Evanston Man in Tellin' Tales Theatre Presents: Divercity

Since his debut performance in 2003, Jack Gehringer has been an avid performer and supporter of Tellin' Tales Theatre, whose mission is to break down barriers between the disabled and non-disabled worlds through the transformative power of personal story. From May 7-23, Gehringer can be seen in the Virtual production of Tellin' Tales Theatre Presents: Divercity.

The show features nine solo performances by writers, actors and advocates with disabilities from Evanston, Chicago, Elmhurst, Merrillville and Georgia. Their stories range from touching to hilarious and everything in between. Information and tickets are available at www.tellintales.org

Jack Gehringer has a Bachelor's degree in Social Work from Northeastern Illinois University. During middle school in 2003, he was one of six students along with six adult mentors who starred in Tellin' Tales Theatre's production of Six Stories Up in Pediatrics. He was hooked! He returned to the Six Stories Up stage in 2006 starring as the evil side of George Bush's conscience in Six Stories Up in the Ozone. After that he got involved in the Tellin' Tales young adult writer's workshop and readers theatre performances. In 2016, he made his debut as an adult mentor in Six Stories Up in Climate Change.

Stories for Divercity were developed and directed in a six-week Zoom Master Class taught by Tekki Lomnicki, artistic director of Tellin' Tales Theatre. The disabilities of the performers include blindness, dwarfism, spinal injury, mental illness, cerebral palsy, Muscular Sclerosis and Spina Bifida.

The mission of Tellin' Tales Theatre is to shatter barriers between the disabled and non-disabled worlds through the transformative power of personal story. We bring together children and adults from both communities to share their stories in theatrically innovative productions and programs to promote awareness, understanding and acceptance.

Divercity is partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation.