Voice Box

12/14/2024

Another great night at Voice Box.

12/14/2024

Sara Wolfersberger hits a home run at Voice Box.

11/12/2024

We have a great show for you tonight with and .jedi

10/31/2024

On November 9th, at 3:30 PM, I will facilitate a workshop on the JOY of Now.

Here is a sweet sample of the workshop. The conference is FREE and will fill your well. Use the link in the comments to join us.

Register for Awake In Stillness: https://awake-in-stillness.purepresenceconferences.com/Meet The Speaker is a live series with speakers from the upcoming 3-D...

10/24/2024

Hiya, friends.

I have been seeing a lot of fake spiderwebs all over the neighborhood—just wads of cotton-felted fluff pulled over bushes. Have we forgotten what actual spiderwebs look like?

This is a story about creativity, community, and spiderwebs.

If you need a pallet cleaner in the current sh*tstorm of our world news, pull up a chair. It will not solve all the world's problems, but it might make you smile and feel less alone.

If you like what you read, please comment on the blog, share, and subscribe.

Love, Maur

Our only hope

10/23/2024

Excited to have Lauren Kee with us this month at Voice Box!

10/22/2024

The November show at Voice Box is cast and ready to roll, with the theme song: Take Me Home Country Road.

But can you ever really go home again? We’ll find out.

Join us for a night of stories and song with

Hosted by

Featuring , .jedi, , , and more.

Join us every second Tuesday of the month.

10/11/2024

Today, Lilianna Paxton, surprised me by recording one of my stories. I was floored. She added music and everything. With her permission, I turned it into a video.

It’s a story about death and unexpected encounters with dolphins and dead girls. The voice is Lilianna Paxton.

I am new to Substack, so subscribe if you like the story. And I promise to bring you more lovely tales.

Love, Maur

They all lived in the end.

09/07/2024

The last time I performed the show was at the Center on Halsted in Chicago on October 11, 2022, National Coming Out Day.

The show and the conversation had taken me across the country and back again. But after the last production, I just needed to take a break. I felt bad that I didn't have the gas in the tank to meet the performance invitations. But a one-person show is not an easy thing to mount. Most times, you are wearing all the hats.

Still, I knew the conversation was necessary and important to keep going.

So, I am happy to share that Trans-Parent Love is now on Audible. If you or someone you know is struggling to navigate change, check it out, like, comment, and share. The message of love and inclusion is more important now than ever.

Do not allow fear-mongering to turn innocent people into untouchable, unspeakable social lepers.

Although the shifting sands of this world are designed to change a thousand times an hour, Love remains the same in all forms.

Love, Maur

PS: all profits will be sent to https://pflag.org/

Audible Link: https://adbl.co/4efZgQK

Check out this great listen on Audible.com. The goal of Trans-Parent Love is to help promote conversations that get people talking about the questions, concerns, and commonalities we have with each other while navigating change. In our current culture, our children are leading a revolution of hone.....

09/04/2024

Get ready! We are back at FitzGerald's!

We'll be back at FitzGerald’s for the September edition of Voice Box next Tuesday 9/10! Theme Song, Wake Me Up When September Ends. 🎟️: https://bit.ly/VoiceBoxSept2024

08/31/2024

I was once at a wedding where I met two really good guys. One was a giant beast of a man with a quick wit and a tender heart. The other was a redheaded fire hydrant, always giving out. The two were friends, almost brothers, with a long history.

As the night wore on and the craic (Irish fun) arrived they began to verbally knock into each other. One-upping and undercutting, poking each other's tender bits, and as the alcohol flowed, the jabs got sharper.

Until a spark was lit between the two that was moving fast towards a full physical eruption. The larger man, starting to lose it. He was bloated with rage and baring down on the shorter man.

It happened so quickly. I felt myself shrinking, wanting to run for safety, not wanting to witness what was surely guaranteed. Not wanting to get hit by the shrapnel.

I grew up on the roller coaster of passion that rolled between the height of humor and the plummet of violence.

I was six or seven the first time I witnessed a fight between two boys. They were out past the playground, under a large tree that happened to be on my route home. And yes, in the 1970s, six-year-olds walked themselves home.

I stopped and watched as a crowd gathered, not knowing what to expect. My mouth fell open as suddenly, with two or three succinct blows, one knocked the snot from the other. And I, a six-year-old, had nothing to offer but shock.

And now here I was again, watching as the heat of hatred boiled between the two men. But instead of backing away and protecting myself from the splatter, I felt myself step forward. I placed myself between the two men, facing the larger one.

And with a sort of composer as familiar to me as hearing my voice speak Swahili, I placed my hands on his chest, looked into his eyes, and repeated one clear and honest truth.

“You are better than this.
You are better than this.
You are better than this.”

My heart was pounding, I had no reason to believe I could de-escalate the situation. But after many repetitions of this mantra, the man did something I never imagined possible: He believed me, and slowly transitioned from a crazy-eyed lunatic to a man of reason.

I will never forget that moment. It healed the helpless child in me.

We have enough war in the world. Its tough out there. We have an unending supply of slings and arrows. We could waste sh*t-tons of time dabbling in our barbed wired banter, while dignity sits unopened on the shelf.

If you're feeling it. If you have gotten yourself tagged and dragged, see if you can, just for sh*ts and giggles, see if you can surprise yourself by serving up some unearned, undeserved kindness. If for no other reason than to see anger back away, sucking its lips and scratching it’s balls.

If you do this, you will have so much more energy to cook yourself a nice breakfast, call your mom, and write the fu***ng book already.

Because the truth is, no matter how tempting it is to be fear’s drunk puppet. We really are so much better than this.

Photos: Because we spent our lunch money chasing dreams instead of dragons, I got to join the angelic powerhouse, Olive MacDonagh in recording a love song to Ireland at Jam Studio in Kells, Meath, Ireland.

08/16/2024

I will be performing at the Big Top this Sunday night along with a fun and fearless group of local talent. You can experience the magic by tuning in virtually. So grab your snacks and wine and friends and support this hot hub of artistry.

Big Top Chautauqua’s annual vocal competition returns! Each summer the best singers in the area audition for their chance to perform on the legendary Big Top stage. Singers 13 and under compete in the Jr. Idol category while those 14 and above compete for the title of Big Top Idol as audience memb...