When The Narrators first started in Denver over six and a half years ago, storytelling shows were few and far between. There were poets and memoirists sharing true stories at open mics, and the oral traditionalists have always been around, at historical gatherings or elementary school assemblies, but personal narrative just wasn’t a common thing.
Today, Denver—along with many other cities in America—is exploding with new storytelling shows and projects. Established shows in Denver like us and Stories Stories Bring Us Your Stories, My Teenage Angst, Truth Be Told in Boulder and The Moth Story Slam in Englewood are still going strong, and there are so many new shows and events and podcasts and projects popping up that it’s tough to keep up—there’s The Raconteurs, This is My Brave, Misunderstood, We Still Like You, and we know of at least two more that will launch in the next 12 months. Here’s the best part—there’s more than enough room for all of us. Even though we’re all ostensibly doing the same thing—sharing true personal narratives—each show has its own flavor and theme and feel, it’s own attraction for both the performer and audience. All of us at The Narrators are excited about this, because it offers folks more places to share their stories and find their voice, and because it confirms what we’ve believed all along: people are longing for opportunities to build empathy, to listen and to connect.
So, today, we’re doing something a little different. We’re going to share a story from one of those newer storytelling projects in town. It’s called Unknown Caller. It’s a podcast that collects stories anonymously via voicemail—no standing behind a microphone, no spotlights, no crowd of strangers—you just call in to their hotline and start talking. Unknown Caller is the brainchild of Cory Byrom, a storytelling alum of The Narrators, Risk!, and The Iceberg in Atlanta. The podcast has published 13 episodes so far and they’re all worth a listen. You can subscribe to Unknown Caller on iTunes or SoundCloud, and find them on Facebook or Twitter (@1UnknownCaller). Let them know we sent you!
This story was originally published by Unknown Caller podcast on May 2nd 2016.
Our monthly theme for October is “Tricks”, so please join us at our live shows on Tuesday, October 11 in San Diego and Wednesday, October 19 in Denver. Check back here for more details. We’re also doing a special edition of The Narrators at Exposure, a free happy hour event, hosted by our pals at From the Hip Photo, that celebrates Denver’s diverse creative community. There will be free beer from Ratio Beerworks and a pop-up from Denver Zine Library. Join us at 5pm on October 12th at Fort Greene Tavern in Denver.
If you haven’t already, please like our page on Facebook for the most up-to-date information on all of these events and more.
