July 31: Best In Show
Five loveable storytellers share stories about our relationship with animals
We, the Nutshell Three, absolutely love our animals, and we bet you do too. So why not have an evening of storytelling about our animals and all the strange and beautiful ways we’re connected to them?
This month’s theme is Best in Show: true stories about the animals in our lives. Not just the cuddly-wuddly Instagram versions. The real ones: complicated, convoluted, funny, and sometimes tragic. Often, the relationships we form with animals teach us more about ourselves than the human ones do.
There’s a reason animal stories hit different than most stories. We don’t just love our animals; we build entire emotional worlds around them. We project, we assume, we grieve them before they’re even gone—and sometimes, like storyteller Manuel, we don’t trust them at all. And somehow, that one-sidedness is exactly what makes the bond so specific, so revealing, and so occasionally devastating.
These are stories about what we do with that love (or distrust) that can’t be easily explained. About the unexpected joy that comes from sharing the tedium of daily life with a creature who lives entirely in the moment. About the loss that blindsides you harder than you predicted, because you didn’t know how much of yourself you’d handed to something with fur (or feathers). In these stories, a duck named Luna can carry an entire love story, a stray cat can define a decade, a pet shelter can be a secret, and sometimes, you meet the one dog that makes sure you’ll never tie yourself to an animal again.
The Storytellers
Chip Powell writes memoir, music essays, and poetry, and serves as Storyteller in Residence at Word of Mouth in Placerville. A regular at The Moth’s StorySLAM, he’s also the proprietor of Police Horse, a ukulele enthusiast, and a man permanently mid-improvement on his chess game.
His story: A stray black cat with more toes than seem physically reasonable found Chip on the worst day of his life. Pure stubbornness (his and the cat’s) has kept them together for years. Come hear about a man and his best friend, who just happens to be a tiny, yellow-eyed panther.
Diane Amos is a San Francisco-based actress, improv artist, and comedian best known as “The Pine-Sol Lady,” a role she has held for over 30 years. Her film credits include Nine Months, Copycat, Angels in the Outfield, and Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine. She was raised in San Francisco by two lesbian mothers, and it was an improv class at Washington High School that started the whole thing.
Her story: This is the story of the one dog that made sure Diane would never be a pet person.
Zai Gulmohar is a writer, filmmaker, and storyteller whose work explores migration, memory, ecology, and the bonds between humans and other animals. Originally from India and now based in California, she holds a PhD in French Literature from UC Davis and is currently directing a documentary on sound and belonging in western India. Her stories have appeared in print, onstage, and around campfires.
Her story: Zai befriends a beautiful white duck named Luna and becomes wrapped up in the dramas of her life—her romances, her obstacles, and one tragic night that shakes Zai to this day.
Manuel Camacho came to the US as an undocumented immigrant and is now a college professor, short-story writer, poet, and storyteller with three published bilingual (Spanish/English) books to his name.
His story: everyone assumes he doesn’t like dogs. It’s not that; he doesn’t trust them, and there’s a difference. Come find out why.
JP Frary (special guest) never thought he’d end up on a stage. In his mid-50s, he told a story at The Moth about the worst thing that ever happened to him, and now no one can shut him up. He says storytelling is cheaper than therapy, and plus, the therapist never applauded. He’s the Resident Storyteller at Redwood Nights in Fairfax and a 13-time Moth StorySLAM winner.
His story: he and his wife agreed: no more pets. So naturally, JP started secretly volunteering at a pet shelter.
Nutshell is hosted by the one and only Keith Lowell Jensen [HI KEITH!], who will hold the whole beautiful night together with his usual charm and impeccable comic timing. Consider yourself in good hands.
Why you should be at this show:
Here’s what I know about our audience: you are curious, you are open-hearted, and you understand that showing up in real life, in a room with other humans, listening together, is one of the few things that still feels like genuine connection in this world.
That exchange, that quiet, mutual act of showing up, is special. It’s magical! And when it happens, you feel it for days. That’s what you come for. That’s what you carry home. That’s what you’re still thinking about on Monday.
This is one of those nights. Don’t be the person who meant to go. There are no regrets in going!
🎟️ Tickets are here—cheaper in advance, and seats will go early!
I can’t WAIT to see you at this one, humans! You know how much I LOVE seeing you in real life.
xoxo, Maxi the dog’s one and only Amy Bee, Marmalade and Jabberwocky’s Keith Lowell Jensen, and Maxi the dog’s favorite dude, Aaron Carnes)
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💜
(You’re receiving this email because you either signed up for it or interacted somehow with Keith, Amy, or Aaron in the past. We’re so glad you’re here!)