{"id":3189,"date":"2015-01-20T20:17:52","date_gmt":"2015-01-21T02:17:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/justus\/?p=248"},"modified":"2015-01-22T19:44:41","modified_gmt":"2015-01-23T01:44:41","slug":"seven-deadly-sins-take-center-stage-in-logan-square","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/seven-deadly-sins-take-center-stage-in-logan-square\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven deadly sins take center stage in Logan Square"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Elizabeth Elving<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, at the 8 p.m. close of regular business hours, the owners of Logan Square\u2019s Cafe Mustache<\/a> dimmed the lights and placed tea candles on each of the mismatched tables. Patrons shut their laptops and switched from coffee to beer. The music faded out, and the talk turned to sin.<\/p>\n

The Seven Deadly Sins storytelling series<\/a> has been a regular event at the coffee shop for two years. At each session, seven performers tell a story related to one of the seven deadly sins. The stories can be funny, filthy, or heartbreaking, personal or fictional, so long as they fit the premise.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter what your story is, it\u2019s going to fall in line with one of the sins somehow,\u201d said Angela Vela, the event\u2019s coordinator. \u201cIt\u2019s a way to expand how we think about our experiences. It helps us discover ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vela is a stand-up comic who produces a number of shows including The God, Sex & Death Variety Hour<\/a> in neighborhood venues around Chicago. Local writers, comics, academics, and actors pitch their stories to her, along with the sin they want to interpret. The chosen stories are shared on the second Tuesday of every month.<\/p>\n

Vela served as emcee on Tuesday, choosing the order of performers at random by spinning a \u201cWheel of Sin\u201d on which she\u2019d painted seven sections with a different sin on each one.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreed! Clap for greed, you guys,\u201d she said as Second City<\/a> teacher Joe Janes made his way to the stage. Janes\u2019s story, about stealing from his landlord in college, was not the only performance to mix comedy with confession.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played no sports, was in no clubs, had the same dork haircut I have now, and the same face I have now except with acne and braces,\u201d said Robert O\u2019Connor, wincing through a high school memory during his take on \u201cpride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cafe Mustache is well-suited for the eclectic event. Its decor evokes a bygone era, although it\u2019s difficult to say which one. A collection of vinyl records from local artists share the space with assorted globes, plants, birdcages, and watercolors painted by a regular customer. On one wall a few wooden masks huddle next to an old tuba which is anchored to the wall above a retro salon dryer chair.<\/p>\n

\"Customers<\/a>
Customers at the Logan Square coffee shop, lounge, and venue Cafe Mustache. (Elizabeth Elving\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe pretty much stole all of the cool stuff from all of our houses that we could find,\u201d said Kerry Couch, who co-founded the caf\u00e9 in 2010 with James Stieglitz and Ralph Darski.<\/p>\n

Cafe Mustache doubles as a cross-genre music venue, hosting everything from hip-hop to folk acts. The Seven Deadly Sins is their only regular lit series, but Couch says it\u2019s a good fit for the space because of the adventurous nature of the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want it to remain a place where people try things out,\u201d Couch said, \u201cIt\u2019s a comfortable environment. It\u2019s pretty small, it\u2019s low-key. So people are comfortable doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The full house at Tuesday\u2019s show was quick with laughter and applause, as if encouraging the performers to take risks. Writer Katie Prout portrayed \u201csloth\u201d as a series of scenes, which she said was a new format for her. Couch herself performed for the first time on Tuesday, tackling \u201cwrath\u201d as a feminist manifesto, complete with visual aids.<\/p>\n

The Seven Deadly Sins is part of a network of readings, comedy nights, and open mics that make up Chicago\u2019s vibrant storytelling scene. Several of the performers featured on Tuesday host their own events on other nights. Mary Rose O\u2019Connor (lust) produces variety show The Gogo Show<\/a>, and Dave Lasso (gluttony) produces the Yeah Buddy Awesome Time Comedy Show<\/a>. Ray Teresi (envy) co-produces The Seven Deadly Sins among other live lit series.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do feel that the show is all-inclusive to general creativity,\u201d said Vela. \u201cThe performers help the show be outside the box and the show helps them be outside the box.\u201d<\/p>\n

After years of supporting local artists and building an audience, Cafe Mustache turned to that community for support in 2013 when the salon next door went out of business and they decided to expand into the space. Couch said that \u201ca good chunk\u201d of the money for the ongoing expansion was crowdfunded through Kickstarter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Drawing<\/a>
Audience member Jonathan Schneider illustrates every story and posts the drawings to the event’s Facebook page. (Jonathan Schneider\/Courtesy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But the real power of The Seven Deadly Sins is not specific to Logan Square, or the storytelling scene, or even the city of Chicago. The series brings to light the things that people are taught to be ashamed of, and uses them to form connections. Lily Ramos, who on Tuesday was attending the show for the third time, said she found the results inspiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are not afraid to put their mess out there, and that\u2019s interesting because we\u2019re all suffering in some way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Seven Deadly Sins will be featured at the Fillet of Solo Festival<\/a> on Sunday, Jan. 25, at 4 p.m. The next regular event will be on Feb. 10 at Cafe Mustache at 2313 North Milwaukee Avenue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Elizabeth Elving On Tuesday, at the 8 p.m. close of regular business hours, the owners of Logan Square\u2019s Cafe Mustache dimmed the lights and placed tea candles on each of the mismatched tables. Patrons shut their laptops and switched from coffee to beer. The music faded out, and the talk turned to sin. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSeven deadly sins take center stage in Logan Square - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/seven-deadly-sins-take-center-stage-in-logan-square\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seven deadly sins take center stage in Logan Square - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Elizabeth Elving On Tuesday, at the 8 p.m. close of regular business hours, the owners of Logan Square\u2019s Cafe Mustache dimmed the lights and placed tea candles on each of the mismatched tables. 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