Lisa Colleen, Barbara Eberhard, Megan Fulara, R.C. Riley, and Paul Teodo

Lisa Colleen loves the sharing of stories because they connect, empower and INSPIRE! As a mother, grandmother and coach, she has an endless supply of stories to tell. Rarely does she make it through the telling of one story without wanting to interrupt herself with another story.   

Barbara Eberhard is making her storytelling debut . If she could sing, her song for today would be "like a virgin, telling for the very first time..." Barbara just retired from teaching photography at the University of St. Francis . For over 10 years she was director of her Children's Theatre Company- "Eberhard and Friends." She is a member of Gallery Seven, Chicago Society of Artists, member and founder of artitude and along with her buddy Lisa Colleen, founder and producer of  this show!. You can see her art at www.barbaraeberhard.com

Megan Fulara is a Chicago native TEMPORARILY living in the suburbs. She is the host of the wildly successful ‘Live From Wherever We Are, It’s The Megan Fulara Show!’ (not a real show). By day she is a

pencil pushing bureaucrat and by night a robust fitness enthusiast and yogi. She enjoys storytelling, comedy, and employment law.

R.C. Riley is a queer warrior woman, writer, performer, and storyteller who began writing as a means of healing after a sexual assault.  R.C.'s work challenges heteronormative views and seeks to find justice for and liberate those who have felt left out, forgotten, ignored, and unloved by our society.  Her 1-woman show, Wrong Way Journey delineates her personal journey of healing from trauma to triumph. When she's not performing her solo show, R.C. can be found telling short stories around the Chicagoland area.  Check out her next performance dates at www.rcrileyempowers.com.

Paul Teodo is a retired healthcare executive. Born and raised on Chicago’s south side. He recently published his first novel “PASTAMAN” a coming of age story of a young man growing up in the 60’s on Chicago’s spit side. It is available on Amazon, ITunes, Google Play, and at Barnes and Noble. Paul has been telling stories on stage in and around Chicago the past 8 years and is a 5 time Moth Story Slam winner, a Moth Grand Slam winner and has been featured on the CBS tv program Sunday Morning. 

After the dishes are done

Kinda full.
Very nice dinner of fish
             Done up Veracruzana, says my wife
                          With a little pasta and sprouts of Brussels

And now the dishes are cleaned
             The pots and pans and such, some even dried
                          And with the third or fourth glass of wine
I retire—meaning go outside and sit
             To write insightful verses on
                         The condition of common lives today.

Swatting at a gnat
             I knock over my glass, nearly full, of wine.
I clean it up.
             Upset, but not too much.
                          The gnat is dead.

The Nighthawk squeaks above
             The light and the breeze fades
                          On a very warm day at the end of May.

I will now refill my wine.

Ahhh.  There, now.
             Back in the mood for poetry.

But my light fades,
             So back to my subject—dishes.
What peace, repose—almost joy.
            The dishes are done.

by Harold McCay

 Lisa Colleen, Tom Hernandez, Eunice Jarrett,  Kyna Lenhof, 

Kimberly Vanbiesbrouck

Lisa Colleen loves the sharing of stories because they connect, empower and INSPIRE! As a mother, grandmother and coach, she has an endless supply of stories to tell. Rarely does she make it through the telling of one story without wanting to interrupt herself with another story. 

Eunice Jarrett is a retired public school teacher, proud mother of 2 adult sons, and ex-wife of more, who engages in stand-up comedy, storytelling and public speaking.  She is a member of Kates comedy organization and has performed for audiences in Illinois, Michigan and various Indiana venues.  She is proud to say she is almost as funny as her 96-year-old mother.

Tom Hernandez is a writer, public speaker, raconteur, performer and communications professional. Born and raised in Joliet, Illinois, Tom has been writing personally and professionally since childhood.  He was a reporter for 10 years at several suburban daily and weekly newspapers and wrote a “slice of life” column for another 11 years for two community newspapers. He now serves as the Director of Community Relations for a large suburban Chicago public school district. Tom’s writing explores the many complicated facets of life — marriage, family, relationships, identity, aging, parenting, faith, social justice and politics. He has published three books, all available on Amazon and through his website, www.tomhernandezbooks.com:

· “Chocolate Cows and Purple Cheese and other tales from the homefront” – essays about young parenthood, marriage, politics, faith and family. 

· “Abundance – a collection” poems exploring the common experiences that connect human beings – life and death, love and loss, joy and sorrow, faith and doubt. 

· “The Edge of Middle – thoughts from the top of the hill” – essays, poetry and short fiction about one man’s journey to, and through middle age.

Tom and his wife, Kellie live in Plainfield, Illinois. They have two adult daughters and welcomed their first grandchild in 2018.

Kyna Lenhof is the host and co-producer of the monthly variety show and podcast, This One Woman. She is a stand-up comedian, storyteller, improviser and all-around great gal and can be seen at shows such as Serving the Sentence, the kates, The Fillet of Solo Festival, and the Chicago Women's Funny Festival.

Kimberly Vanbiesbrouck is an actor, dancer, singer, writer and most importantly, a Mom. She’s a Belgian girl raised in Detroit, but thanks to her highly useful Bachelors degree in Theatre and Dance, she has appeared in numerous productions across this great land of ours; from A Chorus Line, Forbidden Broadway, Always, Patsy Cline, Forbidden Hollywood, Motherhood, the Musical, to the long running, highly successful and all too relatable show, Menopause, the Musical. Kimberly has been fortunate enough to be apart of story telling events all around the Chicagoland area; such as, Filet of Solo, Chicago Story Sessions, Voicebox, Homewood Stories, Miss Spoken and Louder Than A Mom