2024 Elgin Fringe Arts Festival – Downtown Elgin, IL
I am thrilled to be performing a new show, titled “Slicing Oranges for the Exorcism” at the 2024 Elgin Fringe Arts Festival. The festival runs from September 21 – 29th. I will be performing 3 nights, most likely between 9/26 – 9/29. Like last year, I will be paired with 2 other performance groups and we will share a 1 hour show. I do not have exact dates or location yet, but all of the venues are in downtown Elgin within about 3 blocks of Side Street Studio Arts. It was an absolute pleasure to perform in this festival last year. I learned a lot, I thoroughly enjoyed performing, and it was great to hang out with a lot of cool, creative weirdos.
“Slicing Oranges for the Exorcism” examines what fighting our demons accomplishes when spending time with them might serve us better. Delivered through poetry, micro-fiction, and signature smart-assery. Topics include personal mental health, communal madness, aliens, and police dogs. Adult language. BYO Orange Smiles.
Past Events
Fear No Art – April 19th – 20th – College of Lake County
To view the video from these performances click “Tarzan of the Grapes” or “Borrowed Air”
I am excited to say that I will be performing my poem “Tarzan of the Grapes” in this year’s 25th Anniversary of Fear No Art. I performed in the Winter Virtual Show in 2020 and Fear No Art, which was also virtual, in 2021. So this will be my first time performing live in Fear No Art and I can’t wait. My wife Christine was also cast in a dance number, so while we won;t be in the same piece, it will be cool to share the experience of the show with her. Performances are on the main stage at the James Lumbar Center for the Arts at College of Lake County. Performance dates are as follows:
Friday April 19th – 7:30 PM
Saturday April 20th – 1:00 PM
Saturday April 20th – 7:30 PM
Emails to Inanimate Objects (Spring 2024), Woodstock IL
“Emails to Inanimate Objects” is a project by Atrocious Poets that I am happy to be a part of. This Spring there will be numerous locations throughout Woodstock, IL that have placards with email addresses for inanimate objects. If you email the objects, they will reply with a poem. I am mentoring a ultility pole at the corner of Jefferson and Chestnut streets to help it better express itself. The timing will depend on weather, but I will update when everything is installed. I am in the company of some really strong writers, so I can’t wait to see what they came up with as well.
Side Street Studio Arts Open Mic (3rd Wednesdays), Elgin
I always enjoy reading at the monthly open mic for Side Street Studio Arts in Downtown Elgin. It is a very cool and open audience and there are a ton of talented artists that perform every month. Tickets are $5 at the door. For more more info, check out their page.
Open Mic hosted by Atrocious Poets (3rd Thursdays starting in April 24) – The Records Department, Woodstock, IL
The last time I did an open mic with Atrocious Poets I had a ball, and then the world plunged into global pandemic and that ended what was intended to be a monthly thing. I’m happy to say they are doing open mics at The Records Department in Woodstock, IL from 6:30 – 8:00pm every 3rd Thursday of the month. I sadly have a conflict on April 18th, but plan on attending in May and every month that I can.
Open Mic Showcase 3/9/24 – Side Street Studio Arts, Elgin
The showcase was incredibly rewarding and fun. I’m grateful to have shared the stage with 5 other extremely talented musicians/comedians, and I felt fortunate that a lot of my family and friends came, and overall there was a packed house. I think they are going to do these periodically and while I am sure they will give other artists some opportunities in the next rounds, I look forward to the day it comes back around and I get to do this again.
I have really enjoy reading open mic each month at Side Street Studio Arts in Elgin, and I am honored that they invited me to perform in their first “Showcase” along with 5 other open mic regulars, including two very talented musicians and 3 hilarious stand up comics. We will each be doing a 15 minute set. Tickets are $10 and the show starts at 8pm. Tickets will be available soon. Here are the details
11/17/23 – Dark Matter- L-Theory Collective Dance, Music and Poetry – 3 Brothers Theatre, Waukegan
I am looking forward to reading two poems as part of the show “Dark Matter” with L-Theory Collective dance company, at Three Brothers Theatre in downtown Waukegan.
Shows are Friday 11/17 at 7:30 pm and Saturday 11/18 at 6:00 pm. I have a conflict on Saturday and will only be performing at the Friday show.
9/7 – 9/10/23 – Elgin Fringe Arts Festival – Downtown Elgin (Elgin Arts Showcase)
I am beyond excited to be performing a 20 minute show, as part of a 3 act 1 hour show that will be in this year’s Elgin Fringe Arts Festival. My show takes place at the Elgin Art Showcase (164 Division street, Elgin IL) on 9/7 at 7:30pm, 9/8 at 7:30 pm, and 9/9 at 4:30pm. I am the best kind of terrified about this, and can’t wait to build and perform this show. It will center on spoken word, but I am playing with some visual elements and other performance ideas as well. Updates, info, and promotional material can be found here. The site for the festival is https://www.elginfringefestival.com/
7/28/23 6-9 pm – Poetry on the Spot with Atrocious Poets as part of 4th Fridays at the Dole in Crystal Lake, IL.
I am looking forward to finally being able to do “Poetry on the Spot” with Atrocious Poets as part of the 4th Friday at the Dole. They have been nice enough to invite me to collaborate on a lot of projects in the past, but the schedules never lined up for “Poetry on the Spot”. Also, full disclosure, I am kind of nervous about it, because as the name implies, you need to come up with poems in the moment. I work in a way that every single creative writing teacher tells you not to: I edit the hell out of my work AS I am writing it. re-arrange things constantly. And while I am happy to share, I am reluctant to share things that I don’t feel good about. All of this comes with a heavy, ever-present filter. And “Poetry on the Spot” requires you to be nimble and not such a perfectionist and let your creations go almost immediately, flaws and all. Ditching the filter is a requirement. I think this will be good for me, and I hope I crank out some good stuff.
For a small donation, one of several poets will write you a poem in 5 minutes or so, and it is yours to keep. If you are available and want to get a rapid fire custom made poem about a topic of your choice, or just chill out at the Dole and take in some great artwork, come by.
7/7/2023 – 7/8/2023 – Summer Dance Showcase at Jack Benny Center for the Arts in Waukegan, IL.
I am excited to be performing a new piece, called “God Bless” as part of the Summer Dance Showcase. The Summer Dance Showcase is organized by with L-Theory Collective and features several dance companies as well as spoken word, music, and art. There will also be free dance classes. Tickets for the performances are $10 and can be purchased here.
5/12/23 – Voices of Lake County Spring Showcase at College of Lake County
If you are free next Friday, 5/12, I am excited to be performing in a group piece with a bunch of excellent writers, dancers, and musicians as part of the Voices of Lake County – CLC spring showcase. The theme is “work and identity.” I am proud and humbled to be working with all of these truly talented people. There is also an art exhibit, and members of a community writing workshop will be reading their pieces as well. The whole thing starts at 5:30 pm and I believe performances start at 7:30. Tickets are free, and can be reserved here. Check out “Spring Art & Performance Showcase” on Eventbrite! Date: Fri, May 12 • 5:30 PM CDT Location: 19351 West Washington Street, Grayslake, IL 60030
5/19 & 5/20/23 – Through the Eyes of an Artist – L-Theory Collective Dance, Music and Poetry – 3 Brothers Theatre, Waukegan
I am looking forard to reading two of my poems as part of the show “Through the Eyes of an Artist” with L-Theory Collective dance company, at Three Brothers Theatre in downtown Waukegan.
Ticket Information: Friday May 19th 7:30 – 9:00pm and Saturday May 20th 2:00pm – 3:30pm
Chernoff Writing.com 