This past weekend, I attended The Fillet of Solo, Chicago’s premier solo performance festival in its 16th year. Lifeline Theater partnered with a host of local performance groups in a vibrant celebration of Chicago’s long-lived storytelling and live literary scene. All performances took place in the Glenwood Avenue Arts District in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood.

I watched four performances by Story Club. They mixed the spontaneity of an open mic with the experience and nuance of live theater. The storytellers were very entertaining and skillfully conveyed emotions without talking about their feelings. The experience reminded me why stories are so essential but are still taken for granted in our day-to-day world where we try to sell our worth, hoping enough people — or anyone at all — will listen to our pitch and actually get it.

“The missing ingredient in most failed communication is humanity” — Annette Simmons, The Story Factor

A story is personal. It’s an opportunity to connect with others on a basic yet deeper human level. Without it, our existence becomes void of meaning. Choosing to tell your story can be the next most important thing you will do. It could mean the transformation you’ve been hoping for in a long time.

Join us on March 7 for our nonprofit storytelling jam session: http://barkadacircle.com/jam-session

WHAT’S YOUR READ is Barkada Circle’s storytelling jam session — where you can share the story of your mission with your peers in a safe and supportive setting, and get immediate feedback from the audience so you can take your new material to the next level. You can present a new pitch, rough narrative, campaign idea, or raw video.