Kate Rockwood

Writers, whether born in Chicago or drawn to it, have been inspired to pick up their pens by everything from the muted beauty of the South Side to the grisly meat-packing district to the "raw-potato odor" of Lake Michigan, as Saul Bellow once wrote. If you're looking for a shot of literary inspiration, the city is full of it...

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Originally published October 30, 2006, Centerstage Chicago  

Reeling, the Chicago lesbian and gay international film festival, celebrates its silver anniversary in a big way this year. The second oldest film festival of its kind in the nation, Reeling was born of Brenda Webb's desire to connect experimental films with a gay and lesbian audience. Twenty-five years later, she's still working as the director and still hoping to attract larger crowds, though packing the house in general is no concern...

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Originally published October 30, 2006, Centerstage Chicago  

When shy egghead Andrew meets a dreamboat who might actually be the son of Satan in About Face Theatre's "Say You Love Satan," his new paramour might be Mr. Right...aside from the whole devil-as-dad thing. Andrew's lameness is legendary, according to best gal pal, Bernadette, and the play opens on a Friday night spent at the laundromat. But it's at the 'mat that Andrew stumbles upon Jack. Jack is sweet; he's sexy; he's able to bypass even the longest lines at clubs; and he's read Dostoyevsky in the original Russian...

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Originally published October 24, 2006, Centerstage Chicago

Juice bars are like a choose-your-own adventure for your guilt-free taste buds. But heading outdoors for your workouts (or that quirky little yoga studio down the street) doesn't mean you have to turn your back on that post-workout treat. Take a look at this list of gym juice bars that are open to the public and serve everything from space-age powders to straight-from-the-farm produce...

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Originally published October 23, 2006, Centerstage Chicago

Though I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and have lived in the city for the past six years, I'd been to Navy Pier only once, as a nine year old, before last week. My memories of that day don't extend much beyond the thick lines of spazzy kids, the thin line of my mother's mouth as she shelled out more money than she'd planned and my just-under-five-foot grandma clinging to the rail of the Ferris wheel as we were lifted 150 feet into the air...

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Originally published October 16, 2006, Centerstage Chicago

If there is one thing 11-year-old Pecola Breedlove is sure of, it's that she is ugly. Born to ugly parents in an ugly marriage and living in an ugly house in Ohio in the 1940s, Pecola has been ignored and neglected her entire life. Wanting nothing so much as to be loved by her friends and schoolmates, Pecola blames her mistreatment on her dark skin, which she feels is the locus of her ugliness...

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Originally published October 17, 2006, Centerstage Chicago  

As a kid, Halloween was the pleasure jackpot: I'd scowl at anyone who handed out bubblegum, stay up until midnight (!) watching horror flicks with my folks and undoubtedly end the night with my mouth covered in chocolate. After a guy dressed as Fred Flinstone puked on my shoes last Halloween, I decided that this year I would hang up my bar routine and get back in touch with my Halloween-loving inner-kid with some hip events that put alcohol on the back burner...

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Originally published October 12, 2006, Centerstage Chicago

If cabaret is only a musical's title in your mind, it's time to expand your definition of this awesome art form, which can include everything from stand-up comedy to maudlin piano tunes to va-va-voom dancing...

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Originally published October 2, 2006, Centerstage Chicago