On March 9, 2019, our Northern Virginia audience got a real treat – they got to see me perform! 
Oh, yeah, and also, they got to see Anne Rutherford and Norm Brecke perform. I guess, technically, that’s a little bit more of a treat than seeing me – seeing as how I perform in this area all the time and Anne and Norm traveled all the way from Oregon just to entertain us. But whatever.
I met Anne and Norm in Jonesborough, TN, where Anne was a New Voice Featured Performer at the National Storytelling Festival. The show I saw her performing was not our usual Better Said Than Done true, personal storytelling. It was more of an adventure story – a tall tale. So when Anne and Norm and I were planning this show together, the title, “Adventure Calling,” seemed like a perfect fit. Also, we thought it would be fun to mix styles – the personal narrative style Better Said Than Done audiences are familiar with, and the tru-ish style Anne and Norm often work in.
And what a successful mix it was. Anne Rutherford blew everyone’s socks off with her singing and storytelling. Norm Brecke put slippers back on everyone with his singing and storytelling. And I made all the men in the audience cross their legs trying my hat at telling a made up story for the first time!
It was such a fun night. We had a rollicking good time at The Auld Shebeen, taking the audience along on a storytelling adventure they won’t soon forget.
You can watch videos of all the stories from the “Adventure Calling” storytelling show in this video playlist. However, I’d like to suggest the following videos as a good sampling of the night.
Norm’s true story about being a working dad. Watch Norm Brecke here.
Anne’s tru-ish story of her personal vice. Watch Anne Rutherford here.
Jessica performing a modern day story of magical realism. Watch Jessica Robinson here.
Anne and Norm performing together – a mix of true and folk tales. Watch Anne and Norm here.
The audience told me, several times, that this was the best show ever. If I didn’t run this show, I might agree. I will say that I had such a great time. Not only working with Anne and Norm – and watching their wonderfully entertaining performances – but also getting to try out writing and performing a tru-ish story of my own. Such a great night. It is going to be a hard one to follow!
Better Said Than Done returns to our usual night of true, personal storytelling at The Auld Shebeen on March 30th, with “Lost and Found: stories of getting lost, missed opportunities, and finding your way.” Tickets for the March 30th show, and information on all our upcoming storytelling shows here.
Now we just need to convince Anne and Norm to move to Northern Virginia so we can have this much fun all the time! In the meantime…
Keep up to date with Anne Rutherford here.
Keep up to date with Norm Brecke here.
Keep up to date with Anne and Norm here.
And we here at Better Said Than Done will do our best to continue to entertain you with true, personal storytelling shows until they return!
