Hello Story Friends! August’s EPIC Fails was so much fun, and it was great to see all of you in real life. Shall we do it again? We have an excellent night of storytelling in store for you on September 25: THE LONG WAY HOME. Four storytellers will regale us with their tales of great journeys, the side trails, the wandering paths that take us off course or point us in the direction we didn’t even know we needed to go. We’re all a little like Dorothy and her little dog Toto sometimes, aren’t we? Lost until we’re found. Finding ourselves along the way. We all can commiserate with E.T. at one point or another, feeling like an M&M-eating alien and hiding from Drew Barrymore, right?
Sometimes the most important journeys are the ones that choose you, taking years before you understand where they were leading.
And sometimes we’re just literally lost, and the wifi’s not working, and the maps app keeps telling us to drive into a brick wall, and we need to get home to pay the babysitter and sleep off the Jello shots and the bad date from earlier (who we kissed anyway) and CAN WE JUST GO HOME PUH-LEASE??!! But no, life has other plans, alas.
The Long Way Home
“The great danger is to stand motionless on the bank as the river of your life rushes by. It is not easy, learning how to stop waiting and start living; not easy not to waste your life; not easy knowing whether or not how you spend your time and mind and love is worthy of the improbable fact that you, against the vastly greater odds otherwise, exist.”- Maria Popova (read her 18 Life-Learnings!)
The Four Meandering Storytellers
Kathleen Taylor
is a writer, educator, and storyteller. Trained as a social-cultural psychologist, she believes that art disrupts complacency and that true human inclusion kicks cynicism to the curb. A triple Moth Story Slam winner, Kathleen is easily found on various Bay Area stages. Check her out!
Her Story: Sometimes the search for place can take you across oceans and onto the footpaths of the world’s most famous religious pilgrimages. What will Kathleen find as she leaves comfort behind to traverse the Camino de Santiago in Spain?
Ruven Hannah
was born in London, grew up in Jerusalem, and came out in Amsterdam. He co-founded a clown-puppet theater in Jerusalem/London, participated in Solo Mio Festival SF, and has written and performed several solo shows. His storytelling has been featured at Simply Said and Pretty Good Stories. He doesn’t really like competitions unless he wins, and he’s since won both a Moth and Conundrum Chronicles StorySlam. Some of his happiest, most worry-free moments are on stage, when his audience laughs, sighs, and sometimes wipes away a tear.
His Story: After a childhood “was-it-or-wasn’t-it-sexual?” experience came years of denial of Ruven’s gayness until an American woman ever-adorned in beautiful dresses appeared and everything changed, leading to an escape from Europe and finding home in the Gay Mecca: San Francisco.
Maryam Moosavi
got her start 7 years ago in Sacramento, where she produced shows like Living Room Live and Comedy in the Park. Today, she is a regular at Laughs Unlimited and Punchline and performs all over the Bay. She works a grocery store job by day and pursues comedy at night, and her immigrant parents are very proud of her.
Her Story: In a classic Dude, Where’s My Car? scenario, Maryam finds herself stranded in San Francisco, leading to a long night that almost ends a friendship. Thankfully, the night has a happy ending, and she even learned a little life hack! Will she share it with you? Better come find out!
Linda Atousa Salimi
describes herself as a servant-based leader and the villager who does what needs to be done to create the village. She relates mostly to other “third culture kids,” generally to those who have fully lived in another country. During the day, she works in Workforce Policy, and at night she turns into an improv teacher and a professional development trainer/corporate trainer.
Her story: Linda escapes a war-torn country as a child in the ’80s.
Are you coming to take the journey with us, Story Friends? I sure hope so! This is going to be a wonderful night of storytelling on a grand scale and a celebration of all the different ways and places we find home. And we, The Nutshell Three, are so incredibly happy to call Sacramento and the Sofia Theatre our home, and we are proud to announce that our third season of true, personal storytelling will continue in 2027. Thank you for all your support and for showing up in person to spend an evening pondering how our unique stories create a beautiful, universal tapestry of the human experience. Let’s keep it going by getting your ticket (cheaper in advance!) to September 25’s show now!
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 favorite homebodies, 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💜