Chicago ROAR Story Slam 2019
July 19th, 2019 | 6:30PM - 10PM | Logan Square Auditorium (2539 N Kedzie Blvd)
KoreanAmericanStory.org is proud to announce our third annual ROAR Story Slam — to shine a spotlight on the best Korean American stories and storytellers! In 2019, we are taking the show on the road and holding local events in NYC, LA and Chicago. Chicago is our final destination for this year! The Chicago Story Slam, hosted by Mia Park, will feature a comedy set by Eunji Kim and six storytelling finalists will be competing live for cash awards with a distinguished panel of judges,
What is the ROAR Story Slam?
The ROAR Story Slam is a live storytelling event where 5-6 finalists, who have been selected from the first round of video entries, will compete on stage with their personal stories about the Korean American experience. Each finalist will have no more than six minutes to tell their stories, without scripts or props. A panel of judges will watch each performance and then announce the winners at the end of the event.
Special Thanks To:
Sheila Ivy Traister, veteran actress, director and story coach who provided professional coaching sessions to all of our finalists.
Prizes:
1st Place – $1500
2nd Place – $500
3rd Place – $200
Ticket Info:
General Admission: $20 | With Student ID: $15
Each ticket includes free Korean food at the event.
FAQ:
Are there ID or minimum age requirements to enter the event?
While this event is all ages, people who wish to drink alcohol must present a photo ID at the door to receive a wristband.
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
Unfortunately no. The event space is held on the second floor.
Can I volunteer and attend for free?
We love volunteers! Please contact roar@koreanamericanstory.org with any inquiries!
Emcee & Special Guest
Mia Park
Emcee
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Mia Park is powered by hopeful engagement. As a Chicago based multidisciplinary artist, Mia shares her passion for discovery through acting, teaching yoga and taichi, writing, producing events, playing music, and volunteering. Mia emcees events for Korean American groups such as Sejong Cultural Society, KAN-WIN, the Korean Consulate, and Global Pungmul Institute. Mia has advocated for Asian American representation in the arts for decades. Her highlights include founding the female Asian American rock band, “Kim”; curating an Asian American music series at Old Town School of Folk Music; running the Chicago Asian American Acting Industry Meetup Group; co-founding the Asian American theatre company, A-Squared Theatre; hosting the cult classic kid’s TV show, “Chic-A-Go-Go”; drumming in the Asian American jazz band, Miyumi Project; organizing training workshops for Asian American actors; coordinating the National Asian American Theatre Conference and Festival; and founding, “Our Perspective: Asian American Play Readings”. Learn more about Mia at MiaPark.com
Eunji Kim
Featured Performer
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Eunji Kim is a comedian and writer based in Chicago. She is currently a Senior Writer for Cards Against Humanity and can be seen performing improv, sketch and stand-up comedy at iO Chicago, Second City and The Laugh Factory. She has been invited to perform at comedy festivals all over the Midwest, including The Chicago Improv Festival, The Chicago Women’s Funny Festival, Chicago Sketchfest and the Detroit Improv Festival. She is a graduate of The Second City Conservatory and iO Chicago’s Training Center. She was a 2017 Bob Curry Fellow at Second City and a featured performer in the 2017 NBC Universal Break Out Festival. She also co-hosts The Ajumma Podcast (@AjummaShow) with fellow comedian/Korean, Peter Kim (@Peterkz). To learn other reasons she feels great about herself, follow her @TheBestEunji on Instagram and Twitter.
Finalists
Stephanie H. Kim
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Stephanie H. Kim is a journalist who’s currently interning at WBEZ, Chicago’s NPR station. She also helps people discover the magic of libraries at Deerfield Public Library and freelances for local newspapers. When she’s not working, you can find her spending time with her family and friends, connecting with people who share similar passions or daydreaming about the next creative project she wants to pursue. Twitter – @stephaniehnkim
Cassie Chee
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Cassie Chee (she/her/hers) is a Chinese, Okinawan, Korean woman born in Los Angeles and raised on Duwamish land, also known as Seattle. Depending on who you ask Cassie is becoming a pastor, a nun, or a witch at Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary. She lives for printmaking, doodling, musicing, and co-creating with those who experience perpetual displacement and marginalization.
Sam Yu
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Sam Yu (they/them) is a second generation queer Korean American from Virginia who is now living in Chicago. Currently, Sam is part of NAKASEC (National Korean American Service & Education Consortium), a national group that organizes Korean and Asian Americans towards social, racial, and economic justice. In their free time, Sam enjoys listening to 90’s k-pop, unpacking their cultural identity, and watching Pose on FX. Twitter/Instagram – @nongshimhoe
Debset Kim
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Deb ‘Debset’ Kim has been writing poetry since she was 12 years old. Her first attempts at spoken word date back to her high school days, when she first found clips of Def Poetry Jam on YouTube. Debset is now delving into freestyle and hopes to transition her writing into music. Instagram – @debset_
Steve Han
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Steve Han is an actor/comedian in Chicago who is proudly not using his degree in biology from the University of Chicago at all. He has performed at venues such as Steppenwolf, Laugh Factory, and Second City, the latter of which he teaches improv at as well. He is extremely honored to be performing with ROAR and is proudly represented by Paonessa Talent. Social media: Instagram/Twitter – @steyonceknowles
Kris Kim
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Kris Kim is a lover of fruits, handwritten letters and dyeing her hair pink every couple of months. She is a Brooklyn baby at heart but is excited to learn + grow with the Chicago community and hopefully, find a home here as well. In addition to writing poetry, she is also an urban dancer, a sister, a friend and a wild ice cream fanatic. Instagram – @kristinakimm
Judges
David Rhee
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David Rhee is the Artistic Director for Token Theatre, Chicago’s Asian-American theatre company. He began his career as an actor after graduating from New York’s Circle in the Square Musical Theatre program. Since then he appeared on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning Thoroughly Modern Millie, worked at numerous theatres across America including Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Silk Road Rising, et el., and starred on television’s Law and Order. David returned to school to earn his MFA at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University in Dramatic Writing on full scholarship where he worked with Oskar Eustis at the Public Theater, Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks, Lucas Hnath, Eduardo Machado, and Kristoffer Diaz. David also worked with the International Voices Project, where he directed the Korean play, “Inching Towards Yeolha.” David has also been a guest lecturer at Northwestern University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. www.tokentheatre.net
Ji-Yeon Yuh
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Ji-Yeon Yuh is a native Chicagoan raising three native Chicago suburbanites. She is a product of the Chicago public schools from kindergarten to 8th grade and a graduate of the Latin School of Chicago. She is a scholar of Korean diaspora, a founder of the Asian American Studies Program at Northwestern University, where she has taught since 1999, and board president and co-founder of Global Pungmul Institute. Twitter @YuhJiYeon IG @yuhjiyeon
Kathy Im
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Kathy Im oversees investments at the MacArthur Foundation’s Journalism and Media program, which supports the foremost institutions of public service journalism, documentary storytelling, and participatory civic media. During her tenure, MacArthur has contributed to numerous impactful and award-winning investigative reports, and important innovations in the production and distribution of nonfiction media. In the Fall of 2014, Kathy took a sabbatical from the Foundation to be a Visiting Fellow at MIT’s Open Documentary Lab. At MIT, she explored the intersection of interactive documentaries and digital journalism, and laid the groundwork for new collaborations between interactive media makers and major news organizations. She is the co-author of “Unrestricted funding vital for journalism,” published by the American Press Institute in 2016, a member of the Peabody Board of Jurors, and the board of Media Impact Funders.
Jin Kim
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Jin Kim likes to perform! Of late, you can catch him in Chicago or NYC hosting Face Off Unlimited’s BATSU! (a live Japanese game show). Jin is represented by Paonessa Talent. Check out jinkim.com for absolutely nothing helpful. Instagram @thatsjinkimforyou
Susan H. Pak
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Susan H. Pak is a Chicago Dramatists Resident Playwright and Assistant Professor in Residence at Northwestern University in Qatar. She received an MFA in writing for the screen and stage at Northwestern University; she received both a BA in English and a JD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her productions and staged readings include: Election at the Goodman Theater, The Fixer at the Steppenwolf Theater, Ghost Girl at the Workshop Theater, and T.A.B. at the Downtown Urban Theater Festival.
Sponsors
The contest organizers reserve the right to adjust the judging process and prizes.
Questions? Please contact roar@koreanamericanstory.org.
KoreanAmericanStory.org is a non-profit organization whose mission is to capture and preserve the stories of the Korean American experience.