'Comedy is absolutely my favorite': Geneva High School grad making headway in Hollywood

At the end of a preview trailer for the new movie "Chasing Hope," actress Allison Grischow is walking behind her friend in a scene and suddenly does a complete somersault. It's an unexpected action the former Geneva resident ad-libbed on the spot, just for the heck of it - with the scene's film rolling.

Director Samuel Joshua liked it, and kept it in the movie.

Such a spontaneous antic out of Grischow is no surprise to those who know the 2011 Geneva High School graduate, who is making headway in Hollywood with her second movie role while also operating a successful acting school called The Joyful Actor.

Even though "Chasing Hope" is a tense thriller, Grischow points to comedy as her roots, and you can see it in her quirky characters, including this most recent role as the lead actress' friend Stephanie Cooper.

"Comedy is absolutely my favorite," said Grischow, who splits her time living in Chicago and Studio City in Los Angeles.

"I grew up watching sitcoms and rom-coms with my family in our living room," she added.

That viewing habit makes sense, considering she also went on to a stint at famous comedy training ground Second City in both Chicago and Hollywood.

Her father, Dale Grischow, inspired her through his sense of humor and love of The Three Stooges, while she claims her mother, Marjie, got her hooked on comedian Carol Burnett.

"She was always pretty active in theater at Geneva High School and I always thought she was pretty talented, always playing the comedic side," Dale Grischow said of his daughter. "Carol Burnett is the one Allison reminds me of, in doing her type of humor. She has that skill and ability and the quick wit."

Allison's parents may have been slightly concerned about whether their daughter had chosen the right career path when, as a student at Valparaiso University, she chose to go with a double major of theater and music.

They figured music was her calling, but the uncertainty about theater quickly subsided. Especially for Allison, if she even had any doubts to begin with.

"After a university theater group trip to London where we saw plays on London stages for two weeks straight, I realized how heartbroken I would be not to pursue acting as my career," she noted. "I was just so jealous of those London actors I saw up on stage."

While "Chasing Hope" represents her largest role to date, it also marks an opportunity to move forward with auditions and other offers that may follow. However, Grischow has not lost sight of how she got to this place.

"There were so many people that encouraged me along the way," she said. "I truly cannot thank my teachers enough, specifically Mary Jean Bankmann, my middle school English and theater director. She inspired me to really go for it."

Grischow also gave a shout-out to her Geneva High School band teacher, Pat Frederick, whom she said always "really encouraged my love of acting as well as music, and he never made me feel like I had to choose between the two - and for that I am so grateful."

Her background in the Tri-Cities area established a strong foundation for music and acting - and she continues to pull those levers. She was in marching band, choir, plays and musicals in high school, and performed at Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles, the Rising Star Theatreworks in Geneva, and the Noble Fool Theatre group at the former Pheasant Run Theatre.

Grischow is excited about the opportunity to take her father as her date to the premiere of "Chasing Hope" Saturday, Aug. 27, in Canton, Michigan. After that red-carpet premiere, Grischow said she will learn more about when the movie, filmed in Michigan, would be on a wider release schedule.

For now, her father is just as excited as she is about walking the red carpet.

"When you are in my house, you pay attention to acts like The Three Stooges and Carol Burnett," said Dale, whose younger daughter Becca is also involved in the arts as a writer. "That was the start of it, and we are just very, very proud of her."

Traveler's color scheme

After decades of having yellow awnings with white stripes essentially become a part of Little Traveler tradition, the historic store at 404 S. Third St. in Geneva has had a makeover.

We give a thumbs-up to the new color - light blue with maybe a touch of aqua to it - and the fresh coat of white paint on the building.

It also matches the color of the artistic Little Traveler sign in front of the building.

In a roundabout way, I feel at least slightly responsible for the color change at Little Traveler.

More than eight years ago, longtime Geneva businessman and Traveler owner Mike Simon informed me that a column I wrote about an artist named Nancy Mylnski led to the new sign in front.

Simon's associate, the late Joe Greenberg, apparently had spotted my column about The Velvet Butterfly, the name of Mylnski's shop featuring her hand-pointed artwork focusing on business signs. He told Simon she might be a good person to restore the sign.

The sign in need of replacing had been around since artist William Moulis, a protégé of Little Traveler founder Kate Raftery, created it. Another artist, the late Brian Hazelton, had re-created the original sign about 20 years before Mylnski's skills were being considered, spurring Simon to want to replace what had become a somewhat weather-beaten sign.

Now, that change has come full circle with awnings that match the color during a year in which Little Traveler celebrates its 100th anniversary.

A future CEO here?

At age 6, I was mostly concerned with which Davy Crockett adventure the Walt Disney show might feature on Sunday night. At age 16, I was curious about girls and cars, but mostly living and dying with each Cubs game during the highly entertaining, but ultimately ill-fated, summer of 1969.

The one thing that, for sure, never crossed my mind in the span of those two ages was creating a startup business and selling products.

But now, older and hopefully wiser, I am quite impressed that plenty of kids these days are doing just that. And it's on display from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at the third annual Children's Business Fair at the Geneva Commons.

This one-day marketplace will feature goods and services for sale that kids between the ages of 6 and 16 have created. It's an event designed to teach children about what it takes to be an entrepreneur with a service or product for the community - and have fun doing it.

So, why didn't I create a Davy Crockett coonskin cap with a Cubs logo on it all those years ago?

Strolling with nature

I'm certainly a senior citizen, and I do like to stroll. In fact, I have a nice streak of nearly 550 straight days with 10,000 or more steps registered on my Fitbit.

But some seniors may need a little push to start walking more - and a leisurely stroll through our forest preserves is perfect place to do it.

Those looking for some type of incentive should know that on the first Thursday of each month, Kane County Forest Preserve naturalists lead this type of walk through the county's great preserves.

The walks last about an hour, and it goes without saying that you should dress for the weather. The change of seasons is part of the fun of walking through a forest preserve with someone who knows everything about their surroundings and can explain it to you.

Upcoming strolls, all from 10 a.m. to noon, are Thursday, Sept. 1, at the Dick Young Forest Preserve at 39W115 Main St. in Batavia; Thursday, Oct. 6, at the Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve, 35W003 Route 31 in South Elgin; and Thursday, Nov. 3, at Campton Forest Preserve, 4N379 Town Hall Road in St. Charles.

• dheun@sbcglobal.net