≈ Comments Off on FGS: Rising to the Occasion – Stories of doing what you didn’t think you could
April’s theme is “Rising to the Occasion – Stories of doing what you didn’t think you could.” Did you leave your hometown and move to the city of your dreams? Did you end up in the job you dreamed of as a kid? Did you stop a robbery? Swim the English Channel? Maybe you asked out someone you know you didn’t have a chance with. That counts!
Come out on the 17th and tell a story about surprising yourself. It doesn’t have to be something big. It could be about killing a spider after a lifetime of arachnophobia. All a story needs is a beginning, a middle, an end, and something at stake. Start with the moment when you realized you actually did it. Build the story out from there.
Remember to practice your story out loud on 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 8 minutes. Stories can be as short as you want but not over 8 minutes. Stories also have to be clean in both language and content. Send me an email if you have any questions about that.
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 on Thursday, April 17, at 7 pm at a new location this month, the Seattle Swedish Club at 1920 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 (Remember, no non-kosher food in the building.)
Holy cow, what a night! We had over 90 people in the audience, and 16 people walk up to the mic to tell a story. I think that’s a new record for the number of stories we’ve had. Thanks so much to everyone who told and everyone who came out to support them. Most of us practice our stories alone in the car or pacing the living room in front of a confused pet. It means a lot when we finally get onstage and see so many people rooting for us.
I usually write a long thank you/wrap-up after each show where I talk a little bit about each story and what I loved about it. I often have to re-listen to the show to make sure I get the details right. I can’t do that his month because the show went so long that it would take me a week to give every story the number of words it deserves.
So I’ll start by just thanking everyone who told a story that night: David, Sean, Carmen, Brian, Kate, Bob, Colleen, Jeff, Todd, Nick, and Jamie. Extra special thanks to our first-timer tellers: Karin, Linda, Douglas, and Debbie. I also told a story that night and will post a link to it at the end of this email. I don’t think I’ve ever done that but enough people asked me about the cell phone I talk about in the story that I figure I should share the story and the name of the phone.
One important thing I was reminded of that night was the importance of keeping the show to a manageable length. We haven’t had this many tellers since before Covid, and I haven’t had to bump anyone to a future show in a long time. But two hours is too long. So, in the future, I’m going back to what I used to do pre-2020. If the show hits 90 minutes, I’ll end the show then and give each person who didn’t get to tell my sworn promise that they can tell their story at any future FGS, no matter what the theme is. And if I bumped you last month, I promise you won’t get bumped next month. Just remind me before the show, and I will guarantee you a spot on that night’s show.
I know how hard everyone works on their stories and I want you to know I value that. I’ve been bumped countless times from shows, and I’ve bumped my son more than anyone else when a show runs long. So I know how what it feels like to drive home without sharing a story you spent all month working on. But 90 minutes seems to be the perfect length for us, and I need to make sure we don’t need a vitamin B shot to get home after the end of it.
Thanks again to everyone who came out. We heard a lot of stories we would never have heard anywhere else. and hopefully talked to people we would never have met anywhere else. That’s the real beauty of FGS. If this was just a night of free entertainment, I would have stopped a long time ago. It’s the people I get to talk to before and after the show that keep me coming back. Next month will be our 15th year. I’ve made a lot of friends through this show and felt a lot less alone over the years because of that. I hope if you’re reading this and haven’t been to a show yet that you’ll come hang out with us sometime soon. You don’t have to tell a story. Just come out and listen and if someone shared a story that touched you, tell them afterward. It will mean a lot to them and a lot to you, too.
I hope to see you at our show next month on April 17. The theme is “Doing what you didn’t think you could.” I’ll get the invite out this weekend.
Don’t forget about our free monthly online workshop. It’s a great place to get feedback on a story you’re working on:
I’m also happy to work on stories with you. Write me directly at freshgroundstories at gmail dot com and we can set up a time to talk on the phone. These calls are a highlight of my week, so don’t be shy about asking for help.
Here’s the story I told at the show last week about my Starbucks cell phone adventure:
The name of the phone I buy at the end is called Sleke. I don’t want to leave a link here because it feels like I’m trying to sell you something. But if you’re curious after hearing the story, you can Google it and see what I’m getting. It should arrive in a week or two. I’m not affiliated with them in any way. I just had a great experience talking to the young man who helped create the phone.
One last plug!
I worked on my story at two wonderful open mic story shows in the area. 7 Stories and Bar Stories Live. I always have a great time at these shows, and they’re run by really sweet people. Give’em a shot if you’re free some night 🙂
≈ Comments Off on See you this Thursday! Frienship is the theme but all stories are welcome this month :)
Hi Everyone,
I’m looking forward to our show this Thursday. I’m working on my own story and hope to have it in good enough shape to share. This month’s theme is “Connection – Stories of friendship” but if you have a story about anything else we’d love to hear it.
Every month has a theme but sometimes I go ahead and open the show up to any story that follows our usual rules. So that’s what I’m doing this month. Let’s just fill the night with stories 🙂
Here are the rules and guidelines if you haven’t seen them in a while:
≈ Comments Off on FGS: Connection – Stories of friendship
I’ve had a lot of adventures in my life and almost all of them have been with friends. Some of them were people who became friends during the adventure and some of them became ex-friends after the adventure. Have you ever been friends with someone who was completely unlike you? My stepmother Betty used to call those couples Mutt and Jeff.
When I was 20, my buddy Chuck yelled at a guy who was about to punch me in the face, “Nobody hits my friends!” Two seconds later that guy was on the ground looking for his teeth. I haven’t seen Chuck since I moved to Washington in 1995 but he’s one of the people I hope is at my funeral.
My buddy Mark and I spend as much time laughing about old adventures as we do trying to find new ones. I remember feeling terrible as I helped him move out of his house after his wife left him. A month later, my long-term girlfriend left me. For the next six months, I went over to Mark’s dingy apartment twice a week to watch The Wire. That’s how we both recovered from breakups we never thought would happen.
If I find myself on some adventure without a friend I guarantee you I’ll be calling one as soon as it’s over to tell them about it. And adventure is only half over if you haven’t told anyone about it. Sometimes I think a friendship isn’t over until you’ve talked about it with another friend.
March’s theme is “Connections – Stories of friendship.” Come tell a story about making a friend, losing a friend, relying on a friend, an adventure with friends, or anything else around friends or friendship.
Remember to practice your story out loud on 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 8 minutes. Stories can be as short as you want but not over 8 minutes. Stories also have to be clean in both language and content. Send me an email if you have any questions about that.
I’m also happy to help anyone with a story they’re working on. Send me an email and we can set up a phone call.
See you on Thursday, March 20, at 7 pm, at the Chabad of Queen Anne – Magnolia. 1825 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109 (Remember, no non-kosher food in the building)
Fresh Ground Stories 