Everyone has a bad idea. This is Steve’s.

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What is The Bad Idea?

A combination of food, performance, art, literature, and community. Kinda like dinner theater–but different.

How often are these Bad Ideas?

About four times a year. Maybe someday Steve will be efficient enough to do one every other month, but that is unlikely.

How can I stay informed?

Steve Engel’s Bad Idea has a mailing list that will alert you to upcoming shows and other interesting tidbits.

Compendium of Bad Ideas

  • Essay on enough

    Hi, it’s me, Steve. Not a character. I have an essay here that I wrote about the idea of enough, and I thought it would be interesting to read it during a show called, “Enough.” So, here goes.  The word enough fascinates me. Well, I know that a lot of words fascinate me, so it…

  • Piece from the Sauder Village Storytellers’ Conference (April 2026)

    I have a story, and like all good stories, this one was told to me by someone else. I heard it at a bar on the outskirts of town–well not really in a bar, but more like pub, or maybe it’s best described as an imaginary tavern on the outskirts of reality, and it wasn’t…

  • Essay from re:play

     Hi, it’s me, Steve, not a character. I have an essay here that I wrote about play that I thought would be interesting to read during a show called re:play. I mean, the titles are almost the same. What are the odds? If you are paying attention, you will notice that the title of the…

  • Essay on Tenderness from Tender

    Hi, it’s me, Steve, not some character. I happen to have an essay entitled Tender, and because that is also the title of the show, I thought it would make sense to read it to you now. It’s a short little essay, because time is money, right? I like words, and I like words that…

  • Essay on Conviction from Conviction

    Hi, it’s me, Steve. Not a character. Oh, please continue to eat. I think you can listen and eat at the same time. I want to read you a little something I wrote about conviction, which happens to be the title of the show, so I thought it would align pretty well.  Conviction is an…

  • Essay on Originality from Flicker: Repowered

     I’ve done this before. This is not the first time I’ve done this. I’ve done this before. This is me, by the way, Steve, not a funny character. Although it is hard to tell if this is really me or just a facet of me that I want to project to you or just a…

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