Molly Each

For the fourth installment of its storytelling festival "2nd Story," Serendipity Theatre Company is taking it up a notch. "Never have we had such an ambitious schedule--forty-four pieces of new writing over ten nights. Each is told only once, so each night is unique," creator Adam Belcuore says.

Born from Belcoure's stint as a Webster's Wine Bar employee, he saw the second story of the bar as a performance space for Serendipity. After experimenting with one-person shows and performance art, the group finally hit on something: storytellers reading original work from different positions in the room. After adding music and wine, the 2nd Story formula was complete.

"2nd Story features four stories and four featured wines woven together by live musicians or DJs. The storytellers collaborate with audio artists to lift the story to a new level," Belcuore says.

This year's festival features a lineup of notable Chicago writers and actors, including Sam Weller, Rob Belushi and Anne Elizabeth Moore. In addition to the ambitious schedule, Serendipity is also implementing nightly themes such as love, technology and humility, and is experimenting with storytelling. "We're exploring group storytelling, both the feel of tag-team telling a story and a more direct address where three storytellers tell about the same thing without much interacting," director Amanda Delheimer says.

Serendipity has found a way to offer a literary evening with wider appeal. "We pull in a theater crowd, a literary crowd, wine enthusiasts and folks who are there for the music," Delheimer says. Regardless of why you attend, the collaborators hope you leave talking. "It's an event designed to create dialogue," Belcuore says. Agrees Delheimer, "When I see audience members turn to their companions and say, `Her story reminds me of...' I feel like saying `mission accomplished.' Because however we define it, that has to be a part of it."

Serendipity Theatre Company's "2nd Story" runs May 3-14 at Webster's Wine Bar at 7pm. $10. www.serendipitytheatre.org

(2006-04-25)

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