Back in 2008, when poets Shanny Jean Maney and Robbie Q. Telfer were spitballing about the creation of a live-lit show, they turned to an expansive source of inspiration: the encyclopedia. Starting with the topic “bears,” they assigned subtopics to writers, comedians, and musicians to build a live encyclopedia entry. After five years in Chicago, the Encyclopedia Show is down to its final two entries before the big book closes for good.
“In general, we don’t like to pick the topics that are the cool kids,” Telfer says. “We did a show on vice presidents instead of presidents. We did a show on Mesopotamia instead of ancient Greece or Egypt. We did a show on Wyoming as opposed to the 49 other states.” The hosts recall the somber topics “hell” and “funeral” being two of the most fun shows, while “units of measurement” was unexpectedly depressing.
Wed 4/30, 7:30 PM Stage 773 1225 W. Belmontencyclopediashow.com $9
