About Us
Homewood Stories was created as an act of love by Dr. Karen O’Donnell. A local dentist, Karen often joked that she had been telling stories for years to a captive audience, that could not talk back, because she had her hands in their mouth doing their dental work. So Karen decided that her stories deserved a willing audience, and Homewood Stories was born.
Karen started telling stories in 2008 at shows around Chicagoland. She took a few storytelling classes and became increasingly comfortable in front of an audience. She met many storytellers who became friends. Karen also gained an understanding of the details of how storytelling shows are produced.
Karen found a venue (Grady’s Grill) and the first show was held on January 21, 2014. Over the years the venue changed a few times. The show was held every month even through COVID. Karen also held storytelling workshops and encouraged local residents to get onstage and tell a story.
Karen spent about 60 hours per month on Homewood Stories. She recruited storytellers. She planned the order that each would present their stories, so the show flowed. For each show, she handled promotions, recruited volunteers to handle admissions, set up the room, told a story of her own, dealt with issues related to the venue and cleaned up. It was a labor of love.
Karen felt that Homewood Stories was the most important thing she had ever done. She truly loved the audience and they loved her. She thanked her “Beautiful Audience” at the beginning and ending of each show. When the spirit moved her, she would bake fudge (based on her mom’s recipe) and distribute the goodies to audience members.
When Karen passed in September 2024, her one wish was that Homewood Stories would continue. Her dearest friends in the storytelling community convened to plan a memorial show and more importantly provide guidance on the best way to move forward with Homewood Stories. From there, a team of Karen’s biggest supporters began the work of keeping Homewood Stories thriving. Today, the show lives on. It is on held the second Tuesday of each month by a handful of loyal volunteers working together because Karen’s show must go on.
And it does!
