara

First-Time Storyteller!

White woman wearing a blue button down shirt, with short blond wavy hair, smiling to camera.
Black woman with curly dark hair, smiling and wearing rectangle earrings.

Nora
Feely

First-Time Storyteller!

Earliana
McLaurin

Company Member

Sound Engineer

Linnaea
Groh

Returning Collaborator

White man with grey hair, black rimmed glasses, and white shirt.

Curator

Jim
Lupo

Returning Collaborator

Brown man wearing a pink t-shirt looks at the camera. His hair is long on top and dyed blonde while the sides are short and dark. Behind him are framed paintings of flowers on stands.

Zoom Tech

Shain Papalotl
Longbehn

Returning Collaborator

A Filipino man with short dark hair smile looking just off camera. He's wearing glasses and a gray t shirt.

Director

RJ
Silva

Returning Collaborator

White man with dark brown beard, wearing glasses, smiling and looking to the right of the camera.

Musician

Jake
Sorgen

Returning Collaborator

Young woman with brown skin, smiling to camera with dark hair pulled back.

Producer

Sheri
Tarrer

Returning Collaborator

 

join us in person at

737 West Randolph
Chicago, IL 60661