Whenever I choose a theme, I immediately worry that a hundred people will come out for the show, but we won’t have any tellers because the theme was either boring or too specific. I generally spend the next week worrying that I might have to come up with 90 minutes of stories to cover the time. That’s never happened, but I worry about it a lot.

If I were to tell a story about my past coming back, I might tell about the time my old babysitter found me on the internet and told me the real reason my mother was always so angry.

Or I might tell about the time I was at a conference and saw an ex five years after we broke up. I thought I was completely over her until I saw her in person. Suddenly, my mind froze, and my body took over. I was out of the conference hall and into my car in under a minute. Somehow, I found myself miles away, sitting under a tree outside a monastery, wondering how this could happen after all those years of therapy.

Or I might talk about how my brother and I recently started talking to each other after years of silence. Those texts and phone calls led to him telling me the truth about something I’d been wondering about for 40 years. If I ever share that story onstage it’ll be called, “Two Knives and a Baby.” 

Whatever story you have about the past coming back, we’d love to hear it. Remember that a story isn’t just a series of things that happened. There needs to be something at stake that you overcome in the end. 

Practice the story out loud to as many people as possible and time yourself when you’re doing it. Please don’t get onstage if you haven’t practiced your story. The audience is giving you their time and attention. It’s not fair to them if you get up there and try to wing it.

All stories have to be under eight minutes. Stories can be as short as you want, but no longer than eight minutes. Stories also have to be clean in both language and content. Send me an email if you have any questions about that.

FGS themes are just suggestions, so you can come out and tell a story about anything as long as it follows our usual rules and guidelines.

Storytelling Rules and Guidelines

Our free monthly online workshop is a great place to get feedback on your story. 

https://www.meetup.com/Fresh-Ground-Stories-Storytelling-Workshop/

I’m also happy to help anyone with a story they’re working on. Email me, and we can set up a phone call.

See you Thursday, April 16, at 7 pm on the top floor of the Seattle Swedish Club, 1920 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109

Paul
Freshgroundstories at gmail dot com

If you were at the show last Thursday, you know we wrapped up the night with a story by Mary Anne Mooreman about going to a state fair as a little girl in Virginia 70 years ago. We were absolutely hypnotized by her performance. 

I’ve been running FGS since 2010, and I’ve never seen anyone like Mary Anne (who goes by the stage name Auntmama). If you were there that night and want to hear more Auntmama stories, meet me in Belltown next Thursday. She’s bringing back the show I met her at years ago called Auntmama’s Storytable. 

She’ll have three other amazing tellers and writers with her that night, as well as the Go Janes, a wonderful three-piece band I’ve seen many times. Click on the link below to get more info on the show and hopefully join her Meetup group so you get future invites.

https://www.meetup.com/auntmamas-new-storytable/

If you were inspired by our show last Thursday and want to hear more stories or even tell one of your own, there are two great shows coming up this week.

Artist’s Way Workshop (Monday the 23rd)

https://www.meetup.com/the-artists-way-accountability/events/313466865/

7 Stories in Burien (Friday the 27th)

https://www.meetup.com/7-stories/events/313643444/

I had enough left over in Mr. Coffee Thursday to give away two more Swedish Club memberships, so I’ll be writing those folks soon. Thank you so much for your generosity.

If you’re wondering why you’d want to become a member of the Swedish Club, I have two words for you: ABBA Night. Yes, it’s finally here, an evening of ABBA songs on April 24th from the PNW’s premier ABBA tribute band, ABBAgraphs.

If you’re a Swedish Club member, you should have gotten an email letting you know you can buy early-bird tickets at a discount until March 31. If you’re not a member, tickets go on sale soon.

https://www.swedishclubnw.org/program-calendar/abba-night-mhjn5

I just got my tickets, so you’ll see me and Marni there on the 24th. She’s never seen me dance. I’ve never seen her dance. Come see if the relationship can handle it.

I’ll send out my usual thank-you email next week, as well as the invite for our next show on April 16th. The theme is “Now and Then: Stories of the past coming back.”

See you on the 16th!

Paul

Freshgroundstories at gmail dot com

Another great storytelling workshop is about to kick off with the first class starting this Saturday. It’s taught by the amazing Kent Whipple at Unexpected Productions.

Starting March 21st, He’s running his 8-week Creating Stage-Worthy Personal Stories Workshop at the Market Theater in Pike Place Market. Small group, hands-on, and by the end, every student will have a polished story ready for a live audience.

If you know someone who has been sitting on a story they don’t quite know how to shape yet, this class is for them. There are only five spots left so click this link ASAP.

$285. Saturdays 3-5pm. March 21 through May 9.

If this Saturday is too soon to decide, Joanna Demarest, another great teller is holding a workshop in May. Both of these folks have been telling and teaching for many years and I guarantee you will be a better teller for taking one of these classes.

Oral storytelling workshop at Hugo House now open!

See you all at FGS Thursday!

Paul

Freshgroundstories at gmail dot com

I just got great news from the Folklife festival. Seven of the eight tellers booked to perform at their storyslam are from FGS! Some of the best tellers in the PNW come through our doors, and I’m always happy to see them shining on different stages in front of bigger audiences. I’ll send out a link for tickets when I get that info.

Folklife
Friday, May 22^nd – 6pm-8pm  –  StorySlam in Center Theater
Theme: Ubuntu/Belonging
Paul Barach
Jeff Birsall
Robert McPhail
Saloni Singh
Tracey Croisier
Mike Lockhart
Tom Rawson
Joanna Demarest
MC – Paul Currington

Our next show is coming up this Thursday. I hope a bunch of you bring stories to share. The theme is, “Better late than never.” 

https://www.meetup.com/fresh-ground-stories/events/313577252

Earlier today, I drove up to Tacoma to have coffee with a friend and regular teller at our show. I told her I had a story that would fit perfectly with this month’s theme, but couldn’t get a handle on what it was about. It’s close to being done, but there’s something about this story that I can’t get a handle on. We weren’t able to figure that out over coffee, but she asked some good questions, and I think I’m on the right track now. 

Never waste an opportunity to try out a story on a friend. Stories aren’t stories until they’re told, and it’s in the telling that we find ways to make them better. With a little luck and a lot of work, I’ll have this new story ready for the April show.

In the meantime, here’s a story I love from the Seattle Moth. When I saw it a few years ago, I asked the woman to tell it at our show. She did, and I loved it even more when I heard it live. Thank you, Cindy, for sharing it one more time with us.

See you Thursday! Write me directly if you want help on a story.

Paul

freshgroundstories@gmail.com

Hi Everyone,

One of our regular tellers just confirmed that she’s holding a five-session, in-person storytelling workshop at Hugo House. Joanna Demarest has been telling stories and holding workshops for over 30 years, so she has a lot of experience to pull from. 

She’s also the Northwest Folklife Festival’s Storytelling Community Coordinator and was 100% responsible for getting them to do a personal storytelling show this year where you’re going to see some familiar faces performing.

So if you want to learn from one of the most experienced storytellers in the PNW, get yourself to the registration page!

The Art of Oral Storytelling Workshop at Hugo House at 1634 11th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122.  Only 20 spots are available.

The Art of Oral Storytelling

Day of Week: Thursdays

Start Date: 5/7/2026

End Date: 6/4/2026  

Time: 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM Pacific Time 

Number of Sessions: 5

Format: In Person 

The next FGS show is March 19. The theme is “Better late than never.”

Hope to see you there 🙂

Paul

Freshgroundstories at gmail dot com