Schurz Teacher Will Have One Heckuva 'How I Spent My Summer Vacation' Story

IRVING PARK — The "how I spent my summer vacation" assignment is normally given to students, but Schurz High School English teacher Michael Rychlewski might want to pen an essay of his own when he returns to the classroom in the fall.

The veteran educator — 21 years under his belt at Schurz, and 27 as a teacher overall — is having his first full-length play, "Chops," produced at Theater Wit. The show's run starts Thursday and continues through Aug. 14.

"It's a strange sort of other-worldly experience," said Rychlewski, who lives in Edgewater with his wife. "These are lines I wrote 20 years ago ... and they're being given life."

"Chops" is described as the story of three aging "kings of Rush Street" and a mysterious young woman who sparks a "night fueled by booze, jazz and clever banter" that "descends into wheels within wheels and lies within lies."

It's a classic Chicago tale, inspired by Rychlewski's bartending days in the late '70s, including a stint at the Palmer House and Albany Park's long-gone Portside.

The raw material might have been familiar to the author, who grew up on the North Side and graduated from St. Gregory High School, but fitting the pieces together took decades.

"You write something, you put it back in the drawer, you pull it out, each time it gets better," he said. "This is not the first draft, this is the 111th."

Rychlewski credits director Richard Shavzin for paring "Chops" to the bare essentials.

"He's one of those guys who knocks out commas," Rychlewski said. "It was 120 pages, now it's 74, so it's lean and mean."

Understanding that editing is part of writing is a lesson that Rychlewski, 65, said comes with age, as is the patience to allow his work to percolate.

"When you're young, you want recognition now — it's just the nature of the world," he said.

Though he's had shorter works produced at Rhinofest and American Theater Company, finishing "Chops" was a struggle, in large part because Rychlewski prioritized his commitments as a teacher and a parent, particularly when his now 25-year-old daughter was younger, he said.

When she reached the "talk-to-the-hand" teenager phase, "I got back to plays," he said.

The luxury of being a full-time writer is something Rychlewski realized early on wasn't in the cards for him.

"I came to the rapid conclusion I wasn't going to make any money unless I was remarkable," he said.

Instead Rychlewski spends nine months of the year introducing teenagers to "All My Sons," "Doubt," "Waiting for Godot" and "Glengarry Glen Ross."

Thornton Wilder's "Our Town," and the way it turns the banal into something exceptional, is emblematic of Rychlewski's teaching philosophy: presenting challenging works that help students develop a deeper understanding of life.

"When kids come to my class I say to them, 'Look, everything here's going to be gray. I don't have the answer. We're going to feel our way,'" he said.

With "Chops," Rychlewski aims to add his own voice to the conversation.

"You need a little arrogance. You need a belief that what you're writing is good, that what you write is important, that the characters are important, that people will recognize themselves and they will be moved," he said.

There are other stories and other characters waiting in the wings should "Chops" prove a success.

"I feel three or four of my plays are very close" to being ready for production, Rychlewski said.

Being a late-bloomer is every bit as thrilling as being a prodigy.

"The joy is deeper when you're older and it's much more resonant," Rychlewski said. "There's a calm delight."

"Chops" at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., stars Clare Cooney, Larry Neumann Jr., Randy Steinmeyer and Danny Sullivan. Click here for ticket information.

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