Zach Wilks will be taking the stage with Better Said Than Done in just a couple of weeks. This is the story he submitted that won him his place in the line-up for:
Best in Show: 5 Year Anniversary Show and Story Contest
Saturday, May 28, 2016
6:30 PM (doors open at 5 PM)
Jammin’ Java, 227 Maple Avenue East, Vienna, Virginia
$15 per person (Advance tickets available online)
Let’s learn more about Zach before he performs and competes with 9 other storytellers for your vote for favorite story of the night at our show in May.
Name: Zach Wilks
Age: timeless (okay, fine, yes, I am over 40!)
Profession: I am not proud of this but, when I was younger, I fell in with a bad crowd, made some mistakes, and wound up doing 3 years in a law school — so, yes, I am a lawyer.
City where you live: The oppressed colony currently known as Washington, DC
Blog: Laughter with the Pain (Visit his YouTube channel, too.)
When did you first start telling stories on stage? When security asked me what I was doing backstage at a Jimmy Buffet concert. Just to be clear, “looking for Margaritaville,” is NOT a good answer. I started doing stand-up in college and got hooked on storytelling in 2011, though, I really wish we could find a better name. You tell people you are a storyteller, they imagine you are about to bust into, “Once upon a time…” If you say, “No, I do adult storytelling”, they think, “Dear Penthouse, this has never happened to me…”
What was the first story you told about? I told a story about the time I was sent to Afghanistan. I work for the Defense Department and they had a program to use lawyers to help clear IEDs; they figured that the only thing that might frighten the Taliban would be dozens of lawyers. The story was mostly me whining and crying for 7-8 minutes, which is pretty much how I spent the entire month I was there.
What’s your favorite storytelling moment? Probably my favorite moment is when I had the opportunity to perform in the 2014 Sucker For Love show. I got to perform for 1200 people at the 9:30 Club! And they gave us free booze and cupcakes and they paid us! That or any Better Said Than Done show.
Any other hobbies or avocations you’d like to share? Stand-up comedy, mystery novels, and avoiding doing home repairs around the house.
What’s your favorite fictional story?
- book: The Great Gatsby or Everybody Poops (long battles with constipation — severe cheese addiction convinces me that this might be fiction)
- movie: Godfather III (ha, just kidding — not even Sophia Coppola would say that). Three-way tie between Ghostbusters, Young Frankenstein, and Men in Black.
- theater: Avenue Q or Macbeth — of course a production of Macbeth done with puppets would be my absolute favorite
Our readers probably know what’s coming next. The anniversary show is being held at Jammin’ Java in Vienna. So, how do you take your coffee? I love a skim latte (yes, I am a white guy who listens to NPR). But my wife recently got me to give up coffee, so in case she is reading this, I will say herbal tea, and if I really want to treat myself, with lemon.
Have you been to Vienna before? No, but I’m a big fan of their sausages.
