Let Me Tell You! A Curated Story Telling Jam

A free monthly storytelling event hosted by 2-time Moth winner Errol McLendon

Everyone tells stories. At family gatherings. In bars and coffee shops. Here is your opportunity to share your personal stories with your community. Stories can be funny or poignant. About love or tragedy, or maybe both. They can be about something you learned or something you wish you had never done. Something historic you witnessed or were a part of.

If you would like to participate in our upcoming Jams please submit a description of a 7 - 8 minute story you would like to tell to errol.mclendon@gmail.com to be included in an evening of friends sharing stories with friends. First time tellers are welcomed and encouraged.

A free Zoom workshop will be offered two weeks prior to each show to help enhance your story in a relaxed, informal environment. One-on-one coaching will also be available.

Ages: 18+ yrs.
Day: Monday
Date: April 6
Time: 7:00-9:00 pm
Fee: FREE
Location: Joseph C. Vallez Activity Center, 1529 Harlem Ave., Berwyn, IL.

Concessions will be available for purchase

April Storytellers

Kimberly Vanbiesbrouck

Kimberly Vanbiesbrouck is a proud Theatre Major and the first person to graduate college in her big Belgian Family. She has worn many hats in her life; Actor, Dancer, Singer, Choreographer, Director, Yoga Teacher and now...a Flight Attendant.It has lead to many stories that Kimberly told stories around the Chicagoland area, at such events as, Is This a Thing, This Much Is True, Story Sessions, The Moth, Voicebox and Homewood Stories. Her proudest and most brilliant production of her life. is her wonderful child, Isobel.

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Sam Scumci

Sam Scumci has been involved in Chicago's independent music and poetry scenes for a long time. He had played in experimental punk bands for 15 years, and has been doing spoken word performances for 18 years. He is known for his extensive knowledge of music history. He has spent 20 years as a compiler and consultant for various reissues. You can always catch him as a contributor to various music groups on social media involving the blues, jazz, rockabilly and exotica genres. He is always open to trying new things. He highly believe in community and that there's always hidden talent in everyone.

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Gary Wheaton

Gary Wheaton is much older than his headshot leads you on to believe.  As a Stand-Up Comedian, he has used the same headshot picture for 30 years.  It is a story just waiting for a Storytelling Event.  In addition to performing on comedy stages on and off for 30 years, he is also a musician.  A stage mishap at age 19 resulted in a delay at a music show, which caused Gary to "kill time" on the microphone.  This led to his love of holding the microphone and telling jokes and stories.  A product of the Southside and long time Western Suburban resident, one thing he has leaned about Storytelling is that it gives you the opportunity to listen to stories as much as tell them.

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Monica Acevedo’s

Monica Acevedo’s a Nursing Logistics Manager at a Burr Ridge retirement home as well as an English fanatic in her free time. Whether it’s spending time reading books and writing down notes/ideas in her notebook, she is always pursuing new ways to enjoy different styles of storytelling.  Her first storytelling began when she partook in a course named Creative Non-Fiction Workshop in her junior semester of college. This course’s main focus was telling narratives about one's self. From that moment forward, she’s been inspired to continue her journey in writing stories in her notebook;  in the hopes that one day, she would be able to share her insights with others. And even though she’s fairly new in the community of Story R Us, and this will be her first time reading one of her stories to an audience, she’s excited to be part of this unknown journey and see where the future takes her.

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Ellen Toobin

Ellen Toobin is a New York City native who has called Chicago home for the past eleven years—you might call her, the most midwestern New Yorker you've ever met. Her stories draw from the joyful chaos of everyday life with two small children, two objectively bad dogs, and one very good, very bald husband from Iowa.

Before becoming an MBA‑carrying corporate person, Ellen spent years as a sixth‑grade teacher, where she learned two essential truths: middle schoolers are funnier than adults, and no one appreciates a well‑timed story more than a roomful of twelve‑year‑olds.

She’s honored to take part in the oral tradition of storytelling, a practice she treasures both as a teller and an eager listener. Ellen believes everyone has a story worth hearing—and she’s grateful for every chance to share hers.

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Tanvi Potdukhe

Tanvi Potdukhe tells stories that feel like stepping into a memory you didn’t know you had. Rooted in heritage, nature, and emotional truth, her work moves between worlds - past and present, personal and collective - tracing what it means to belong, to remember, and to become. Her storytelling is immersive, textured, and quietly arresting.

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