In this edition of Video Extras, we talk to Tom Croce.
Tom was the first-time teller in our February 2015 show, Stranger Than Fiction: stories about truth, craziness, and life. The video of his unbelievable – but true – story is below, along with behind-the-scenes details. Mark your calendar for Tom’s next story, our June 27 show, I Coulda Died: stories about precarious situations, at The Auld Shebeen in Fairfax. And, if you’re interested in joining us on stage, read more about how you can tell your story with Better Said Than Done.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwZokaT9fkM&w=560&h=315] Mary: You were a first-time teller in our February show and your story was fantastic! I was laughing out loud as I watched the video again now. Have you done any creative writing in the past?Tom: This is the first time I actually wrote a story out.
Mary: Wow! I would never have guessed that. You and I both participated in Better Said Than Done’s first one-day workshop and, as I recall, you told this story in that workshop. That was a while ago though. What made you finally take the stage?
Tom: Jessica called and told me my story would be a perfect fit for the theme. She threw me a couple of compliments about being a natural. That’s when I knew she was desperate, so I thought I would help her out.
Mary: Was there anything you learned from the workshop that was especially helpful?
Tom: I would suggest anyone who interested in something like this to take a workshop with Better Said Than Done. I learned how to put a story together, organize the story, and present the story in a way that is funny but also meaningful.
Mary: What did you do to prepare to tell this story?
Tom: I wrote the story out first then added the “punch lines”. And then I made sure I was happy with the story and punch lines before I practiced it. I read the story many times before I was ready to repeat it without reading. Once I was comfortable telling the story rather than reading it, I then went over it in front of a mirror. I also met with the other storytellers at the show rehearsal and we critiqued each other’s stories. The group helped me put all the pieces together in an orderly fashion. That was a big help.
Mary: Do you have any advice to others you might be thinking about getting on stage as a first-time teller?
Tom:
- Don’t feel like you need to explain every detail. It will come out in the story.
- Watch videos of other stories.
- Take a workshop with Better Said Than Done.
Mary: Did the story change much as you prepared?
Tom: A little. I had too many details. In my first draft, I went into detail about my family and the “F word”.
Mary: Tell me more about the cruise.
Tom: Our cruise was five days to Bermuda. We celebrated my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, our (me and my wife) 25th wedding anniversary, my 50th birthday, and a couple of other birthdays. Altogether, there were 15 of us, mostly family but also friends of ours who know my family well just from the visits my family makes to see us in Virginia.
Mary: That first night, were you worried that your dad and Charles were really going to get into some kind of physical fight?
Tom: With my dad it’s hard to say. I have seen 30-year-old men back down from my dad when he was in his 60s.
Mary: What do you think it was about Charles that won your father over?
Tom: What I didn’t say was my dad kept telling me, “There is something about Charles I like, but I can’t put my finger on it.” I was afraid it might give away the ending. Also, he never backed down. It’s another Croce tradition.
Mary: You said that when your family gets together, there are three things you can count on: eating, drinking, and arguing. Any favorite dishes or drinks? When it comes to arguing, does your family avoid discussing politics or religion, or is nothing off the table?
Tom: Every time we get together there is a lot of food. Every holiday, we have the traditional American meal plus the Italian meal. I still follow that tradition with my family. We also invite friends over twice a year and we spend all day making homemade pasta, ravioli, sauce, meatballs, and sausage, and drinking wine. We then have a big meal and at the end of the night there is enough for everyone to take some home and freeze. Nothing is ever off the table in our discussions.
Mary: Were there any details you had to cut from your story – either for time or they just didn’t fit the narrative – that you’d like to share?
Tom: I had a sub plot in there that about my first job was in Georgia, and that’s when I realized most Americans were not Italians, and Catholics who “pak the ca”. They kept saying “y’all,” and I had no idea what they were talking about.
Mary: Were there any moments when you performed the story that got a different reaction than you anticipated?
Tom: My daughter has been in the National American Miss Pageant (Virginia) for the last three years, and last year completed in the Miss Coastal Carolina Pageant (college in South Carolina). She told me to focus on something in the back ground. The lights were in my eyes, so I could not see the audience. So, most of the time, I was watching the college basketball game on the TV above the bar or looking at the Jack Daniel’s bottle under the TV. I had no idea when people laughed until I saw the video. It worked out because if I didn’t get a laugh when I thought I would have, I would have tried to ad lib to get the reaction I wanted; that would have thrown my whole timing off.
Mary: Have you or your parents seen Charles since the cruise?
Tom: Three months after the cruise, my parents stopped to see Charles and his family in Philadelphia on their way down to see us. They were supposed to be at our house at 4:00 PM. They had so much fun, they stayed with Charles and his family all day. Charles introduced my parents to all his customers at the Italian restaurant he owned and brought them to his house. My parents showed up at 1:00 AM with lots of Italian subs and pizzas.
Mary: Any more cruises or other vacations with your extended family since the cruise in this story?
Tom: We have since been to Aruba with my parents, my sister’s family, and two other families we have been friends with for years. Another year, two other families who are friends of ours from this area spent a week in Boston with my family.
