Keith Staten is a Sacramento lawyer turned storyteller. But before he ever got on stage (or presented a convincing case to a jury), he spent his days “sigging.” As a kid in Vallejo, he and his friends would sling insults back and forth, supposedly in fun, though it could also be mean and hurtful. If you wanted to keep hanging with this crew, you had to develop a thick skin and hone a sharp tongue. Which is exactly what Keith did, and it served him well as a lawyer years later.
But not everyone took to sigging. Rita, Keith’s sibling, stayed at Keith’s family home for a while. Because she had to walk home with Keith and his friends, she soon became deeply enmeshed in the game of sigging, whether she wanted to or not. And when his friends piled on Rita with insults about her weight, Keith felt it was in his best interest to join in.
Keith told this story at the In a Nutshell Storytelling “All You Can Eat” show. It was a powerful and blunt performance, and at times the audience was asked to confront their own biases and consider whether it’s good or bad to be toughened up by insults.
After the story, we talked to Keith at his lawyer’s office. We had a fascinating conversation, and he explained the context and shared some pieces of the story that had been intentionally left out.
The Nutshell Three:
Sound Engineer: Chris Reeves
Thank you to:
DJ Yuma Tripp for allowing us to use his song “Lazy Skank” for our episodes and our live show.
Hyperpixel for audio and video services.
Sofia Theatre for a beautiful stage to gather around.
Our photographer, Antonio Lovig.
Babalou and Suzon Lucore for watching over our event table and engaging with people in the best way possible.
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