Hi All,

I hope you’re looking forward to our next show coming up Thursday. This month is our 16th anniversary. Can you believe we’ve been doing this 16 years? Our little show is a teenager going out on dates, sleeping till noon, and flunking his driver’s test. 

There are a lot of storytelling shows in Seattle now, but there were only two when we started in 2010, and only one was focused on personal stories. Does anyone remember A Guide to Visitors? As far as I know, it was the only storytelling show in Seattle devoted to personal stories before FGS. It’s the first place I ever told a story, and it changed my life forever.

When Fresh Ground Stories began in 2010 (under the name Emerald City MothUP), it picked up where A Guide to Visitors left off. AGTV was a curated show where you pitched your story idea to the producers, and if they liked it, they’d help you craft it. FGS has always been an open mic where no one, including me, knew what was going to happen each night. 

Those were exciting times. We had a fantastic showcase of stories every three months with AGTV and a place where folks could work out new stories every month at FGS. AGTV is no longer around, but we have more story shows in Seattle than we’ve ever had before. Each one is special in its own way, and I encourage all of you to check them out. 

The more places we have to share our stories, the more connected we’ll feel to each other. And feeling connected, even for just a few minutes, the length of a single story, is something we all need. 

Our theme this month is “Now and Then – Stories of the past coming back.”

https://www.meetup.com/fresh-ground-stories/events/313955585/

If you’re thinking of telling a story, here are rule and guidelines

Storytelling Rules and Guidelines

If you’d like help or feedback on a story, write me directly at freshgroundstories at gmail dot com, and we can set up a time to talk on the phone.

We also have a free monthly online workshop that’s another great place to get feedback on a story you’re working on, regardless of where you’ll be telling it.

https://www.meetup.com/fresh-ground-stories-storytelling-workshop

That’s all for now. I hope to see a bunch of you this Thursday on the top floor of the Swedish Club. We have 109 spaces of free parking! (I love saying that). I give away three annual memberships to the club at the end of each show, so be sure to put your name and email address in the Folger’s can before the show. You don’t need to be a member of the club to come to the show or tell a story, but it’s a pretty great place to hang out, and who wouldn’t want to win a free membership, right?

See you soon,

Paul

I just found out it’s been cancelled due to illness. Auntmama will reschedule as soon as everyone is healthy. You can stay updated by checking their Meetup page: https://www.meetup.com/auntmamas-new-storytable/

Auntmama (Mary Anne Mooreman) has been a great part of FGS over the years, so I always try to share her events with FGS folks. 

Hope you’re all looking forward to the next FGS show on April 16.

https://www.meetup.com/fresh-ground-stories/events/313955585/

Write me directly at freshgroundstories at gmail dot com if you have any questions 

Paul

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