Thanks to everyone who came out last Thursday and got out of their comfort zone. We had a great show with more first-time tellers than ever before. In fact, we had more tellers than ever before. I had to bump 11 people, plus myself, because we ran out of time.  

So I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. We’re going to do the same theme two months in a row, so those 11 people will have a chance to share their story of getting out of their comfort zone. 

Anyone who put their name in Mr. Coffee Thursday and didn’t get to tell has a guaranteed spot on next month’s November 20 show if they want it. If you can’t make next month’s show, I’ll guarantee you a spot on any future show. I had no idea that “comfort zones” would be such a popular theme!

Since I told everyone at the end of Thursday’s show that the next theme would be work, I’m going to do something else I’ve never done before. I’m going to recommend you pitch your work story to the teller who inspired the theme and runs a podcast where she interviews people who have been fired or laid off.

The podcast is called “Canned,” and you can find the most recent episodes here https://cannedpodcast.com/ or wherever you get your podcasts.

I’ve listened to a number of episodes and have enjoyed hearing how people from all walks of life dealt with losing a job and how they’re moving forward from it. I think it would be a great place to talk about how it felt to lose a job and what you learned about yourself afterward. It’s not a performance podcast, so you wouldn’t be telling an FGS-type story. You’d just be able to talk about what you went through and where you are now. There’s info on her website about how to pitch your story. She was one of our first-time tellers last week and is excited to be back and tell more with us. 

Ok, that’s enough from me. Thank you all so much for coming out last week, especially the first-time tellers who worked up the courage to walk up to the mic. I know it’s scary, and I’m grateful for all the work each one of you put into your stories. 

Write me if you have any questions (don’t reply to this since Meetup doesn’t always get replies to me). Our next free online monthly workshop is Nov 2.

https://www.meetup.com/fresh-ground-stories-storytelling-workshop/events/311509804/

Our good friends at “7 Stories” in Burien are doing their last show of the year this Friday, October 24. The suggested theme is “The One That Got Away.” Their themes are only suggestions, and you can tell a story on any topic. 

https://www.meetup.com/7-stories/events/311355203/

Hope to see you all on Nov 20!

Paul

Freshgroundstories at gmail dot com

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re all excited about tomorrow’s show. The theme is Comfort Zones – Stories of getting out of them. https://www.meetup.com/fresh-ground-stories/events/311245817

I can’t wait to hear stories of how you pushed yourself and did something you were scared to do. We all need to do that sometimes. If you’re lucky, you come back with a story.

If you need some inspiration, here is our good friend Mike Lockhart getting a standing ovation at Seattle Ignite last week. Mike told this story at FGS last year, and it was just as beautiful then. Scroll ahead to 2:05:05 to see the story he calls, “Morphine and Cheese Danish.” 

I can’t tell you how happy I am when I see one of our tellers knock it out of the park at a big show like Seattle Ignite or a Moth grand slam. A couple of hours ago, a friend and FGS regular called to tell me she just got back from telling at the Jonesborough National Storytelling Festival. When she applied to be considered, the recording she sent them was from a story she told with us a year and half ago. Jonesborough is the most prestigious storytelling festival in the country, and hard to get into. But one of us did it!  https://www.storytellingcenter.net/festival/main/

One of the reasons we get such great tellers is because we have such great audiences. Even if you never tell a story, I’m incredibly grateful that so many of you come out each month to cheer on each person who does. It means a lot to the tellers and a lot to me.

Here’s a sweet story of people coming together that reminded me of the feeling I get on the third Thursday of each month 🙂

See you all tomorrow!

Show starts at 7:00 and we’re on the top floor of the Seattle Swedish Club.

Paul

Freshgroundstories at gmail dot com

I love my comfort zone. I want to never leave it. I’m not exactly sure where it is, but it’s probably somewhere between the couch and the kitchen. That’s my happy place, on my way to one of those areas in the house.

Sadly, there are still things I want to do in life, and they all seem to exist outside my happy place. Such a paradox! I work so hard to find comfort and after about 20 minutes I’m ready to be uncomfortable again. Luckily, being uncomfortable can lead to some great stories, and that’s what were after this month. 

Come tell a story about a time when you left your comfort zone. Did you do it on purpose or was discomfort thrust upon you? Do you rush in with excitement or get dragged in against your will? Did you quit a soul-crushing job? Jump into marriage after 50 years of living on your own? Maybe you learned to drive a car in your 40’s when you left NYC and moved to Boise.

Did you conquer your fear of mice by covering yourself with peanut butter and hiding in my pantry? It might work. I have a lot of mice in there. 

Whatever you did to get out of your comfort zone, we’d love to hear about it. Or maybe you have a story about something else entirely. That’s fine too. Our themes are just suggestions designed to evoke memories. You can tell a story about anything as long as it follows our usual rules and guidelines.

Storytelling Rules and Guidelines

Remember, all stories need to have something at stake. Ask yourself what obstacle you were trying to overcome, and build the story from there. 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 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:

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, October 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:

We had money left over in Mr. Coffee last week, so I get to give away three more annual memberships to the Swedish Club 🙂

Thank you all for your generosity. It’s what keeps our show going. I put your donations right back into annual Swedish Club memberships that I give away both after the show and later in the month.

So email me directly at freshgroundstories at gmail dot com if you’d like to be on the list to get a free membership. You have until Sunday night at 6pm to get your name in. After that, I’ll roll some of my son’s D&D dice and choose three people to get an annual membership to the club that has the best view in town of Lake Union and tons of free parking.

Paul

freshgroundstories at gmail dot com

Thanks to everyone who came out to last Thursday’s show. I was thrilled to see so many first-timer tellers! They were a big part of the show that night, and I hope they all come back and become regulars. 

Once again, I am writing this without my notes so I won’t be able to talk specifically about how each story touched me. So if you missed the show, you’ll just have to believe me when I say there were a lot of magical moments on stage that night. 

We even had a surprise visit from our friend Kent Whipple from Unexpected Productions. He was there to support two of his students who had just graduated from his storytelling class. Did those students do a great job? Of course they did! There were actually three former students of his onstage that night and they all did great. Thank you, Kent, for sending such great tellers out into the world.

If you can’t wait for our next show on October 16 (theme: Comfort Zones) you can hang out in the audience with me on October 4 at the Kirkland Performing Arts Center, where I’ll be watching two of my favorite tellers, Emily Pitts and Paul Barach, do their solo shows at the very first Umbrella Fringe Festival. These two are FGS regulars, and I’m so happy to see them get spots in the Umbrella Festival doing full 45-minute shows. Tickets for both shows are free.

Paul’s show: “You Will Forget This” – A Pacific Crest Trail Journey @ 3:30 pm

Umbrella Fringe Festival

Emily’s show: Rock Paper Scissors: A Brief History and Tournament @  5pm

https://www.facebook.com/events/s/rock-paper-scissors-a-brief-hi/871149339054902/

or https://kirklandartscenter.org/kirkland-fringe-festival/

I hope some of you are working on stories for the next FGS show. I’m looking forward to hearing stories of how you got out of your comfort zones. I’ll get the official meetup invite out as soon as I can. I’m always happy to help with stories over the phone, so write me directly at freshgroundstories at gmail dot com to set up a call.

See you next month!

Paul