On May 25th, we will celebrate two years of fantastic storytelling with some of the greatest storytellers. Click here for details about our storytelling show and contest.
Since so much talent is rarely gathered in one place, I thought I would ask the storytellers for their thoughts on storytelling. Here’s what a few of the performers had to say.
Favorite Better Said Than Done show?
The very first show as Better Said Than Done takes the cake for this one. The buzz was great, the venue was great, I was able to get about 20 people out to the show, and I felt great up there on stage telling my story. The entire night was great! If I didn’t know it already, I certainly knew then that Better Said Than Done had a long, fruitful future ahead. – Jennifer Luu
The story of my dad is by far my favorite story from the BSTD stage. It was a little experimental and I had a lot of fun writing it. I also prefer to have a little bit of heart in my stories rather than just humor. This was definitely one which I hope touched the crowd in addition to making them laugh. – Dustin Fisher
What do you love about performing?
In a world that dictates we must always act with a certain sense of decorum, or that we must respond to certain situations in certain ways, it is a rush to have the creative outlet of story telling. I love that in story telling you make your own rules. You create something from your own experiences, and then you get to share that with others and hope they find it entertaining. – Jason Conner
I love the people and the adventure of it: the relationship with the listeners/audience that is always fresh because the audience is always new and different, and I am not who I was yesterday…. Love the connection when I feel a room full of people with me. It doesn’t matter if it’s 3 or 300. There’s nothing like the feeling of people breathing, imagining, living it, being there with you – this sense of being connected with my fellow humans – impossible to capture in words. For me it’s the best part of storytelling and why I love what I do. – Noa Baum
What I love about storytelling is guiding an audience through my way of understanding and experiencing the world – it gives me an opportunity to step back and take stock. Conversely to listen to stories is to be let inside someone’s world – to feel what life looks like through their lens for a while. One one sense, it is escapist, but it is also powerfully human to feel connected in that way, to be a part of someone’s world even for just a few minutes. – Anna Marie Trester
The audience. I’ve found I really like writing, but there is no substitute for the thrill of seeing all those faces pointed at you, listening to you. Do they like it? Did that joke land? Did I go too far or not far enough? The audience may not know what is coming next in the story, but their response is the cliffhanger for me. – David Supley Foxworth
I originally got into standup probably as a result of narcissism. But I moved to DC and discovered storytelling less than a year after my standup debut. Once you have an audience who allows you time to set up a character and story arc and can afford to touch and inspire your audience, it’s tough to go back to telling five minutes of dick jokes. One of my favorite stories about storytelling is that after seeing our LLL performance, specifically Jen’s stories, one audience member was inspired to divorce her husband. This may sound horrible, but it was a situation that she wanted to get out of. Anyway, I’ve gone very quickly from wanting to make people laugh at me and tell me how cool I am to wanting to touch and inspire the audience. As opposed to standup, storytelling performance becomes a shared experience with the audience. – Dustin Fisher
The excitement, adventure, danger lurking around every corner! I still get very nervous, which is kind of how I know I really enjoy it and love it. The outcome and experience scare me and matter a lot to me. I love connecting with an audience when I’m tuned into how they’re feeling, and I love taking part in shows with other wonderful people sharing their voices. – Jennifer Luu
What makes a great storyteller?
There are two kinds of great storytellers: people who have an amazing experience to share and people who can make an amazing story out of any experience. I aim to be both kinds: to live a very story-worthy life and to be able to make even the dull parts compelling. – Cara Foran
Speaking your authentic voice from an authentic place. I think that’s what makes people riveting to experience. – Jennifer Luu
Knowing how to listen and be present and a willingness to never stop growing and learning and improving your craft. Noa Baum
In my humble opinion, humor and suspense. A great storyteller should make his/her audience laughing all the time, even when they want to cry. A great storyteller should also keep the audience siting on the edge of the chair. – Michael Zhuang
A great storyteller is someone who can take a story that isn’t inherently awesome or spectacular and make it interesting in some way. Maybe people can captivate an audience with stories of plane crashes or other spectacular situations, but a great storyteller can turn the mundane into fundane. I coined that phrase, by the way. Also, a great storyteller knows when to speed up, when to slow down and when to get out of the way of the story. – Dustin Fisher
Join these storytellers, and more, on May 25th, at The Auld Shebeen, in Fairfax, VA, for “The Art of War.”
More details here.
