Andi Nelson is our February Audience Favorite, and we are pleased to say she will be returning as a featured teller on March 2nd. Thanks, Andi!
Last night’s show was so interesting. After almost three years of producing/co-producing Here’s the Story, I’m amazed by the unique character of each event. Tellers select and rehearse their stories well in advance of the night, without my direction and without meeting each other. No theme is given. And so it is fascinating to me when a show presents its own clear themes and emotional tones.
Tellers are encouraged to do two things: 1. use the show as an opportunity to listen to their instincts; to hone in on an inexplicable feeling of “rightness” and choose a story that feels like it wants to be shared with a room full of strangers and friends, and 2. bring a story that feels like giving something to the audience, rather than looking to get something from them.
Some people bring funny stories. Some bring stories of tragedy or loss. Some bring stories of redemption and transformation. All are welcome. What’s interesting to me is that this choosing process– selecting intuitively and with the intention to be generous– seems to allow for synchronicity. People invariably bring “just what (someone in the room) needed to hear”. And, these over-arching themes emerge that are more profound and complex than could have been dictated ahead of time.
Last night, a theme that emerged was Growing Up. All of the pain, prejudice, accomplishment, nievete, abuse, survival, loss, awakening, breakthrough and triumph it entails. Almost every single one of our tellers told this kind of story. Another present theme was a certain kind of vulnerability; talking about things that were hard to talk about, and that seemed important to share in public. Many people were visibly nervous and felt deeply about what they had to say. Four of our tellers said they shared stories they had “never told anyone before.”
Our next Here’s the Story will be very different. I am grateful to have witnessed this one. Because it was beautifully unique. Beyond my interest in performance, and beyond my interest in community building, I am also interested in the concordance that results when people trust ourselves and follow our own subtle instincts. I find this often leads to more relevant and profound experiences than those we find through a purely logical process. We could have predetermined tonight’s show’s theme as “Road Trip” or “Snowed In!”… and it still would have been great. But we would not have had the same opportunity to watch life– left to its own devices– create art and harmony.
Speaking of art and harmony, here are Matthew Williamson’s photographs of the evening. If you ever want someone to see your beauty, clearly he’s your man.
Thanks to Kay Joe Unscripted, Mari Ortiz-Shoda, Wolfgang Stein, Saya Hillman, Tamale Sepp, Dave, Morgan, Lauren Yarbrough, Minku and Andi Nelson for telling us their stories. And thanks to Reggie Eldridge for standing by my side and co-hosting with aplomb. Special thanks to Brandie Madrid for production managing, helping me set up, break down, carry stuff, fill tables with food, and take out the garbage. Thanks too, to Andi Nelson for stepping in when so many of our regular volunteers were traveling this weekend! She helped us run things with grace.
Many, many thanks as well to everyone who brought delicious, lovingly prepared food. There is so much kindness and care and art on these tables, it blows me away. The recipe page is running behind, but it will be updated soon when life calms down a little.
And thanks to you for reading. We hope to see you on March 2nd.
Here’s the Story
March 2
Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont
7:30 potluck/8pm show
Tickets
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