Tag: Ru Johnson

  • We’re taking over the Denver Art Museum this Friday.

    We’re taking over the Denver Art Museum this Friday.

    FRIDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2018, DENVER ART MUSEUM, 6-10PM:

    For one night only, The Narrators are taking over all four floors of the Denver Art Museum’s Hamilton Building. In collaboration with Denver Zine Library, From the Hip Photo, FUNK CLUB, and the Denver Art Museum‘s Adult Programs, we’re excited to present Untitled: The Narrators!

    This special evening will explore the interplay between visual art and true stories, and play with three different levels of storytelling – the stories we share with others, stories we keep to ourselves, and the dialogues that bind us together.

    The event will include three live performances featuring true stories from The Narrators’ performers and Denver Art Museum staff; live illustrations by comic book artists Lonnie MF Allen and Brian Essig-Peppard; a zine-making workshop with Denver Zine Library; a photo story presented by Nina de Zayas, founder of From the Hip Photo; a dance party with DJ Jason Heller of FUNK CLUB;  memory-based audio tours; interactive exhibits where visitors can share or destroy their own stories, featuring illustrations by artist Jackie Hay; listening stations featuring favorite clips from The Narrators podcast; and much more.

    Live performance schedule:

    6:30pm, Level 4 galleries (Stampede)
    Featuring actor Heather Nicolson Hughes, Mortified Denver producer David Blatt and DAM Interpretive Specialist Ann Lambson

    7:30pm, Level 3 galleries (Stampede)
    Featuring entrepreneur and writer Ru Johnson, DAM employee Laura Wingate and DAM Interpretive Specialist Heather Nielsen

    8:30pm, Level 2, Western galleries
    Featuring comedian Rachel Weeks, writer R. Alan Brooks and DAM Interpretive Specialist Molly Medakovich

    Hosted by Ron S. Doyle and Sydney Crain. All activities are free with museum admission. There will be a cash bar on site and hugs available by request. For the latest information, please visit our Facebook event page.

  • This Wednesday in Denver: “CREEPS”

    This Wednesday in Denver: “CREEPS”

    BUNTPORT THEATER, DENVER, 21 OCTOBER 2015 at 8:00PM:

    The heebie-jeebies. The willies. The landmark pop singles by Radiohead and TLC. The shakes. The chills. The American military industrial complex. The pins and needles. The creepy-crawlies. Gamergate. The ants in your pants. The goose-flesh shivers. You get the idea. Please join us for a night filled with “Creeps,” told by our reassuringly non-creepy lineup of stellar storytellers:

    …and your host, Erin Rollman, telepathically raising the hair on the back of your neck. We’ll have beer and wine available for donation (CASH ONLY). See you there!

    717 Lipan Street
    DENVER

     

  • The Narrators with a Full Freaking Chamber Orchestra.

    MSCO-Narrators-2015-poster1If you are one of the millions of people who have attended one of our shows and thought “I like this story, but it sure would be embettered if it had a 35-piece chamber orchestra providing some sweet orchestral jams to jack it up some,” you are in luck.

    Our next big collaboration is just a couple of weeks away, and tickets are on sale now to see The Narrators perform with the Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra in a show called Two-Way Street. MSCO and The Narrators traded music and stories, respectively, for each group of performers to respond to and the result will be an evening of true stories and majestic orchestral soundtracking!

    There are two chances to see Two-Way Street: Friday April 24th 7:30pm at Augustana Lutheran Church, and Saturday April 25th 8:00pm at the McNichols Civic Center Building as part of the Denver Music Summit. As a side note, if you are a musician or support the music scene in Denver, you should really check out ALL of the amazing programming that the Denver Music Summit is providing that weekend. We are proud to be partnering with them for a second year in a row, and we are THRILLED to be collaborating with the Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra.

    We’ve assembled a truly spectacular lineup of storytellers for this show. Here’s the run-down:

    headshotLaura Bond writes stories and essays, some of them true, as well as blurbs, quips, and hashtags. A former editor and staff writer with Westword, Laura has written for Rolling Stone, USAA, and Spin, among others. She was the 2012 recipient of the Alice Maxine Bowie Fellowship for Fiction from Lighthouse Writers Workshop, where she takes and teaches classes. Laura recently served as Director of Media Relations for the Colorado Symphony; now, she operates Laura Bond, Ink., a communications firm for non-profit and arts organizations, and sometimes works on a middle-grade novel in progress.
    ru johnson headshotRu Johnson is a writer, creative and arts advocate whose works have appeared in Denver Westword and most recently in The Denver Post where she writes regularly. Johnson owns a start-up called Roux Black Consulting that is designed to produce highly attended events and boutique creative consulting for top brands and newly established companies. She loves nail polish, ball gowns and the written word.
    Graham_headshot2Ellen K. Graham is a Denver writer.  As a playwright, she has worked with many theatre companies in the Denver area, including the Edge, Paragon, and the Denver Center.  She has received a Westword Best of Denver award, two Henry award nominations, and has been a finalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, the Shakespeare’s Sister Fellowship, and the Global Age Project.  She is the founder of the theatrical production company Feral Assembly and a co-founder of Shocking Beyond Belief! Films.
    headshot polka dotsTimmi Lasley is the host of multiple shows in Denver including: Epilogue Comedy – an alt showcase in a punk rock bookstore, and The Comedy RoomRoom which has both a monthly showcase and a popular weekly open mic. She was once described as “the raw nerve of Denver comedy.” Her mother thinks she’s very talented.
    1527125_10204909965369555_3110764422472697900_nRobert Rutherford is a writer, musician, and former co-host of The Narrators in Denver. Robert has built a career out of storytelling, from his work in the museum world as an educator and multimedia producer to his work with The Narrators. His writing has appeared in the Onion’s AV Club, The Donnybrook Writing Academy, and Birdy. He is currently working on launching a chapter of The Narrators show in San Diego.
    RonDoyle-Manger-Sept2012-350px-squareRon S. Doyle is the co-host of The Narrators Denver and long-time producer and champion of podcasting in Denver. He is a former at-risk school teacher and administrator who now runs a creative communications agency, Waterday Media, and wrangles two precocious daughters with his wife in southeast Denver.
    We hope to see you there!
  • 53: Number Two, Part 1

    53: Number Two, Part 1

    This episode, the first of a two-part series on the theme “Number Two,” features stories from writer and entrepreneur Ru Johnson and comedian Ben Roy. These stories were recorded live at Buntport Theater on October 15, 2014.

    Our next live show takes place on January 21, 2015 at 8:00pm—the theme of the evening will be “Self Help.” See you there!

    Our theme music is by our friend Whalehawk (aka the Grammy-nominated musician Jake Sanders).

  • TONIGHT!! The Narrators on GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!

    Normals and Weirdos –

    Tonight we celebrate the end of our run at the Deer Pile with one last show at the venue that helped us in no small way to become what we are today!  Or theme is Girls! Girls! Girls! and we’ve assembled a lineup of some of The Narrators’ best storytellers, peppered with a few newcomers.  Here are the details:

    Jefferson Bare is the curator and host of Bare!, monthly in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. A sex educator and writer, Jefferson keeps a pseudonymous blog, One Life, Take Two, that details his life as a parent and pervert. He is a storyteller frequently seen on stages around New York and elsewhere, including The Moth, where he is a StorySlam winner. He is also host of Foreplay! A Sexy Storytelling Open Mic, biweekly in New York.

    Edwin Forrest Ward is a cornerstone of the Denver literary scene, and is also the host of Stories Stories Bring Your Stories, our sister Denver storytelling show at the Mercury Cafe’. Stories Stories Bring your Stories happens the fourth Tuesday of every month.

    Taylor Gonda is a longtime contributor to The Narrators and co-host of award-winning podcast These Things Matter, where she and co-host Kevin O’Brien ply the depths of our pop-cultural obsessions.

    Julia Wilson sings in several Denver-based jazz, blues, and soul groups, including Westbrook Jazz, which started in Detroit in the 1960s.

    Cory Casciato is nerd royalty in Denver.  He is a former editor of the Onion AV Club, a current writer for Westword, and creator of undead-obsessed website The Inevitable Zombie Apocalypse.

    Francie Swidler is a contributor to Mile High Style for The Denver Post and Geeks Who Drink quizmaster.

    Ian O’Dougherty has been playing in Denver bands for over twenty years, and has a long resume that includes tenures in some amazing bands, including Uphollow, The Ian Cooke Band, TaunTaun, and more.  Ian is also a strong advocate for arts in Denver and is currently co-producing a series of full-album cover shows called Under the Cover.

    Ru Johnson is a writer, arts advocate and nail polish enthusiast. Ru writes for a metric shit-ton of media outlets.  JFGI and see how she owns this town.

    8PM at THE DEER PILE.  FREE AS THE AIR YOU BREATHE, UNLESS YOU’RE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO BUYS THOSE AEROSOL CANS OF AIR TO BREATHE, IN WHICH CASE WE’D LIKE TO CHARGE YOU 10 BUCKS.  See you there, darlings.

  • 24: Heat, Part 1

    24: Heat, Part 1

    The theme for our August show was “Heat”, a celebration and a damnation of the fact that our beloved venue The Deer Pile is hotter than a freshly frenched fox in a forest fire during our shows. Part 1 of this show features true stories from writer/arts advocate/nail polish enthusiast Ru Johnson and The Narrators co-host Andrew Orvedahl. These stories were recorded at The Deer Pile on August 15th, 2013 by our good friends at The Denver Diatribe.

    The intro and outro music was produced and graciously provided by Sans Seruf, and you can find more slick beats for your earholes over at his bandcamp page.

    Our next show is coming up on September 19th and the theme will be “DIIIIICKS” We’ll be posting details about our great lineup as the date looms a little closer.

    Thanks for listening!