Share The Shame In 'Being Ridiculous'

By Staff in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 12, 2013 3:00PM

Jeremy Owens started out with a blog called "You're Being Ridiculous," where he would record the most embarrassing of personal moments, a litany of ridiculousness and shame. In other words, what we all think of our lives, but are often too afraid to share. When he turned the blog into a storytelling showcase with the same name in 2010, Jeremy confesses, "I just wanted to talk and make people listen to me." What he found is that his gift for gab is paired with a penchant for putting others on stage as well. "I love people telling stories about themselves. It's brave and amazing."

Owens claims he had to bully friends to participate in the early days, but now many storytellers from around the city submit their personal tales to his show in the hopes that they too can share the shame. For the next three Saturdays, the show casts the net wide with the theme “Relationships”. Covering a range of interpretations from parental woes, to pet adoption, to loves long ago, to the epic romance (snicker) of online dating; you are sure to find unique personal experiences in every story shared.

Eileen Dougharty, who performs her tale on the 13th and the 20th, loves that there are “so many possibilities” with a theme such as this. Her story focuses on that quagmire of the online dating world and strikes a chord of hilarity, and yet also a poignant admission of what she can and can’t do for love. Darwyn Jones proudly admits to being a “fourth grade love slut” in a telling that will leave you wondering if maybe you too have a story of shame hidden somewhere deep (or not so deep) in your past.

You're Being Ridiculous is at Mary’s Attic, above Hamburger Mary’s in Andersonville, 5400 N. Clark, at 7:30 p.m. on the next three Saturdays. Tickets are on sale now.

The Line-Ups:

July 13: Adam Benjamin, Eileen Dougharty, Darwyn Jones, Brenna Kearney, Mary Lorenz, Shannon Nishi, Dana Norris, Jeremy Owens and Eric Warner

July 20: Hilary Barry, Adam Benjamin, Eileen Dougharty, Keith Ecker, Darwyn Jones, Ruth McCormack, Shannon Nishi, Jeremy Owens and Eric Warner

July 27: Hilary Barry, Keith Ecker, Calandra Hackney, Brenna Kearney, Mary Lorenz, Ruth McCormack, Dana Norris, Jeremy Owens and Elsa Perez

By: Jill Howe