Hi Everyone,

December’s theme is “Fear Not! Stories of facing your fears.”

Many of you know that we have a little something called The Scone of Courage at Fresh Ground Stories. Before each show, I buy a scone from the cafe and give it to the first newcomer who gets onstage that night. It’s just a way for me to acknowledge how much I appreciate the courage it takes to get up in front of a group of strangers and be vulnerable.

This month’s theme is about a time when you could have given yourself a Scone of Courage. Bring a true story about a time when you faced your fears. Was it a physical fear? An emotional fear? What was at stake? Your job? Your health? Your reputation? What happened when you finally did it? What did you learn about yourself? Did it lead to facing other fears?

The older I get the more I realize that the people I love most are the ones who have faced something scary. Sometimes, when I’m feeling a little shaky about my own life, I’ll ask a friend to tell me about a time when they faced their demons. Of course, my timing is usually terrible and instead of trying to dive immediately into their soul I should probably just ask them to pass the gravy and wait until after dinner to solve my personal issues.

Luckily, you guys won’t have to worry about poor timing because we’re doing a whole show on facing your fears and the only timing you have to worry about is keeping your story under 8 minutes.

In the meantime, I might spring this question on my family. Sometimes our Thanksgiving dinners are too quiet and I’m always looking for a way to shake things up. I can’t wait to see if I can get one of the grandparents to tell a story that shocks the teenagers so much they put down their phones for a second.

No matter what happens at Thanksgiving this year, I hope to see a bunch of you on Thursday, December 14 at Roy Street Coffee and Tea.

If you bring a story, remember to keep it clean, practice out loud, and use a timer to make sure you keep it under 8 minutes. Here are the rules & guidelines to help you get started.

https://freshgroundstories.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/storytelling-rules-and-guidelines/

See you on the 14th!

Paul
freshgroundstories@gmail.com