Meanwhile Chicago: A storytelling show where the audience doodles

The Rundown | Chicago News

Usually at a live performance, the audience is encouraged to give the performers their undivided attention. But at Meanwhile Chicago – a variety show featuring storytellers, essayists, comics and dancers – the audience is encouraged to draw and doodle the whole time.

“When you put a piece of paper and a pen in front of someone, almost everyone is going to grab it and start doodling,” said Megan Kirby, who created Meanwhile with her friend Catherine Eves in 2016. “We were trying to figure out how to channel that desire to make art, and also this idea that you can be writing and drawing and it's not necessarily taking your focus away.”

After the show, the artwork created by the audience is sifted through and stitched together into a zine, a small-run magazine, and then copied and distributed.

In this episode of the Rundown podcast, Kirby talks with host Erin Allen about the inspiration for the project and why Chicago is a hub for this kind of creativity.

You can follow Meanwhile on Instagram for information about their next performance and pick up a copy of their latest zine at Chicago Zine Fest on Oct. 5.