Late each December I buy a new scenic wall calendar for the coming year. At some point in the lull between present giving and watching the ball drop, I crack that calendar open and flip the front cover over to reveal January. There before me are thirty-one pristine, empty squares ripe with possibility, and underneath, another eleven months just like it. A clean slate.
In that spirit, at 8 P.M. this Saturday, January 22nd, Better Said Than Done brings you Clean Slate: Fresh Start Stories! Yours truly Jack Scheer is your host this time out, and it’s my honor and pleasure to present the fantastic storytellers who will offer their tales of beginning anew: Nick Baskerville, Vicki Bryan, Calvin S. Cato, Sara deBeer, Jane Dorfman, and Sharon Price Singer! You can obtain your ticket right here, right now!
In order to give our audience an introduction to our cast, I asked each of them to answer this question…
What do you do when you’re sitting down to create a brand new story?
Here is what they had to say about their process…
Nick Baskerville: I rarely have time to work on being creative. To work on stories, my process is like working on a complicated jigsaw puzzle. I jot down the initial idea. Then, over time, I go back and add a bit to it until I have enough to test out somewhere. I don’t have to have a show coming up to work on a story, just the thought of it. Whenever asked to do a show or event, I look back at stories I have started or completed to see if something fits. From there, I practice and tweak the story.
Vicki Bryan: I begin my creative process by consulting my “Story Book”. It’s a journal in which I jot down possible story ideas, memories and thoughts. Perhaps something from my childhood, a current event, something that made me giggle, or whatever crazy thing that crosses my mind or vision. When I write in the wee hours of the morning my companion is a hot, freshly brewed cup of black coffee. At night it’s a few martinis or glasses of wine to get the party started. Oh yes, and there is always music playing in the background. The rhythm of the music helps to shape the rhythm of my thoughts.
Calvin Cato: Hmmmm, well these days, what I do is I look through my journals for anything notable. And then after I have a sense memory of embarrassment over something I spent too much time thinking about, I take out a pen and paper and I go through and diagram the whole story. From there I figure out the peaks and valleys. Then I say it out loud to myself and smooth out the rough edges.
Sara deBeer: My search often begins with a collection of folktales. It feels like arriving at a cocktail party filled with people I’ve never met. I might find myself talking with one person whom I’m desperate to get away from – a story so full of problematic details that I only hope no one ever tells it. Then I meet another person whom I enjoy talking with, but I want to introduce to a friend of mine – a story they’d be thrilled to add it to their repertoire. But then comes the moment when I encounter a true kindred spirit – a story which jumps off the page and into my heart.
Jane Dorfman: Some idea comes, occasionally right before sleep. I type it and edit till I have a shaped story. I work on the ending, not for a snappy one, but to find one that completes the story. To learn it I just tell it over and over. I’ll try starting in the middle, near the end. These days I film myself and try out what part I want my hands to play, usually toning that down – tell myself I do not need a gesture for every word.
Sharon Price Singer: I usually have a story that stands out for whatever theme I am going for. I use a pen and notebook to jot down ideas and then shape them into an outline. I try to write before I go to bed to drum up memories, and I keep adding back details I’ve forgotten. I tend to leave it loose – I don’t usually write anything verbatim but just give myself cues to remember what I want to say.
Now that you know how they craft their stories, come hear the tales they’ve shaped and honed! Join us virtually via Zoom for an evening of boundless possibility. We kick things off at 8:00 P.M. EST/5:00pm PST, and it is a “pay what you can” event – with a suggested contribution of $16 and a minimum of $6. Reserve your cyber spot now!
And if you’d like to take a workshop with me, to learn how to start your next, new story, find details about our upcoming storytelling workshops and a link to REGISTER HERE.
