Podcast

Episodes of the No, YOU Tell It! Podcast

“Here & Gone” Part 2: Olena Jennings and Rosalie Chandler (Episode 72)

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Did you know that two 16-foot-tall stainless-steel statues once stood atop the Astoria Pool locker rooms? Or that thousands of visitors to the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens signed a book that was included in the Westinghouse Time Capsule designed to endure for 5,000 years?

Learn more about the storytellers and the Queens history from the archives of The Greater Astoria Historical Society that inspired this story swap from the second half of our “Here & Gone” show hosted by Ellie Dvorkin Dunn.

My Book About Water by Olena Jennings, performed by Rosalie Chandler

*Peace Through Understanding by Rosalie Chandler, performed by Olena Jennings

*As Ellie noted during the show, we want to let you know that the latter story contains themes related to sexual assault.

Left to right: Story partners Olena Jennings, Rosalie Chander, and host Ellie Dvorkin Dunn. Photo: Sachyn Mital

Stories directed by Erika Iverson. Plus, a special shoutout to Broadway Silk in Astoria!

Congratulations to Olena for receiving a Pushcart Prize for her translation with Oksana Lutsyshyna of Kateryna Kalytko’s collection Nobody Knows Us Here, and We Don’t Know Anyone from Lost Horse Press.

Learn more about the Queens history highlights below. The narratives were written by storyteller Rosalie Chandler with special insights from Bob Singleton of The Greater Astoria Historical Society.

These four highlights also inspired the Queens “Here & Gone” artwork by Yelena Tylkina.

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Special thanks to Rosalie Chandler, Bob Singleton, and Ava Vitali for helping us create these Queens “Here & Gone” highlights. The Greater Astoria Historical Society is the place to learn and celebrate Long Island City and its neighborhoods. Learn more at astorialic.org.

This project is supported by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Flushing Town Hall.

This project is made possible (in part) with public funds from the Queens Arts Fund, a re-grant program supported by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts.

June 27, 2023 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , , , ,

“Here & Gone” Part 1: Lakshmi Gandhi and Dan Jessup (Episode 71)

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In the first half of our show, story partners Lakshmi Gandhi and Dan Jessup swap stories about the culture of mutual agitation that bonds Mets fans and a mid-life move to Astoria blocks away from where inventor, Chester Carlson, created the world’s first photocopy.

Two Continents and a Whole New Ballgame by Lakshmi Gandhi, performed by Dan Jessup

The Certainty of Here by Dan Jessup, performed by Lakshmi Gandhi

These stories were directed by show host, Ellie Dvorkin Dunn.

Lakshmi Gandhi and Dan Jessup, photo credit: Sachyn Mital

For the first time, our “Here & Gone” storytellers’ modern-day true tales were inspired by Queens history from the archives of The Greater Astoria Historical Society.

Learn more about how the word “ASTORIA was on the First Page of the Information Age,” and the other Queens history highlights

Inspired the Queens “Here & Gone” artwork by Yelena Tylkina and the night’s stories.

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Special thanks to Rosalie Chandler, Bob Singleton, and Ava Vitali for helping us create these Queens “Here & Gone” highlights. The Greater Astoria Historical Society is the place to learn and celebrate Long Island City and its neighborhoods. Learn more at astorialic.org.

This project is supported by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Flushing Town Hall.

This project is made possible (in part) with public funds from the Queens Arts Fund, a re-grant program supported by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts.

June 13, 2023 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , , ,

Episode 70 – Punch Up (Part 2)

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Celebrating 10 years of No, YOU Tell It!, the second half of our “Punch Up” show starts with the story of a waitress getting a visit from a former co-worker who looks happier and healthier than seems possible. Trying to match her glow-up, she seeks out the same Shaman but finds the visit … less than inspiring.

Enjoy “Shaman Says,” Written by Jenn Wehrung and performed by Aida Zilelian.

You can also WATCH the full show live-streamed from Culture Lab, LIC. Or, watch “Punch Up,” and other past shows on the NYTI YouTube channel.

Switching it up, our final story also starts in a bar, where an old frenemy creeps back into every corner of the narrator’s life, causing her to reflect on why some friends are better left in the past.

“One Final Lesson” was written by Aida Zilelian and performed by Jenn Wehrung.

Top left: Jenn Wehrung; Top right: Story partners Aida Zilelian and Jenn Wehrung; Bottom left: Ellie Dvorkin Dunn and Jenn Wehrun; Bottom right: Aida Zilelian

This story swap was directed by our wonderful guest host for the evening, Ellie Dvorkin Dunn.

Returning as a Bookend Event for the Brooklyn Book Festival, our “Punch Up” show also celebrated the release of the No, YOU Tell It! Ten-Year Anthology from Palm Circle Press.

Here’s how to check out ALL THE THINGS:

November 22, 2022 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , , , ,

Episode 69 – Punch Up (Part 1)

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Lose yourself in school-age nostalgia in our first story, “Confection Resolution,” written by Matt Storrs and performed by Maria Rubio, which finds our hero fighting the same childhood foe … three times.

Switching it up, “The Great Unknowns,” written by Maria Rubio and performed by Matt Storrs, follows an exhausted nurse in the middle of the global pandemic who carves out time for herself with a surfing lesson.

Returning as a Bookend Event for the Brooklyn Book Festival, our “Punch Up” show also celebrated the release of the No, YOU Tell It! Ten-Year Anthology from Palm Circle Press.

You can also WATCH the full show live-streamed from Culture Lab, LIC. Or, watch “Punch Up,” and other past shows on the NYTI YouTube channel.

Top left: Matt Storrs; Top right: Maria Rubio; Bottom left: Ellie Dvorkin Dunn interviews storyteller Matt Storrs

Huge thank you to alum and guest host Ellie Dvorkin Dunn! Give a listen as she punches up the evening with her warmth and humor.

Here’s how to check out ALL THE THINGS that Ellie mentions in the show:

November 15, 2022 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , , , , ,

Episode 68 – Legacy Anthology Reboot

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In anticipation of our forthcoming ten-year anthology from Palm Circle Press, we are flashing back to 2014 when we participated in The Brick’s Comic Book Theater Festival in Brooklyn.

For this show, we tried something new. Usually, we give our storytellers a theme to inspire their true tales. This time, we only provided the theme “Legacy” to comic artist Sha-Née Williams and asked her to interpret it into a visual prompt. Then we gave this image to our storytellers without the word “Legacy” or any further context.

After they completed their first drafts, Sha-Née joined our story meetings and drew unique illustrations for each of their true tales. In spite of the fact that we didn’t share the theme, our storytellers ended up thinking about the personal legacies we leave behind. Give a listen to the results and don’t forget to follow us on Insta @noyoutellit to check out more of Sha-Née’s “Legacy” artwork

Top left: Sha-Née Williams and Nicole Greevy with “Nerd: The Next Generation” artwork. Bottom left: Sha-Née’s “Legacy” image. Bottom right: E. James Ford with “League of Absence” artwork by Sha-Née Williams.

 

Stories were performed live on June 8th, 2014 at The Brick:

“League of Absence” written by E. James Ford and performed by Nicole Greevy.

“Nerd: The Next Generation”  written by Nicole Greevy and performed by E. James Ford.

 

August 23, 2022 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , , ,

Episode 67 – No Regrets Anthology Reboot

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As we’re readying the release of our ten-year anthology this fall from Palm Circle Press, we’re rebooting some of the podcasts with improved audio so you can listen while you read.

Here’s our first ever tri-flip at Fairleigh Dickinson’s MFA in Creative Writing summer residency, featuring stories by Letisia Cruz, Tazio Ruffilo, and Heather Lang-Cassera.

Original artwork by Letisia Cruz inspired by her performance of Tazio Ruffilo’s story, “In Spite of Ourselves”

Keep an eye out for these No Regrets stories in the anthology, along with a special introduction from series creator, Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons, describing how this FDU show represents one of the core values of our series: Cooperation over Competition.  

NO REGRETS performed on August 14th, 2016

Fairleigh Dickinson University | New Jersey

“The First Tattoo” written by Letisia Cruz and performed by Heather Lang-Cassera

“In Spite of Ourselves” written by Tazio Ruffilo and performed by Letisia Cruz

“A Midwestern Purgatory” written by Heather Lang-Cassera and performed by Tazio Ruffilo

 

 

 

August 16, 2022 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , , , ,

Episode 66 – Noted (Part 2)

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Our first story reminds us that a two-week middle school love is the equivalent of several lifetimes of adoration, and when our hero’s girlfriend slips him a break-up note, they all come crashing in.

In celebration of 10 Years of No, YOU Tell It! enjoy this 2013 throwback swap of “You’ve Been Noted,” written by Justin Klose and performed by Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons. Click here to listen to the other half of the evening in Episode 30.

Original Artwork by Allison Gazdik

Our second story takes us on the road with Shakespeare & Company’s spring tour of Hamlet, where, backstage, Ophelia befriends the infamous skull prop to vent her frustrations, share her loneliness, and reveal her secret escapades. Switching it up here’s “Alas, Poor Bob!” written by Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons and performed by Justin Klose. You can also give “Alas, Poor Bob!” a read in Hypertext Magazine!

Artist Allison Gazdik designed the original artwork for our “Noted” show, which was performed live at Jimmy’s No 43 on June 3rd, 2013, and here is what she had to say about the theme and how she devised this fantastic image:

The idea behind this piece for the “noted” theme was one of lessons learned. The first image that came into my head was of someone in the rain, as some of our most valuable lessons come from painful experiences. The well-known quote people usually think of is “that which does not kill us makes us stronger” by Friedrich Nietzsche. I wanted to take a colorful and slightly humorous approach to the idea by depicting a gray Nietzsche under a rain of colors, a fitting blend of optimism and pessimism towards life’s lessons. 

May 24, 2022 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , ,

Episode 65 – Alumni Show (Part 2)

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Breakups can be confusing at times, especially when your heart parts ways with a city. Our first story takes us over the Hudson from New York City to New Jersey as our narrator reflects on what it means to move on from the place that she’s always loved.

In celebration of our 10 Year Anniversary here is a throwback swap. Part of our first alumni storyteller show at The Astoria Bookshop. “A Breakup Story” was written by Julia Granacki and is performed here by Molly Touger.

Top left: Julia Granacki; Bottom left: Molly Touger

Prompted by a social media challenge to replace your profile picture with your celebrity look-a-like, our next storyteller leans into her own definitions of beauty and identity as she starts to appreciate her likeness to Cher.

Switching it up, here’s “On Becoming Cher” written by Molly Touger and performed by Julia Granacki.

These stories were performed live on July 17th, 2014. Give a listen to the first half of the evening in Episode 5 of our podcast. Thank you to The Astoria Bookshop! Visit them at astoriabookshop.com.

May 17, 2022 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , ,

Episode 64 – Our First Show!

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This Sunday, May 8th, marks the 10-year anniversary of No, YOU Tell It!

Left to right: Erika Iverson, Jorge Cordova, Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons, Jeremy Holmes, and David Harrell. Photo credit: Jon Reznick

Help us celebrate by giving a listen to this original set of four switched-up stories from Erika Iverson, Jorge Cordova, Jeremy Holmes, and David Harrell.

Support 10 more years by sharing our series with a friend! Big thanks to Mike Dressel and Anton Kreisl for producing and engineering this podcast of our first show with music from Tiny Animals.

Since May 2012, we’ve produced 46 shows, working with over 160 artists, and you can listen to hundreds of live story swaps on the No, YOU Tell It! podcast.

Available on Audioboom and your favorite podcasting platform.

This May, please help us raise $2,300 to support 10 more years and in celebration of our own Kelly Jean’s BIRTHDAY on the 23rd. Donate here!

Plus, your donation is tax-deductible through our fiscal sponsor The Field.

May 3, 2022 1 comment Podcast Tags: , , , , , , ,

Episode 63 – What I Know (Part 2)

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This first story takes us on the painful and isolating journey of struggling with stubborn fibroids. Kicking off the second half of our “What I Know” show, our storyteller must find the strength to physically and mentally overcome the enemy inside. Click here to watch a live stream of the show via YouTube.

Here’s “Knowing is Half the Battle,” written by Sheria Mattis and performed by Michele Carlo.

What better way to celebrate Women’s History Month and 10 years of No, YOU Tell It! than this stellar storyteller swap introduced by their director Erika Iverson.

Story partners: Michele Carlo and Sheria Mattis

Switching it up, our final storyteller reflects on her youthful battle to control her hair in an attempt to redefine her identity.

“Viva La Curlvolution!” was written by Michele Carlo, performed here by Sheria Mattis.

The first in-person show of our 10-year anniversary season took place at Culture Lab, LIC, in Queens on March 7th, 2022.

March 29, 2022 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , , ,
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