Curated by Molly McCloy
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Doors at 6:30, show at 7
The Screening Room 127 E. Congress St
$8 Adults, $6 Students
For this “Mission” show we’ll hear stories about a military mission in the Middle East as well as a missionary trip to the Sudan. And we’ll also hear from ordinary people who chose a target and took their best shot, hit or miss. Come enjoy an exciting night of schemes, dreams, and heroic deeds.
Featuring:
David Wayne Fitzsimmons, known to many as “Fitz”, is the Editorial Cartoonist, and Humor Columnist, for The Arizona Daily Star, where he has worked since 1986, the year Geronimo began working as a paperboy. Fitz is syndicated to over 800 news publications and he also tweets, blogs, posts, pins, whirs and makes other assorted odd noises.When he is not at his drawing board slinging ink or editorials, David is entertaining his audiences, sketching quick sketch cartoons and caricatures. Known as the “Fastest draw west of the Potomac” Fitz has performed his incoherent easel talks in every conference meeting room, theatre, school, and clubhouse west of the San Pedro. Described as a “Flaming moderate at the fringe of America’s center”, Fitz is a snappy dresser who loves reading hate mail from readers and making his kids laugh.
Originally from Puerto Rico, Ardell Deliz has made Phoenix her home since 2001. She is a Captain with the Phoenix Fire Department and has served the residents of Phoenix for over 15 years as a firefighter and a paramedic.
In recent years, Ardell collaborated to start the Valley Women’s Firefighter Society to assist women interested in becoming firefighters. Every summer, Ardell volunteers her time to assist with Camp Fury, a Tucson-based camp that introduces high-school aged girls to careers in the Fire Service and Law Enforcement. This year, Ardell will be starting a mountain bike team at Franklin Police and Fire High School in alliance with the Arizona High School Cycling League with the goal of “getting more kids on bikes.”
Jordan Wilson is a Linguist stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. He’s a graduate of The Ohio State University and a six-year veteran of the United States Air Force. When he isn’t flying around the desert he performs improv comedy at the TIM comedy theater here in Tucson. This is his first foray into the art of live storytelling.
Ellen Morrell says this about her biography:
I was born and spent most of my life in or close to Indianapolis IN. My first career was as a Dental Hygienist but after the birth of my third child I decided to retire (the first of many retirements) and become a stay at home mom. I next became a financial planner which morphed into being a Planned Giving Consultant (I helped rich people give money away). That was fun. Then God tapped me on the shoulder and said I want you to go to prison. Not being one to ignore God I got my MDiv degree, became ordained as an Episcopal priest, and did prison chaplaincy. I got a divorce after 29 years of marriage to an attorney and was single for the next 20 years. Then to my surprise 2 years ago a wonderful man appeared on my doorstep and after a short courtship (you can’t wait too long at our ages) we married.I love storytelling and usually focus on Biblical Storytelling. I have had more adventures than I recount in this short bio-and I have many more stories to tell.
At 5’4” this is Steve Braun third full-length appearance on the Odyssey stage. A recent graduate of the U of A School of Government and Public Policy with a Masters of Public Administration, Steven works as a 911 emergency dispatcher for fire and EMS. On his return to school after 30 years, Steven found that most classes required some sort presentation and that he suffered from an extreme fear of public speaking. His solution: standing alone on a stage under a single light, microphone in hand, telling embarrassing stories about himself. Not only did it work for school presentations, Steven found himself hooked on written and oral storytelling, and now volunteers with Odyssey, fumbling his way through website administration. Prior to his career in public safety, Steven worked as a chef for 26 years in New York and Tucson, where he was a partner at the legendary, but sadly defunct, Boccata Bistro Caffe. Steven has been married to Phyllis for 31 years and they have one daughter, Jax. To date, Steven’s published works include two recipes in an out of print cookbook, but he’s hoping to change that in the future. Stay tuned for more…
Liane Hernandez is the Community Life Director of the YWCA Southern Arizona in Tucson, AZ. She is a convener and works to create space for individuals and organizations to do the work of community building. Trained as an art historian, chef and anthropologist she is a student of the questions of what is community, who gets to participate and how. She is a member of the Tucson Voices OpEd Project 2016 and the Pima County Women’s Commission. She lives in her beloved city of Tucson, Arizona with her partner, Peter, their two dogs and a cat.