Aug 28 Show: EPIC Fails!
Save the date!
Hello, Story Friends! WOW, what an excellent July show! Shall we do it again for August? I hope you’re feeling as psyched as I am, because we have one of my favorite subjects coming up: failure. Our four esteemed storytellers are gonna take us on a ride of EPIC proportions, airing out their embarrassing, jaw-dropping, and disappointing losses, plans gone wrong, and lessons learned—if any WERE learned, that is!
Stay tuned, because we’re gonna try something new this month. Our teller spotlights are now going to include a short Q&A with each storyteller, and we’ll send those out to you once a week so you can get to know them throughout the month in preparation for the show on Aug 28th, which will be an EPIC showcase of EPIC failures culminating in an EPIC success of a night. I highly suggest you circle the date on your calendar and get your tickets now, as they are about 20% cheaper in advance.
The Four Foolish Storytellers
Tom Darci
Tom is the cofounder and cohost of Pretty Good Stories, a long-form storytelling showcase in Oakland. He’s also been featured at Simply Said, Conundrum Chronicles, StorySlam Oakland, Alameda StorySlam, and more. Tom thinks telling the same story over and over again in front of an audience just might be more therapeutic than actual therapy. When he’s not telling stories, you’ll find him on the pickleball court, knees permitting.
His Story: After surviving five days in the wilderness, the drive home seemed like the easy part. But that would not be the case for Tom and his family, nestled in their camper van, speeding down the freeway. What could go wrong, you ask? Well, how about everything?
Silvana Clark
Silvana began telling innovative stories to get a hall pass out of boring high school classes. Since then, she’s told stories to audiences ranging from the Canadian Llama Association to the Nude Recreation Association. She’s written twelve books, appeared on Fox’s Trading Spouses, and considers one of her greatest achievements to be training her dog to star in TV commercials and print ads.
Her story: Silvana and her husband are international house/pet sitters who always get five-star reviews because they do a great job taking care of pets. On a housesit in Portugal, the pet owner asked them to do an impossible task with one of her pets. They tried everything imaginable and still FAILED!
Max Houghton
Max is a writer, editor, human rights activist and multi-award-winning storyteller. He has won The Moth GrandSlam in San Francisco and has appeared on The Moth MainStage. His stories of learning through waves of epic failures entertain and inspire crowds of all ages. Follow him on Instagram @storiesToTheMax
His story: A therapist suggested Max start a new hobby to get outside and socialize. He wondered whether middle age was too late to start to learn how to skateboard, and spoiler: the answer was YES.
Kari Kiernan
Kari is a writer, storyteller, and Bay Area native. She has worked in both nonprofit theatre and high school administration and holds a Masters Degree she did not need and does not use. Over the past 20 years, she’s been onstage at Porchlight, the Throckmorton, The Vent!, and Literary Death Match, among others. She is a returning performer at Naked Truth and Redwood Nights. You can see some of her past work at Kari Kiernan.
Her story: It was just supposed to be a relaxing day at the spa. A rejuvenating act of self-care, nothing to see here, right? WRONG! (Cue the dramatic music!) Buh-bum-bummmmmmm!
Story Friends, you’re a great audience; you know that, right? We’ve been hanging with you for 1.5 years now, sharing together, listening together, showing up for each other in real life, out there in the big ol’ world. And it’s just gonna keep getting better.
EPIC Fails on August 28 is gonna be so much fun. I don’t know why it feels good to commiserate on our shortcomings and mistakes together, but it does. So let’s show up and support these brave and (fool)hardy tellers willing to go up there onstage and be our foils, our schlemiels and our schlimazels, our dum-dums, our accident-prone, and our silly-billies, all so we can listen, laugh, commiserate, and cheer them on for making the mistakes and reporting back so we don’t have to.
I can’t wait to see you in real life, humans! You KNOW I love spending two hours in the dark with you! xoxo, Amy Bee and her two silly-billy buddies, Keith and Aaron
(P.S. Speaking of Keith ((HI, KEITH!)), Nutshell is hosted by the one and only Keith Lowell Jensen, who will hold the whole night together with his usual charm and impeccable comic timing. Consider yourself in good hands.)
If you enjoy what we’re building here, one of the most helpful ways to support it is by becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps us pay storytellers, pay ourselves, keep live shows going, and continue producing the Nutshell True Story Hour podcast for everyone to enjoy. No pressure, but it truly does make a difference.
And as always: showing up, listening, and bringing friends is already real support💜