Hey y’all, On Friday we left the D for the Windy City to do a bit more recon before the homeward journey.

“I’ma pray before you go”

In the morning/early afternoon we got ourselves together and said our final farewells to Kirk.

One might call it a long goodbye; we exchanged the normal pleasantries then Kirk had us stand and take hands for a prayer. He prayed for our safe travels and thanked God we’d come to stay with him.

Then we took one final family photo before papa and the boys parted.

He walked to the edge of his yard and yelled directions to us, knowing full well we would GPS the location.

Papa Kirk, lookin’ out for the boys right till the end. Gotta love him.

Through hell or high water…but mostly water

It rained cats and dogs as we drove the four hours around Lake Michigan. So many puddles.

Two show day!

Once in Chicago we checked into the Carrie Hotel in a nice little neighborhood not too far from downtown. Carrie Shaw is a friend Ryan made last summer working on a documentary about bats. She’s getting her master’s at University of Illinois Chicago in Medical Illustration.

Carrie and her friend at a gallery opening we went to for a few minutes

We popped in then popped out to grab dinner before a 7:30 show — Jeffrey Hatcher’s Scotland Road at the Bohemian Theatre. After leaving the Boho we jetted over to the IO (formerly known as ImprovOlympics).

Interestingly, both theaters were packed. But we were crowded at the IO up until we went into the space; apparently the people in the lobby emptied into one of the other 6 theaters. We were two of six audience members watching the show.

The ticket prices were about comparable: $20 at the Boho, $10 each at the IO. The IO was larger, definitely more commercial; the Boho was pretty established, though, this being their 12th season. Also, the demographics did not shift much from Detroit: mostly middle class and white both places.

Scotland Road was a great introduction to Chicago. It was a small house, 30 seats, with a small stage. But they used it to great advantage in telling the story.

But we enjoyed even more the conversations after the show. We talked to the guy at the door, the stage manager and several actors about what we should check out while in the city. They described Chicago’s scene similarly to how Detroiters described theirs: everyone knows everyone, cost of living is cheap (really?), but very few people make a living only doing theatre.

All of those things surprised us. We thought that in a larger market (than Detroit) you’d have more distance/competition between companies, it would be more expensive and you’d make a living easier with more work happening in general and more equity theaters. Of course, in relation to Detroit this all might be true; but what about in relation to New York? We also got a full itinerary from Skyler Schrempp, one of the actors in the play (she does a great Scottish accent). Best of all though, was meeting Jesse Dorman (the lead of Scotland Road)  who had worked with Carl Forsman on Glengarry Glen Ross at the Asolo a couple years ago. What are the chances?

Liquid Chicken anyone?

We heard about the show at the IO our buddy Ian Quarles, a former editor in UNCSA’s School of Filmmaking. He now attends Columbia College Chicago where he studies Comedy Writing and Performance.

We saw Liquid Chicken, when “Some of Chicago’s most handsome performers come together for a weekly multimedia show of two improv sets, videos, and a new guest performer. Get ready to laugh liquid chicken.”

It was amazing to see Ian perform again (he’s good!) and talk to everyone afterwards.

That conversation was the first of several to confirm the cheapness of Chicago’s rent: higher than Detroit’s but much lower than New York or LA’s; we heard similar from the people at the IO. We’ll have to do some digging for averages and stats, but we’ve heard of two people who rent for under $600 — and one of them has a dishwasher and a marble-tile kitchen in a good neighborhood. Looks promising.

More to come.

All the best,

R&R