It may not always feel like it, but if you’re reading this you’ve probably overcome something you thought you never would. Maybe it was escaping the house you grew up in. Maybe it was getting out from under an addiction. Maybe it was finally getting the career you always wanted after a lifetime of bad jobs. At some point, you looked up and realized what used to be a mountain was now a molehill.
Hai, one of my childhood friends, came over from Vietnam was he was a kid. I don’t know how he ended up in Alaska but he did and his family took me in when I was 17 and had nowhere to live. I never asked him what it was like leaving his home and having to learn a new language. When you’re young you don’t think about that stuff. One day you just decide you’re friends and you go off and do friend stuff.
A couple days ago Hai posted some photos of himself on Facebook. He just did a one-man show singing Dean Martin songs. How did this kid from Saigon end up in Missouri half a century later onstage doing a Dean Martin tribute show? If he lived here I’d drag him onstage and make him tell that story. I’m sure he’s never told it. After all these years I’d love to hear it.
Next month I’m going back to Alaska to visit my friend David. We’ve been friends since Cub Scouts. We ran away from home together halfway through our senior year of high school. When his mom found out we were hiding in an empty house a few miles away she pounded on the door for what seemed like hours. Boom. Boom. Boom. I’d never felt a house shake like that. We hid upstairs with the lights off as far from any window as we could. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. She’s been dead for 17 years and I can still hear her pounding on that door. I never asked David what that first call to his mom was like when he told her he wasn’t coming back. It took a lot of courage to pick up that phone. Why have I never asked him what that moment was like?
I’d love to hear a story about something you didn’t think you could do and they discovered you could do it. And did do it. And maybe it wasn’t quite as hard as you thought it would be. Yeah, I called this month’s show “mountains into molehills” but it’s ok if you want to tell a story about something that really was a mountain in your life. You should never take my themes too literally 🙂
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.
The rest of the rules and guidelines are below:
Workshops are a great way to get feedback on a story you’re working on. Here is one I highly recommend. It’s run by two wonderful storytellers who have told many times at FGS and other shows in the area:
https://www.meetup.com/Fresh-Ground-Stories-Storytelling-Workshop
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 21 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)
Paul
Freshgroundstories at gmail dot com