Chicago Insight June 14th 2026

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Again dealing with the ongoing food and security crisis by

(00:03):
telling you about the Retail for All Summit. This week
marks June teenth, we'll tell you about a celebration taking
place in Chicago's Pullman neighborhood, and we'll close out our
discussions learning about how theater can provide healing for hospitalized children,
but first up providing retail access for all. Here are
some unsettling facts concerning food and security. It's a growing

(00:26):
problem that is exacerbated by federal cutbacks and new restrictions
to snap benefits. On June eighteenth, national leaders in food policy, grocery, retail,
and community development will gather at the University of Illinois,
Chicago for the Grocery Retail for All Summit. Its purpose

(00:46):
is to focus on how grocery stores succeed and low
income urban as well as rural communities. And joining me
this morning is the summit convener. It is Ambassador Earthing Cousin,
former head of the United Nations World Food Program. Ambassador,
Welcome to you and to say that food for all

(01:06):
and access for food for all is a passion for you.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
It's not an understatement, No, it's definitely it's not It's
definitely not an understatement.

Speaker 3 (01:16):
This is my life's passion.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
It's my work of how do we ensure that every
person has access to affordable nutritious food, no matter what
their income, no matter what their geography.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
Now it's important, I didn't say it during the introduction,
but you have been a national thought leader in terms
of the food retail and grocery business for the majority
of your life.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
For the majority of my career, I have well, and
I come from a family of foodies. My grandfather was
a farmer, my dad was a chef, my grandmother owned restaurants,
and so feeding people.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
Is in my DNA.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
And I had the privilege of going to law school
and taking that law degree and as you know Darryl,
using it in lots of different ways. But to build
on a career where I've had the ability to work
as at.

Speaker 3 (02:16):
Jewel food stores, to bill stores and store at ninety
fifth and Stony Island was a store that.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
I led as the vice president of government and community
affairs for them.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
Then to get promoted and have the.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
Opportunity to build stores for Albertson's in the communities across
the United States. Went from there to feeding what is
now Feeding America as the chief operating Officer and served
during Katrina to ensure that we were getting food to people.
I had worked with this guy from Chicago, Barack Obama,

(02:50):
to help him become president, and in turn he nominated me,
and I was confirmed by the Senator as US Ambassador
for Food and Agriculture and served in Rome, representing the
United States on all global food policy, and from there
became the executive director of the United Nations World Food Program,
where we fed over eighty million people a year. And

(03:13):
when I came back home after that service, I thought
what I was going to do is continue to be
a thought leader globally about what we needed to do.
And I was giving a speech and a young woman
raised her hand in the audience and said, that's all
really good, but what are you doing about what's happening
here in the United States?

Speaker 3 (03:32):
And I felt called out, and I knew that I
needed to.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yes, continue to do the global work, and I have
a team that works on that, but what are we
doing about what's happening here in the United States When
sixty percent of Americans I suffering from some chronic disease
that is diet related because of the lack of access
to affordable, nutritious food.

Speaker 1 (03:56):
So what is the overarching purpose of the summit that's
taken place on June eighteenth at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Speaker 3 (04:04):
Thank you so much for asking me that question.

Speaker 2 (04:06):
The Grocery Retail for All Summit is a part of
the program at our organization, Food Systems for the Future,
where we are working to support those businesses that make
food affordable and available to particularly in underserved communities.

Speaker 3 (04:24):
And what this We began this.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
Work two years ago with a landscape report looking at
not why stores closed, because that's been done and overdone,
but why stores What was the magic potion for keeping
stores open in communities where others close or where they
declined to open stores?

Speaker 3 (04:46):
And we held the first summer in.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
DC two years ago and it was so well received
and so much has happened since then, with stores opening
in Atlanta in Los Angeles. There we said we need
needed to make this a much more regular part of
our work, and so we are convening the second Grocery

(05:08):
for All Summit here in Chicago. We're bringing national grocery operators,
independence co ops, nonprofits into Chicago to talk about what
they are doing to keep their stores open, so that
we can all learn from each other. Then we also
are going to highlight some of the work that's happening
here in Chicago, because there's some people here in Chicago

(05:29):
that are doing some great things that other people across
the globe, across the country need to be aware of.
But part of the challenge is the policies that are
necessary to support not just getting stores built, but keeping
stores open. So we'll have policy makers and policy leaders.
Harvard University's Law and Policy Center is a partner in

(05:53):
this work, and so is ui SEE, and they're bringing
the academic knowledge to the policy development that will support
the resilient building the resilience of these stores. We're also
bringing together some of those private sector investors who are

(06:13):
making interesting new capital stacks that support building stores in
places where you can't people say you can't build them,
or the types of loan programs that are necessary to
support operations. All of those, plus some of the advocates
that are working to support these stores in their communities

(06:37):
are all coming together. So what we want to do
is leave here with people having a feeling not just
of hope, but tools for making their stores more resilient,
getting more stores opened and serving more people who otherwise
would not have access to food.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
And you also have you talked about the philanthropic but
you also had the humanitarian aspect of this. And one
of the featured speakers is going to be Jose Jose
Andres Well.

Speaker 2 (07:08):
Chef Andres has been my partner in this work for
the last five years and he and his team have
supported there. He's our honorary co host for this event
and he and his team have supported our work.

Speaker 3 (07:24):
He was just here two nights ago, and.

Speaker 2 (07:30):
He continues to embrace this work because he recognizes that
he has a significant amount of capital and he wants
to use that capital to help with this mission of
ensuring that there is access to affordable, nutritious food by
businesses that are not extractive, businesses that are hiring people

(07:52):
in the community, investing in the community, buying from the community.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
So that what.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
We're talking about our grocery store as part of the
infrastructure of community, and.

Speaker 3 (08:03):
That's what he embraces.

Speaker 2 (08:05):
But not just him, we have the Food Law and
Policy Council at George Washington University that's also a part
of a part of this work. Our own Dion Chicago
Dream has been a supporter of this work. Let me
tell you what Dion is doing. Dion came to me

(08:26):
and said, Erthwn, we need to honor those who are
innovating in this space. So Dion put up fifty thousand
dollars and we were able to get another donor to
put up another fifty thousand dollars, and so we're giving
innovation awards to f one fifty thousand dollars award and

(08:47):
five ten thousand dollars awards to those grocery retailers, those independents,
those nonprofits, those co ops, those innovators who are helping
stores with new tools that they can stay open when
others were closed by addressing some of the challenges that
they're facing with new food tech tools. And so those

(09:11):
innovators will be spotlighted in a reception that will host
at the end of the conference.

Speaker 3 (09:17):
So this is a conference that's.

Speaker 2 (09:18):
About talking about what works and celebrating with cash those
who are making it work.

Speaker 1 (09:26):
So what is it that the people who are listening
right now can do because there is the reality of
shrinkage in the black community. And then we had just
the closing of the Walgreens on eighty sixth Street with
regard to them saying that it's kilfering, was stealing as
well as public safety. What can we do because we
have the money as a community, but yet to make

(09:49):
sure that stores remain viable.

Speaker 3 (09:51):
You said a lot in that question. Let me unpack
a little of it. First of all, for the summit,
what can people do if you are.

Speaker 2 (09:58):
A grosser, or an advocate, or a policymaker or an investor,
go to our site WWWFSF Institute dot need and register.

Speaker 3 (10:08):
And attend the summit. That's number one. Number two.

Speaker 2 (10:11):
When the grocery stores open up in your community, shop
in those stores.

Speaker 3 (10:16):
When we drive.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Past grocery stores in our community to shop outside of
our community, that grocer loses sales, the revenue that.

Speaker 3 (10:25):
He needs to keep over and she needs to keep the.

Speaker 2 (10:28):
Doors open doesn't come in. The community must own their
grocery stores. You know, when I was working at Albertons
and they had the first riots in La the community
stood around the Albertsons, The men and women in that community.

Speaker 3 (10:45):
They said, this is our grocery.

Speaker 2 (10:47):
Store and we are not going to let you burn
it down. And that's what the attitude.

Speaker 3 (10:52):
That we need.

Speaker 2 (10:54):
If we say this is infrastructure, and we say we
want these stores in our communities, then we must shop
the stores. The issue of shrink is not just about theft.
The issue of shrink is also about we want to
see fresh produce in our store, but if we don't
buy it, it's spoils.

Speaker 1 (11:11):
It wasts changing, it's changing of purchasing.

Speaker 2 (11:15):
It's changing the purchasing pattern. Sure, it's not just cherry
picking the store for what's.

Speaker 3 (11:21):
On sale, but buy a full grocery basket.

Speaker 2 (11:24):
Grocers operate on a five cent margin. If they're a
well run five cents. When they lose sales, the store
will close. So often people will say, I don't understand
why that store closed. If the revenue does not exceed
the operating cost of the store, they can't stay open.

(11:45):
But when people shop the stores, when the store embraces
the community, because it's the store's responsibility to do outreach
to that community and have sponsored the Girl Scout troops
to be a part of the community. But it's also
the community's responsibility to support the store.

Speaker 3 (12:04):
And so that is part of what we talk about.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
And you'll hear Liz who will just open the store
on the west side talk about this and the work
that she is doing to make the store that she
just opened, that forty acres fresh market. And so she's
on one of the panels and she'll talk about how
she reduces a shrink in her store through marketing and
keeping her aisles full and having the old women coming

(12:29):
in the store in the middle of the day talking
to each other and having coffee there so that.

Speaker 3 (12:35):
They're walking around people.

Speaker 2 (12:36):
I'm not going to say you can eliminate that, but
you make it harder when big Mama's walking down the
aisle on a regular basis, because Big Mama says, this
is my store, and I want to help Liz.

Speaker 3 (12:47):
Keep this store open.

Speaker 1 (12:48):
The website.

Speaker 2 (12:49):
The website is Fsfinstitute dot net.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
It's going to be at the Isidor and Sadie Durham
Forum right at seven five West Roosevelt Road, Ambassador Earth
and comment. We definitely appreciate you and all of the
work that you do.

Speaker 2 (13:04):
I'm just a servant and I'm here to make sure
that no child goes to bed hunger and every mother
has a store in her neighborhood where she can shop.

Speaker 1 (13:13):
During this year's Juneteenth celebrations. Many eyes will focus on
the opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Hyde Park,
but given the growing popularity of the holiday, there are
numerous Juneteenth activities taking place around Chicagoland. One is the
Pullman's June teenth Celebration, taking place on June twentieth. And
joining me this morning to discuss this festive occasion is

(13:36):
doctor David Peterson, President and Executive Director of the National
Aid Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum. David, always a pleasure
to talk to you.

Speaker 4 (13:45):
Absolutely, thank you so much for having me again on
the show. I hope things are well.

Speaker 1 (13:50):
It they are now. Many people are going to flood
Jackson Park during the Juneteenth weekend, But the Pullman neighborhood
on the south side is the site of a wonderful
celebration that's going to take place that includes a parade,
a Youth Olympics, and a whole lot more. Give me
the details of the celebration and where is it going
to take place.

Speaker 4 (14:11):
Absolutely well, this is our eleventh year celebrating Juneteenth and
the northern half of Pullman, and this is our third
year celebrating our Youth Olympics. So you know, it's really
great that we get again to keep this tradition going.
We were welcoming the fact that the Obama Presidential Center
is bringing so much attention to not only the city

(14:32):
but the holiday itself. So we're very excited about that.
And you know the irony of that is our Youth
and Young Adult division of the museum is named after
Obama Museum forty four and Holman National Historical Park was
designated by Obama.

Speaker 1 (14:45):
The only national site that's in the city of Chicago, the.

Speaker 4 (14:49):
Only National Park site that's in the city of Chicago,
you know. So, so again this is just such a
great tie in. And then and then more importantly, the
Holiday of Juneteenth, you know, it's history comes from the
last regiment of the Civil War, you know, the black
all black regiment, who are affectionately known as the Buffalo Soldiers,
who were the ones that actually rode into Galveston, Texas

(15:10):
to let all those slaves know that, you know, slavery
was indeed over, and they were unofficially considered the first
National Park rangers.

Speaker 1 (15:17):
You know.

Speaker 4 (15:17):
So we have so many different tie ins on why
it's important that we do what we do what we
do in Pullman and we kick off the day and
early in the morning we start lining up at eight
am for our Community Recommitment celebration.

Speaker 1 (15:30):
Community recommitment specifically, what are you recommitting.

Speaker 4 (15:33):
To, Well, we're recommitting to the idea of community. You know,
we're putting the neighbor back in the neighborhood. You know,
people don't understand why it's important to engage community engagement,
getting involved in your community, being a part of the
process in terms of development and economic development and all
of these different things. And that's what this is about.
For us. It's never just a party or a celebration.

(15:54):
It's always a call to action, always a reminder of
why our history, heritage and culture and preserving protecting that
is so important. So, you know, that's another reason why
we incorporated a second Line Street parade. You know, my
fiance is family from New Orleans and she went to
she was going to yeah, oh yeah. You know, I
went to her homecoming the Xavier University and had a

(16:15):
chance to experience that for the first time and I said,
you know what, Wow, this is actually what we do
every year, minus the band. So this year we've incorporated
the internationally recognized Lived the Spirit Residency Brass band and
they're going to be, you know, leading that second line
with us, and you know they're going to they're going
to bring that that flavor that people really aren't used
to seeing here in Chicago. So we're really excited to

(16:36):
bring those roots and again another opportunity to preserve history,
heritagean culture. We step off at ten am and where
from there, yep, yep, so Gailey Stadium eight ten East,
one fourth, one hundred and third Street. Gailely Stadium is
right up one hundred and third in Cottage, so you know,
we start there. We started lining up at eight am.
We take off at ten am, and then from there

(16:57):
we come right back and then the community and then
the big village celebrations starts at Gaily Stadium, so we
go all through the neighborhood and then we come right
back and then everything starts at twelve so you can
come be a part of the parade. You can come,
drive in it, walk in it, whatever you want to do,
just come, just come to be a part of the process.
Then we kick off. All of the Olympic Games start
at twelve pm, so that means we have the bmoa

(17:20):
track and field event going on at the Doctor Conrad
World Indoor Track and Field Center. We have the basketball Championship,
We have one on one tournament, three on three tournament,
and then we have to actually have the team tournament
as well going on, and that's that's what our partner
a shy ball Youth league. We have football championships going on,

(17:41):
the June teenth Juneteenth Bowl that's going on simultaneously, and
we also have the baseball Championships going on. So that's
what the roseland Little League, and you know, we're really
just excited again about the opportunity to bring all these
athletics together and also have a conversation about life after athletics.
You know a lot of times, you know, people think
that athletics is the final stop, and we're proud to

(18:03):
partner with Black McDonald's Operators Association to have that conversation
about what happens after athletics, because, you know, a couple
of the McDonald's operators were previously athletes, a couple more
professional football players.

Speaker 1 (18:15):
One of the first members of the Owner Operators was
Cyril mcsweeen. Cyril and Cyril was an Olympian. It was
the nineteen fifty six Olympics in Melbourne, Australia in terms
of track and field.

Speaker 4 (18:30):
So that's why again why this is just so important
to tie all of these different things in. We know
it's a lot to you know kind of stuff into
one event, but that's the purpose. You know, June tenth
is a big thing for us, especially because we're celebrating
the two hundred and fiftieth year of America. How fitting
is it for us to be celebrating Juneteenth prior to that,
so that we can let people know who built this country.

Speaker 1 (18:53):
Talk about the business component too, because there also going
to be booths, I guess in terms of sponsors, tables
and businesses.

Speaker 3 (19:01):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (19:02):
Absolutely, you know, so when these parents come and they
they bring their kids, you know, we want to make
sure that we have something for them, and that's why
we have this Olympic Village. But this year we've we've
incorporated a career slash resource fair, so you know, people
will be able to come and have some mock interviews,
you know, get resources about training and trade programs and
things of that nature. And that's where we partner with
our you know, our partners aclivists developing our youth, and

(19:25):
we were able to you know incorporate their workforce development
programs in order to talk about these different issues and
give these resources to participants. You know, so we're we're
excited about that. We're excited about the people that are
really setting if this has happened, you know absolutely, first
and foremost the Black McDonald's Operators Association, ACLABUS Inc. Seventy
six Gas Station, win Trust Community Bank, you know, FAH Passion,

(19:48):
UH Chase, JP, Morgan Chase, you know, all of these
different organizations, they help us put this together. And we
we partner with some great organizations like you know, the
Far South Chicago Coalition, you know, roseland Rosemore Community Association, again,
the roseland Baseball League, you know, Friends of Track and Field,
you know, Shyball Youth League, and most importantly the Chicago

(20:11):
June Team Planning Coalition of which I happened to be
one of the founding board members of. And we're having
our first UH flag We're having our annual flag raising
ceremony down to Daily Plaza, you know, next next Tuesday,
with the City Chicago Mayor's Office. So you know, it's
a lot going on and our main focus during what
we call Black Culture Week, Black Music month, just just

(20:31):
blackety blackety blackety that we preserve, protect and turn history here.
That's right. But listen, listen Father's Day. You know, we're
partner with the with the fire department to do a
Father's Day breakfast before the before the parade kicks off,
you know. And that's that's what the firehouse over at
over on Dorty Road and the Roseland community. So you know,

(20:55):
we're we're really just excited again about this opportunity to
bring so much community together and again and you started
off by asking me, you know what is community recommitment? Well,
this is community recommitment making sure that we elaborate with
all of the people that are doing the work and
give it a floor for everyone to come and just
celebrate this history, heritage, culture. And again, if you can't

(21:16):
come to all of the athletic events, that's fine. Just
come to the parade in the morning and then go
spend the rest of your day at all the wonderful
events going on across the city because there's so much
going on.

Speaker 1 (21:25):
Yeah, it is an expanding celebration and what is the
best way for people to find out more information about
the Pullman June teenth, celebration.

Speaker 4 (21:33):
Oh yeah, absolutely. As always, you can visit our museum
website and that's the Pullman Porters Museum dot org.

Speaker 1 (21:40):
Doctor David Peterson, we thank you so much.

Speaker 4 (21:42):
We thank thank you for having us once again. Have
a great day.

Speaker 1 (21:46):
Theater has the ability to be cathartic, restorative, and healing.
Here now with a unique theater program on those benefits
for children is our intern with Northwestern University, Evan Blake.

Speaker 5 (21:58):
Evan, theater has long tool for storytelling, but in the
right hand, it becomes a tool for healing. A new
experiential learning course is training Northwestern students to bring theater
based strategies directly to pediatric patients, creating multisensory participatory experiences
designed around each child's needs. This is Evan Blake reporting.

Speaker 1 (22:16):
Thanks Evan, and joining us this morning to discuss the
healing aspects of theater for children is Elizabeth Brendelhorn. She
is a playwright and Associate professor of theater at Northwestern
University School of Communications. What was the genesis for using
theater in terms of pediatric healing.

Speaker 6 (22:35):
I'm so grateful to be able to do this work
on first year faculty at Northwestern and Prior to that,
I spent ten years on faculty at the University of
Central Florida, and my specialty is theater for young audiences.
So I've worked with youth in a variety of capacities,
both directing theater and then also creating our own theater

(22:58):
through personal story in a lot of different ways, and
that work has had social justice bends, and then over
time it started to be more and more related to
arts and wellness. So when I was approached by some
potential donors at the University of Central Florida about creating
work in the hospital setting, I was really excited for

(23:19):
that opportunity, which felt like it grew out of my work,
but was also kind of a new and unknown territory
for me to be creating in. So I spent my
last three years at University of Central Florida exploring what
that work looked like.

Speaker 7 (23:36):
And our first show.

Speaker 6 (23:38):
That we did was like a traditional play where I
had about ten actors in a lobby space and then
we had like three.

Speaker 7 (23:45):
Patients who were able to come and witness it.

Speaker 6 (23:49):
So that was the beginning of me really exploring form
and seeing, Okay, if these are our if this is
our ratio, then we we can creating in other ways, right,
So it was through that that I developed where we've
currently been living, this bedside theater model, where it's you know,

(24:10):
two actors and a facilitator going to a child's bedside
and really giving them a thirty minute theatrical experience, as
Evan said, just catered to them.

Speaker 8 (24:23):
What has been the response to this, It's it's beautiful
to witness, you know, and I love what we do,
and we're still exploring what we do and we'll continue
to do so over many years, you know, because thirty
minute play is like a really special experience with patients.

Speaker 6 (24:43):
But we also recognize that there are patients who who
we aren't able to visit, so we have audio plays
and you know, to go kits which provide toys related
to whatever play we're doing.

Speaker 7 (24:56):
So you know, we're we're I'll say from.

Speaker 6 (25:00):
Myself and my students, it is just an experience that
is very creatively stimulating, and it also uh just grows
you and stretches you as an artist and a human.
And then you know there's the response of the uh
not only the patients that we serve, but their families,
their caregivers, the medical providers, you know, so being able

(25:23):
to to witness a child's laughter in difficult times, to
be able to see their parent responding to what they're experiencing,
or perhaps even playing alongside them. It's very magical knowing,

(25:43):
you know, having a glimpse into their circumstances and seeing
them find joy and laughter despite those circumstances, and helping
them be a part of that.

Speaker 7 (25:54):
It's very satisfying work.

Speaker 1 (25:56):
One thing that I've noticed in terms of my experiences
with children in theatre is that, first of all, you're
hitting the nail on the head with regard to it
being shorter. You know, really good children's plays tend to
be in the half an hour to our category. There,
you're doing it right there. But also there's a wonderful

(26:16):
thing in terms of children's theater that always doesn't exist
in terms of adult theater, and that is participation with
the actors. For many, you know, many children plays, or
you know, plays that are directed at children. Do you
find that you get that kind of interaction with the
characters in terms of during the plays themselves?

Speaker 7 (26:40):
Absolutely, you really know your stuff, I can tell.

Speaker 6 (26:43):
I mean, it would be kind of weird if we
went that side, and like we didn't talk to them.

Speaker 7 (26:48):
Right, So like we're we're literally like.

Speaker 6 (26:51):
Entering their space, right, And a lot of you know,
we study the pediatric Bill of Rights and really talk
about like.

Speaker 7 (26:58):
What does it mean to enter child's hospital room? Right?

Speaker 6 (27:03):
It's the closest thing that they have to their own
space in this environment, and yet they don't have a
lot of choice, they don't have a lot of agency.
They would rather not be there, right, So what does
it mean for us to enter that space? First off,
we need their permission, We need them to want us there,
and that includes if they are not feeling it right,

(27:24):
which is very humbling for performers, right, But what does
it mean for.

Speaker 7 (27:28):
Us to make a polite exit in that environment?

Speaker 6 (27:31):
What does it mean for us to abandon the script
and just opt for playing instead of following the show?
But even how the show itself is structured really lends
itself to that, right, it is theater, but essentially it
is a framework for play. So we know that, you know,

(27:53):
we have moments in the script that we're going to hit.
I should go ahead and say the show is called
Let's Go Camping, And so we're trying to bring a
sense of adventure and a sense of outdoors into their
bedroom through imaginative imaginative play. So the premise is very simple.
It's for five and under and we are junior explorers

(28:16):
going along a trail, earning different badges and meeting different
creatures and friends.

Speaker 7 (28:22):
Along the way.

Speaker 6 (28:23):
But then as we do that, really we're playing, right,
So we meet a squirrel and we dig through squirrels,
you know, treasures that he squirreled away. Essentially, that is
the same as a censory bin in a preschool setting.

Speaker 7 (28:37):
Right.

Speaker 6 (28:38):
We meet Ducky and we've got a race Ducky down
the river, and then we get rained on and we
splash fabric around. Right, We are just playing, and that
means that if the kid wants to race Ducky over
and over again, what's maybe three lines in the script

(28:58):
might become ten minutes of play together.

Speaker 1 (29:01):
Evan, I know that you have a question.

Speaker 5 (29:04):
Yeah, I was going to ask, how do the students
help you come up with the story, and also like
what have you seen them learn and grow from this
course as well? Do they help you write the script
that you've come up with?

Speaker 6 (29:19):
Yeah, yeah, Evan, that's such a great question. I so
I will say, this is the third year that I've
produced Let's Go Camping. So I did it two years
at UCF and then this first year at Northwestern is
starting over in a new university.

Speaker 7 (29:35):
It was really helpful to have a script that already existed.

Speaker 6 (29:39):
So this is a script that has been developed over
time with student support as well as with two incredible
guest artists, Nicole b Atkins and Scottie Rowell. And then
and the other thing I should say is Northwestern is
on a quarter system, so we've got ten weeks together,
so we kind of hit the ground running with like,

(29:59):
here's script, here's what we're working with. But as a
part of that, we also had the great pleasure to
bring Nicole and Scottie. They're Atlanta based artists, and we
brought them up to Northwestern to develop our next show,
which is called Your.

Speaker 7 (30:15):
Name Here and Captain Button Smash Save.

Speaker 6 (30:18):
The World, which is a kind of video game theme
show for six to ten year olds. And so we
had students who were part of that development process.

Speaker 7 (30:27):
And you know where I see this.

Speaker 6 (30:30):
This is where I kind of wrapped up my career
at UCF, but this is where we're just starting at Northwestern.
So you know, my students have assignments built into the
class that I think are very generative for us to
continue thinking about what this looks like and knowing the
student body at Northwestern, it's only a matter of time
before they're really taking the reins on this work and

(30:54):
developing shows from the ground up.

Speaker 1 (30:57):
And what is the best way for people to find
out more about this Tiny Trails Theater Company and the
work that you're doing at Northwestern.

Speaker 6 (31:05):
Yeah, so Tiny Trail Story Company is just getting off
the ground.

Speaker 7 (31:10):
We are tiny but mighty and the work that we
are doing. So the best thing.

Speaker 6 (31:15):
Would be for folks to look me up on LinkedIn
or send me an email.

Speaker 7 (31:20):
My name is Elizabeth brindel Horn.

Speaker 6 (31:22):
My email is Elizabeth dot Horn at Northwestern dot edu
on the Northwestern Theater website.

Speaker 1 (31:28):
Sounds so very good. Elizabeth brendel Horn, as well as
Evan Blake, we thank you so much for joining us
this morning.

Speaker 7 (31:34):
Thank you, it's been great talking with you.

Speaker 1 (31:36):
Well, that wraps up this edition of Chicago Inside and Closing.
Please take advantage of the useful information presented today. I'm
Daryl Dinard. Always remembered to use informed inside and everything
that you do and be sure to take care of yourself.

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