Goodnight, Chicago! – Pop-Up Magazine
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Thanks for spending the evening with us!

Thanks so much for spending the evening with us! To say good night, we want to share a love letter to tonight’s wonderful writers, filmmakers, artists, and storytellers who performed at our Love Stories issue. Here are a few podcasts, films, books, shows, and more from the talented people you saw on our stage tonight. Enjoy!

And don’t forget to sign up for our email list to stay up to date on our next shows.

Until next time,
The Pop-Up Magazine Team

PS: If you enjoyed tonight’s show, we hope you’ll consider supporting our work by joining our membership program—you get discounted tickets and early access to our pre-sales, plus lots of other perks. Take 20% off your first year of a new Front Row membership with the code LOVESTORIES. Discount can only be applied to new membership subscriptions.

From our contributors

Sarah Kay (“The Soldier and the Movie Star”) captivated us with her family’s epic love story. For more of Sarah’s poetry, start with “If I should have a daughter.” Then grab a copy of one of her poetry collections, like The Type. Sarah is also the co-founder of Project Voice, an organization that uses poetry to entertain, educate, and inspire students around the world.

You may recognize Ryan O’Connell (“Roaring Thirties”) from his starring role in Netflix’s Special, a semi-autobiographical series he also created and executive-produced, adapted from his memoir, I’m Special. Next up, you can catch Ryan starring in Peacock’s Queer as Folk or get more familiar with his writing by reading his new novel, Just by Looking at Him.

If you’re looking to watch another powerful film from Nadav Kurtz (“Sam and Omar”), take a look at Paraíso, his documentary short following three immigrant window cleaners who rappel down Chicago’s tallest skyscrapers. The film was a Sundance Film Festival selection. Watch it now.

When not writing apology letters, Pamela Rae Schuller (“Sorry, Not Sorry”) is a comedian and disability advocate. She has brought her blend of advocacy and comedy to almost every state in the U.S. and across six countries and has opened for everyone from Joan Rivers to Pete Holmes to Fetty Wap. Next up, catch her live at an upcoming performance of her one-woman show, What Makes Me Tic.

For more music from Victoria Canal (“Swan Song”), listen to Victoria’s latest EP, Elegy. She joined the Pop-Up Magazine stage hot off her headline Elegy tour and a memorable duet with Chris Martin on “Swan Song.” Martin called the song “one of the best songs ever written.” We agree!

Hermit crab fans, rejoice: You can hear more of Rachael Cusick’s (“Be the Ocean”) reporting from her work as a radio producer at Radiolab. Rachael has produced such memorable episodes as “The Queen of Dying,” about the stages of grief and death. And make it a point to read her Modern Love essay about her relationship with her grandmother.

Looking for love advice? Jenée Desmond-Harris (“The Golden Gate Foundation”) has your back as Slate’s Dear Prudence advice columnist. Jenée thoughtfully and hilariously helps readers navigate everything from lopsided relationships and in-law drama to politics and friendship, with weekly live chats to boot. Jenée is also a contributing writer for The New York Times Opinion, contributing guest essays on topics around race, family, and more.

The films and art of Ben-Alex Dupris (“Dancing Against the Drum”) highlight the lives of Indigenous people and communities, showcasing the formal innovations that have always existed within native storytelling traditions. His animated short Sister Wolves is a striking visual love letter to a folktale published in the Colville Tribes’ Book of Legends. Ben recently directed Bunky Echo-Hawk: The Resistance, an edition of the PBS anthology American Masters, which features Echo-Hawk, a Pawnee painter who is the first Indigenous visual artist to be featured in the 33-year history of the series.

Sean Snyder and Adrian Stevens (“Dancing Against the Drum”) are practitioners of Native American artistry and advocates for their communities. Adrian, who is a grass dancer, and Sean, who is a fancy dancer, have been dancing since before they could walk and have blended both of their traditional styles into a form that exemplifies hybridity. The story you saw tonight is adapted from Ben-Alex Dupris’s short film Sweetheart Dancers.

Thanks to the very talented artists and illustrators who helped make tonight’s show beautiful: The Little Labs (“Drawing a New Path”), Hokyoung Kim (“The Soldier and the Movie Star”), Miranda Bruce (“Sorry, Not Sorry”), Min Heo (“Be the Ocean”), Danie Drankwalter (“Roaring Thirties”), Jordan Kay (“For Black Girls”), Rebecca Bird (“The Golden Gate Foundation”), and an extra-special thanks to our incredible music director, Minna Choi, and our house band, the Magik*Magik Orchestra.

A special thanks to tonight’s sponsors

Google’s support made tonight’s show more accessible with ASL interpreters (Rorri Burton and Julikka LaChe), open-captioning, and audio descriptions. If you enjoyed tonight’s presentation featuring Google’s Brand Studio senior designer Tony Lee, please revisit and share the film A Coda Story. To learn more about Google’s commitment to accessibility, belonging, and influencing the industry to become more accessible, check out their playbook on inclusive marketing.

To learn more about Toni Wilson, Director of Culture and Narrative Shift at Girls for Gender Equity (GGE), take a look at her writing on race, gender and body politics. Through her work at GGE, Toni helps support Black girls and gender-expansive young people of color across the country. She also co-hosts the podcast Stay in the Sun, where two Caribbean American Black women discuss politics, pop culture, identity and life as millennial social workers. Follow Toni on Twitter and Instagram. GGE is supported by Fondation CHANEL.

We all have a different definition of success, and there is a whole community on LinkedIn who can help you get there. Get one step closer to unlocking your goals by joining LinkedIn—share what you’re working on, say hello to a new connection, or follow someone in your desired field. You never know what can happen when you take that first step. Join the world’s largest professional community today. To learn more about visual artist Andrea Campos, check out her LinkedIn profile. And don’t miss her illustrations in The New York Times bestselling book Con Pollo: A Bilingual Playtime Adventure, an engaging picture book for young readers that serves as an introduction to basic Spanish vocabulary, brought to life by Jimmy Fallon and Jennifer Lopez.

Thanks to our media and community partners

A lot can happen in a week in Chicago. Join Sasha-Ann Simons, host of WBEZ’s Reset every Friday for the “Chicago News Recap” on YouTube as she breaks down the week’s biggest stories with a panelist of journalists. Watch it live every Friday at noon or catch up on the week’s happenings over the weekend. Subscribe to the WBEZ Chicago YouTube page.

The Chicago Reader has been a fearless, innovative, and nationally respected media voice in Chicago for more than 50 years. In print every other week and daily online, they are tastemakers, incisive critics, and agenda-setters. Join the Reader on Wednesday, November 30, as they take over the Museum of Contemporary Art to celebrate 50-ish years being free and freaky in these Chicago streets. Three levels of art, entertainment, dance, food, and drink. Tickets are available now!

Photographs by Jenna Garrett