Short Story Theatre To Present A New Evening of True Stories In May
Taking place on Thursday, May 22, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. at The Art Center Highland Park.
By: A.A. Cristi Apr. 25, 2025
Short Story Theatre will present an evening of five warm, wise and wonderful true stories on Thursday, May 22, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. at The Art Center Highland Park, 1957 Sheridan Road in Highland Park.
Lou Greenwald of Highland Park recalls how as an 11-year-old boy, he went out of his way for a professional wrestler. His story: “A Penny for the Swede.”
Lauren Kee, makes her debut with Short Story Theatre with “Girl in the Dancing Circle” - about finding and learning to love yourself through dance floors and family.
Also making her debut with Short Story Theatre, Leslee Goodman in her story “Rides with Strangers” shares personal adventures that defy the advice every mother gives her less-than-obedient, know-it-all daughter.
Barry Freydberg returns to the “stage” with “Grins, Groans, and Growing Older,” a humorous look at aging.
Elizabeth Ury tells us about “The Thrill of the Find” in her story about finding humanity in unexpected places.
Short Story Theatre was founded in 2012 and is dedicated to promoting storytelling as a vibrant, contemporary art form. Co-founder and Producer Donna Lubow says, “Stories are creative non-fiction, based on personal experiences. More than seventy storytellers from Chicago and the northern suburbs have melded writing skills and performance skills to entertain and inspire our Short Story Theatre audiences.”
For more information and for guidelines for submission: donna@shortstorytheatre.com
Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. For tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1325629947859?aff=oddtdtcreator
Barry Freydberg spent 56 years in the dental world, perfecting smiles by day and punchlines at chairside. When he and his partners sold their practice, he agreed to stay on for just one more year…and somehow, 17 years later, he's still not quite 100% retired. A lifelong teacher and world-traveling lecturer, Barry sharpened his storytelling skills in dental offices and on conference stages across the globe. Off the mic, he's an avid golfer, cyclist, traveler, budding pianist, reluctant exerciser, and enthusiastic photographer. Most of all, he loves time with his family — especially as a proud grandfather (and yes, even a great-grandfather).
Leslee Goldman is a certified personal trainer—her “retirement career”—after 32 years as an Art Therapist. These days, instead of guiding clients through emotions using art materials, she's coaching them through squats and stretches, proving that reinvention can come with dumbbells and resistance bands.She has also served as editor of More Japan for Less, a travel guide for curious first- and second-time Japan travelers who prefer ramen shops to tour buses. During the pandemic, with plenty of quiet hours to fill, Leslee started writing stories inspired by quirky family keepsakes and the relatives who left them behind. That soon turned into writing about her own journey—with all its unexpected turns, odd treasures, and memorable moments.
Louis Greenwald was dragged to the National Storytelling Festival by his wife Susie in 1985. Since then he has attended ‘millions' of storytelling events, produced 7 concerts and tells stories as often as audiences will put up with him. He has won 2 Moth Story Slams, and has told stories in Chicago, Highwood, Highland Park, Glencoe, Madison and Phoenix, Arizona. His mentor is world famous Storyteller Donald Davis. The first story he told was under the direction of Donna Lubow of Short Story Theatre.
Lauren Kee has been telling stories since the summer of 2021, when she took a workshop with Scott Whitehair and learned the art of storytelling around a fire pit with five other women. Lauren works as a project manager at Braven, where she helps low-income college students find fulfilling career paths. She gets inspiration from her fellow storytellers in Chicago and from Taylor Swift. She always practices her stories with her cat, Logan, and by sending voice memos to friends.
Elizabeth Ury has told stories since middle school. During summers, Elizabeth reinvented children's stories and acted them out with full costumes, cast, and sets alongside the neighborhood kids. During college, she told stories through dance. Once school was over and she started working in the eldercare industry, she told her stories in assisted living communities while encouraging residents to tell their own stories. Once her children came along, she helped them write and record stories for other family members. She is now back to telling her own stories and is thrilled to be sharing another one with Short Story Theatre.
Donna Leslie Lubow (Producer/Emcee) co-founded Short Story Theatre 13 years ago. She has taught drama to all ages, and has directed over 30 shows for various theatres. A former high school English teacher, magazine editor, and copywriter, a co-founder of Highland Park Players, Theatre in the Woods in Riverwoods, and ARTicuIiT Readers Theatre, she also enjoys reading and writing stories and poetry, and doing mosaics, collages, and other art projects. During the pandemic, she created a neighborhood newspaper, which was featured in The New York Times. Donna and her husband Michael, who assists behind the scenes with Short Story Theatre, reside in Riverwoods, but often travel to New York, Miami, and LA, where their children and grandchildren live.
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Best Musical - Top 3
1.
HAIRSPRAY (Uptown Music Theater of Highland Park)
7.3% of votes
2.
RENT (Highland Park Players)
7.3% of votes
3.
THE WIZARD OF OZ (Up and Coming Theatre/Elgin Summer Theater)
6.6% of votes
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