Blog

  • 96: Rae Moore, “Real School”

    96: Rae Moore, “Real School”

    This week’s story comes from Rae Moore, who shares a lovely story of growing up as a home-schooled child with her three siblings. Rae’s story was recorded live on February 17th at Buntport Theater in Denver, Colorado and the theme of the evening was “DIY or DIE.”

    A few upcoming events: A Moment of Truth, our special all-improvised storytelling collaboration with Finest City Improv, is this Saturday, 23 April in San Diego, so be sure to grab your tickets at finestcityimprov.com. In Denver, we are teaming up with the Forum Stories and the Misunderstood podcast on 14 May for a special evening entitled Totally Normal, where The Narrators favorites like Timmi Lasley and Debbie Scheer will be sharing stories about the humanity, humor and totally ordinary world of mental health.

    And, right now at Buntport Theater in Denver, our beloved co-host Erin Rollman is doing a solo one-act play entitled The Rembrandt Room. We don’t typically promote Buntport’s  shows on our podcast, since they are works of fiction, but this one is really special. It feels like something you’d see at The Narrators—a smart, funny and surprisingly personal story told by the most peculiar museum docent in the world. Erin puts on an incredible performance, one that cannot be missed. Make your reservations now at buntport.com.

    If you haven’t already, please like our page on Facebook to stay up to date on all of these events and more.

  • 95: Joe Holland, “There, Not There”

    95: Joe Holland, “There, Not There”

    Today’s story comes to you from San Diego writer Joe Holland, recorded live on 8 March 2016 at Tiger!Tiger! Tavern in San Diego, California; the theme of the evening was “Ouch.”

    Thanks to everyone who came out to our 6th anniversary show at Buntport Theater in Denver this month. We are incredibly grateful for the support of our storytellers and our audience, both of which surprise us every month by the depth of their humanity, their humor and strength. We look forward to spending six more years with you.

    A special thanks also to the good folks who came out to our new monthly show in collaboration with Finest City Improv in San Diego. Moment of Truth made its debut on March 18th and we had a blast working with the audience to develop themes that volunteers would choose at random and improvise a five-minute true story around. It was exhilarating!

    Our regular April shows will be turning to the theme of “All is Fair…” and we have a few special collaborations coming down the pipe, so keep an eye out for details.

  • 94: Diana Dresser, “Creepier than ghosts”

    94: Diana Dresser, “Creepier than ghosts”

    Today’s story is by actor, director, and choreographer Diana Dresser. Head’s up: This story is about a stalker, so it could be a trigger for folks who have experienced stalker-related trauma. Diana’s story was recorded live on October 21, 2015 at Buntport Theater in Denver, Colorado; the theme of the evening was “Creeps.”

    Also, there’s an illustrated teaser of this week’s story in Issue #28 of Birdy Magazine, so if you live in Denver, be sure to grab a copy while it’s still on the newsstands. Special thanks to Chrissy and Johnny and everyone else at Birdy magazine for including us—and a super-duper special thanks to the illustrator, Jackie Hay, and our intern Sydney Crain for making this collaboration happen.

  • 93: Ellen Wright & Laurel Posakony, “On My Own But Never Alone”

    93: Ellen Wright & Laurel Posakony, “On My Own But Never Alone”

    We always struggle choosing which stories to share on the podcast, since we cannot post them all. But we found these two stories to be so complimentary, that we decided to play them together. These stories, told on the theme “DIY or Die”, reveal the inner lives of two unique women doing something they are afraid of. They embody the punk rock ethos of do it yourself, but with the unspoken caveat, never alone. I was struck by their courage and their vulnerability. I hope you are too. These stories, the first told by Ellen Wright, the second by Laurel Posakony, were recorded on 9 February 2016 at Tiger!Tiger! Tavern in San Diego.

    I’m excited to announce collaboration between the Narrators San Diego and Finest City Improv on a monthly show starting Saturday, March 19th called Moment of Truth. Moment of Truth will be improvised 5 minute stories told on themes chosen by the audience at Finest City Improv. If you haven’t been there, Finest City is located in the Lafayette Hotel on beautiful El Cajon Blvd. Tickets and more information can be found at www.finestcityimprov.com

    As always, the San Diego Narrators show will happen on the second Tuesday of the month, 8 March, at Tiger! Tiger! Tavern in North Park. The theme is “Ouch!” and it might just be our best line-up of story tellers yet. Even more exciting is the Denver show, happening Wednesday, 16 March Buntport Theater. This will be the 6th Anniversay of The Narrators and will feature Andrew Orvedahl, the show’s creator, Robert Rutherford, and many more Denver favorites. Come celebrate with us!

    Check out our Events page to get the latest news on upcoming shows and the themes for all of our 2016 shows.

  • 92: Adam Cayton-Holland, “Ice Skating into Guantanamo”

    92: Adam Cayton-Holland, “Ice Skating into Guantanamo”

    Today’s story comes from Adam Cayton-Holland. Adam has been performing at The Narrators since the very beginning and we’re always thrilled when he’s able to share a story. He’s one-third of the comedy group The Grawlix, the masterminds behind the new hit comedy series Those Who Can’t on TruTV. This story was recorded live on 16 December 2015 at Buntport Theater in Denver, Colorado; the theme of the evening was “Siblings.”

    Thanks so much to everyone who came out to Su Teatro last Sunday for our special collaboration with Stories on Stage. Standing ovations feel pretty darned good.

    Our next shows will take place on 8 March 2016 at Tiger!Tiger! Tavern in San Diego and 16 March 2016 at Buntport Theater in Denver, Colorado. The theme for both shows is “Ouch” and Denver will be celebrating its sixth anniversary with a super special show starting at 7pm. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and our website for more details.

  • Sunday in Denver: “True Story,” a special collaboration with Stories on Stage

    Sunday in Denver: “True Story,” a special collaboration with Stories on Stage

    truestory1Sunday, 21 February 2016 at Su Teatro Cultural & Performing Arts Center:

    We’re teaming up with our pals at Stories on Stage for a special performance of true tales, featuring some of The Narrators’ favorite storytellers—Janae Burris, Timmy Lasley, and Greg Salvesen—who will share a few of their best stories from our show. Think of it as a special Greatest Hits edition of The Narrators. Stories on Stage has also brought along Kevin Kling, a playwright and storyteller best known for his essays on NPR’s All Things Considered, to complete the package. Co-hosts Erin Rollman and Ron Doyle will be hosting both shows.

    There will be an afternoon matinee show at 1:30pm and an evening performance at 6:30pm.

    To buy tickets, please visit StoriesOnStage.org. Use the code NARRATORS at checkout for $8 off each ticket!

    721 Santa Fe Drive
    Denver, CO 80204
    www.suteatro.org
    (303) 296-0219

    The storytellers:

    timmi-lasleyTimmi Lasley is the host of Epilogue Comedy — a showcase in a punk rock book store. she was the winner of Comedy Works Funny Final Four competition in 2015, which gave her the opportunity to share the stage co-hosting at Comedy Works with Dave Chappelle. Festival credits include: High Plains Comedy Fest 2013, ’14 and ’15; Underground Music Showcase and CROM Fest 2015. She has become an accomplished storyteller and can be seen hosting Denver’s Moth Story Slam, or writing and producing original plays.
    greg-salvesen2Greg Salvesen is a perpetual astronomy graduate student studying black holes at the University of Colorado Boulder.  He’s applying for real jobs right now, but has never had one before.  Greg also enjoys running long distance races, particularly those of 100 miles or more.  He was the winner—and only finisher—of the first ever Infinitus 888, a 10-day, 551-mile footrace in Vermont. Oh, he likes jigsaw puzzles, too, but who doesn’t?
    janae-burrisJanae Burris is a comedian, writer and actor as well as a graduate of California Institute of the Arts, School of Theater. While in Los Angeles Janae performed in dozens of stage plays and  was a member of the critically acclaimed City Garage Theater. She has performed and taught improv and stand up comedy for almost a decade, but in the last eighteen months has become a staple in the densely talented Denver comedy community. Janae grabbed the runner up spot at the 2015 Comedy Works New Faces Contest. Her recent promotion to “Regular” at CW has given her the opportunity to open and feature for some of the nation’s funniest comedians including Ben Roy, Josh Blue and The Sklar Brothers. Janae can be seen weekly performing at both Comedy Works Denver locations and throughout the front range. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @negativenegro.
    kevin-klingKevin Kling is best known for his popular commentaries on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and his storytelling stage shows like Tales from the Charred Underbelly of the Yule Log. Kling’s autobiographical tales are as enchanting as they are true to life: hopping freight trains, getting hit by lightning, performing his banned play in Czechoslovakia, growing up in Minnesota, and eating things before knowing what they are. He continues to write plays and stories in a rigorous fashion, and travels around the globe to numerous storytelling festivals, residencies, and has been invited to perform the acclaimed National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN for several years. Kevin has released a number of compact disc collections of his stories and has published three books, The Dog Says How, Holiday Inn and Big Little Brother.