What is this?

What is it?
An evening of readings and performances given by some of Chicago's top literary talents, monologists, performers, and drunks.

Yeah but, why "The Dollar Store"?
Stealing from the Chicago improv community's bag of tricks, The Dollar Store uses a "suggestion" for the pieces performed in the show. Each writer is given an item purchased at a local dollar store (mundane to insane) and a month to craft a story (fiction or non-) that involves the item as directly or obliquely as the author wishes. The item is then put on display during, or incorporated into the performance.

Why do this?
We wanted to have a night of readings that automatically injected a little humor into the evening, and that forced artists to create something new for that show, rather than putting up work that's been published or performed elsewhere. We wanted something that would make literary readings more fun, and would bridge the gap between fictioneers and playwrights, improvisers and writers. We also enjoy blue-collar literature, and The Dollar Store theme will be in that mode.

This sounds like it might not be terrible.
Gosh, thanks. We basically want to have a night of storytelling that has the atmosphere of friends sitting together, listening, laughing and getting drunk. We also want to encourage the audience to remain and have a few drinks and get to know each other.

So when is it again?
First Friday of every month, 7PM at The Hideout.

Except for...
Oh right, except for the Super Summer Tour, which will be all over the place.