Write Club Concludes For The Summer With A Crash, A Kick And Butter

By Staff in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 18, 2014 9:45PM

Photo of the stage set for Write Club Chicago by Susan Ricker

Before going on hiatus until September, Write Club Chicago hosted Chapter 61: Violence, As It Turns Out, IS the Answer at The Hideout Tuesday night. The much-lauded monthly write fight squares six writers against each other, broken into three rounds and each author tackling a topic. But like the night’s theme suggests, sometimes violence can be the answer as portions of the event’s admission price go to the winning author’s charity of choice.

Tuesday night’s violently themed matches showcased Jeffrey Yosephus Dorchen (Kick) vs. Scott T. Barsotti (Punch); Stephen Walker (Crash) vs. Sondra Morin (Burn) and Maggie Jenkins (Guns) vs. Ian Belknap (Butter). Yes, you read that right. Butter.

Belknap pulled double-duty as host and contender last night. His comedic MC status might have helped the audience warm to him, but his live lit performance stood on its own as he gushed and oozed over death by butter as the noblest form of all suicides. The raucous reading followed a close win by Dorchen’s ode to kicking as he kicked off a spitting rant against Nixon, technology and The Way Things Are. But the night’s hilarity all began with first-round winner Walker’s monologue on the merits of crashing and its good, albeit flawed intentions.

The Hideout’s cramped back room got heated quickly but fans didn’t seem to mind; the audience roared and cheered after each reading, and stayed involved throughout the night’s proceedings. The night felt more like a comedy club than an intimate live lit event and it’s clear that the audience was made up of a die-hard fan base that will be around for the next write fight come September.

By: Susan Ricker