Tag: Brooklyn Book Festival

Look! “Punch Up” Program (In-Person and Virtual Show)

Sep 26 2022 @ 7:00PM

Our Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Event hosted by Ellie Dvorkin Dunn is tonight! In-person at Culture Lab, LIC or WATCH HERE virtually via YouTube.

Doors 6:30 / Show starts at 7 pm!

FREE but we’ll be collecting donations for Friends with Four Paws with a match for the first $50. Want to donate directly? Venmo @friendswith-fourpaws or via their website.

Plus, a chance to win the No, YOU Tell It! Ten-Year Anthology 2022, now available to order in paperback and eBook (with links to listen to all the stories via our podcast).

Take a look at these four storytellers who have been developing their “Punch Up” tales on the page with guest story coach and NYTI alum Pichchenda Bao. Tonight, they’ll step into their partners’ shoes and perform each other stories on stage.

TONIGHT’S STORIES!

Confection Resolution written by Matt Storrs, performed by Maria Rubio, and directed by KJ Fitzsimmons

The Great Unknowns written by Maria Rubio, performed by Matt Storrs, and directed by KJ Fitzsimmons

Shaman Says written by Jenn Wehrung, performed by Aida Zilelian, and directed by Ellie Dvorkin Dunn

One Final Lesson written by Aida Zilelian, performed by Jenn Wehrung, and directed by Ellie Dvorkin Dunn

Thank you, thank you to everyone who made this night possible!

THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2022 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT

This show is made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
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Want to support 10 more years of No, YOU Tell It! Here are 3 great ways:

  1. SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter for updates.
  2. SHARE the No, YOU Tell It! Podcast far and wide. Available on our website and your fav podcasting platforms.
  3. DONATE through our fiscal sponsor The Field. Plus, it’s tax-deductible.

Event Information

Sep 26 2022 @ 7:00PM

Culture Lab LIC, (5-25 46th Avenue, Long Island City, New York, NY 11101)

September 26, 2022 1 comment Live Shows Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Meet “Punch Up” Storyteller Matt Storrs

Sep 26 2022 @ 7:00PM

Rehearsals start tomorrow for Monday’s show. Our storytellers have worked together over the past weeks to develop their true tales on the page. After trading tales, they each work one-on-one with a NYTI director to help embody their story partner’s experience on stage.

Before they begin, let’s meet our final “Punch Up” storyteller, Matt Storrs!!

Matt Storrs is a comedian and storyteller based out of NYC and originally from Phoenix, AZ.

Matt created and performed his one-person show “Portly Lutheran Know-It-All” (Frigid Festival, Denver Fringe Festival, Providence FringePVD). 

He has also been featured in Vox. Matt brings his religious and legal background to the stage with his sharp stories and esoteric comedy. 

Matt Storrs is a humor person.

RSVP via FB or email noyoutellit@gmail.com. You can also watch a live stream of the show here!

THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2022 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT

This show is made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Event Information

Sep 26 2022 @ 7:00PM

Culture Lab LIC, (5-25 46th Avenue, Long Island City, New York, NY 11101)

September 24, 2022 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: , , ,

Meet “Punch Up” Storyteller Aida Zilelian

Sep 26 2022 @ 7:00PM

Our storytellers are busy revising their true tales on the page before flipping scripts to rehearse each other’s stories this weekend. We are so excited about our Bookend Event on Monday and can’t wait for you to meet our next storyteller, Aida Zilelian!

Aida Zilelian is a first-generation American-Armenian writer, educator, and storyteller from Queens, NY. Her debut novel The Legacy of Lost Things was published in 2015 and was the recipient of the 2014 Tololyan Literary Award. Aida has been featured on NPR, The Huffington Post, Kirkus Reviews, Poets & Writers, and various reading series throughout Queens and Manhattan. She is also the curator of Boundless Tales, which was one of the longest-running reading series in Queens, NY. Her short story collection These Hills Were Meant for You was shortlisted for the 2018 Katherine Anne Porter Award. Aida’s most recently completed novel, All the Ways We Lied, is forthcoming in January 2024 (Keylight Books). 

RSVP via FB or email noyoutellit@gmail.com. You can also watch a live stream of the show here!

THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2022 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT

This show is made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Event Information

Sep 26 2022 @ 7:00PM

Culture Lab LIC, (5-25 46th Avenue, Long Island City, New York, NY 11101)

September 23, 2022 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: , , ,

Meet “Punch Up” Storyteller Jenn Wehrung

Sep 26 2022 @ 7:00PM

Our second storyteller, Jenn Wehrung, is returning for her second NYTI show! Give a listen to Jenn trading “Three Strikes” tales here.

Learn more about Jenn below and join us at QED Astoria TONIGHT where she is hosting a special one-night-only “Laugh It Up, Astoria!” with fellow NYTI alum Liz Simons.

Jenn Wehrung is a comic, writer, former burlesque queen, and dog lover! She performs at clubs and holes-in-the-wall all over NYC and beyond including QED, Stand Up NY, that one bar on the LES, and even The Royal Hall For Cornwall in England! She has been featured on the Mortified podcast, heard on BBC radio, and made jokes at the New York Comedy Fest. She co-hosts the drink-a-long podcast, Bottled Up! and posts a LOT of pics of her dog on Instagram.

RSVP via FB or email noyoutellit@gmail.com. You can also watch a live stream of the show here!

THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2022 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT

This show is made possible (in part) by the Queens Council on the Arts with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Event Information

Sep 26 2022 @ 7:00PM

Culture Lab LIC, (5-25 46th Avenue, Long Island City, New York, NY 11101)

September 22, 2022 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: , ,

Episode 60 – Defiant (Part 2)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The second half of our “Defiant” show drops us back into the peak of the pandemic, where our hero is taking Zoom calls and setting office policies from the solitude of his home.

As he struggles to define what’s right and what’s wrong while navigating a breakup and suburban judgment, he finds someone he’s willing to break the rules for.

Here is “Imaginary Rules” written by Marcos Stafne and performed by Moncho Alvarado.

Top left: Moncho Alvarado, Top right: Marcos Stafne, Photo credit: Sachyn Mital

Switching it up, we hear a heartbreaking series of letters to loved ones. Through imagery, history, and imagination, our second storyteller longs for answers and actions about the ongoing crisis and cruelty at the American borders.

Listen, as Marcos Stafne reads “Dead Familia” written by Moncho Alvarado.

For our “Defiant” show we were not only excited to be back as an OFFICIAL 2021 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT but to share these incredible stories in front of our first live audience in two years at a brilliant new venue, Culture Lab LIC!

Thank you, thank you to the Brooklyn Book Festival, Lambda Literary, and City Artist Corps for helping to make No, YOU Tell It! part of New York City’s creative resurgence

October 14, 2021 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , , ,

Episode 59 – Defiant (Part 1)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This first “Defiant” story finds us, as described by the narrator, “on the precipice of Real Teen Shit.” In a small New York town, a teen explores his identity while working at the local Serenity Sweets Cafe developing friendships with the town rebels and navigating questionable adults in and around the shop. Balancing his good-boy persona with a newfound comfort from his “island of misfit toys” our narrator carves his own path.

Written by Bobby Hankinson and performed by Desi Waters, here is, “You’re Gonna Be Sweet, Boy.”

Bobby Hankinson (top right) and Desi Waters (top left) trade true tales! Photo credit: Sachyn Mital

Switching it up, tensions are high at the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall. A clumsy daughter fights back tears and curiosity during worship, afraid to rouse her mother’s wrath. A pinch and piercing stare is just the beginnings of a spiraling rage in this epic tale of expression, power, and, ultimately, acceptance.

Here is “Meltdown” written by Desi Waters and performed by Bobby Hankinson.

For our “Defiant” show we were not only excited to be back as an OFFICIAL 2021 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT but to share these incredible stories in front of our first live audience in two years at a brilliant new venue, Culture Lab LIC!

Thank you, thank you to the Brooklyn Book Festival, Lambda Literary, and City Artist Corps for helping to make No, YOU Tell It! part of New York City’s creative resurgence

October 5, 2021 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , , ,

Thank You for a Great “Defiant” Show!

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR A GREAT SHOW!
Special thanks to:
Everyone who came out!
Our amazing storytellers!
Our lil’ crew!

Left to Right: Tim Lindner, Erika Iverson, Moncho Alvarado, Marcos Stafne, KJ Fitzsimmons, Desi Waters, and Bobby Hankinson. Photo credit Sachyn Mital

AND!
Culture Lab LIC at The Plaxall Gallery for the perfect venue.
Lambda Literary for being our partner for this event.
The Brooklyn Book Festival for including us as a 2021 Bookend Event.
The Astoria Bookshop for supplying our prize books.
City Artists Corps: A $25 million New York City program to get all of us show makers back out and making shows.

&
Sachyn Mital (www.sachynmital.com) for the fantastic photos! Click here to view more photos from the show on our Facebook page.

September 30, 2021 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: , , , ,

“Defiant” Program

Sep 28 2021 @ 7:00PM

Doors open at 6:30 and the show starts at 7 pm
THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2021 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL EVENT.
  • Proof of vaccination is required for entry
  • Due to the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, the City of New York strongly recommends everyone wear a mask whenever they are in a public, indoor setting, even when it is not required, and in any setting where you do not know who around you may be vaccinated.
Take a look at our “Defiant” storytellers who are trading true-life tales.

Tonight’s Stories!

You’re Gonna Be Sweet, Boy written by Bobby Hankinson, performed by Desi Waters, and directed by Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons

Meltdown written by Desi Waters, performed by Bobby Hankinson, and directed by Erika Iverson

Imaginary Rules written by Marcos Stafne, performed by Moncho Alvarado, and directed by Erika Iverson

Dead Familia written by Moncho Alvarado, performed by Marcos Stafne, and directed by Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons

Listen carefully because we’ll be doing story trivia for a chance to win storyteller Bobby Hankinson’s anthology, Welcome to Kweendom: LGBTQ Comedians Make Pride Personal with Stories of Love, Loss, Sex, and Everything Under The Rainbow.

Click here to order the book now from our friends at The Astoria Bookshop.

Huge thank you to the Brooklyn Book Festival, Lambda Literary, City Artist Corps/NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and The Astoria Bookshop for helping make tonight’s show possible!

On a personal note, I’m in awe and grateful to see No, YOU Tell It! return for a live performance and working hard to bring the series back for a full season in 2022.

Switching stories to embody each other’s experience in a live performance creates the kind of empathetic connections that are essential 19+ months into a pandemic.

Want to show your support? Here are 3 great ways:

  1. SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter for updates.
  2. SHARE the No, YOU Tell It! Podcast far and wide. Available on our website and your fav podcasting platforms.
  3. DONATE through our fiscal sponsor The Field. Plus, it’s tax-deductible.

Thank you!
Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons

Event Information

Sep 28 2021 @ 7:00PM

Culture Lab LIC, Gallery B (5-25 46th Avenue, Long Island City, New York, NY 11101)

September 28, 2021 1 comment Live Shows Tags: , , , ,

Meet “Defiant” Storyteller Marcos Stafne

Sep 28 2021 @ 7:00PM

Our final storyteller participated in one of the first No, YOU Tell It! shows and we’re so happy to welcome him back! Click here to RSVP for our “Defiant” show via our Facebook event page.

Marcos Stafne (he/him), is a proud alumni of No You Tell It. His first NYTI story, “The Anxiety of Emptiness,” was featured in the Urban Dwellers series, and “Snake Dreams” was written for one of the first alumni performances. Marcos has been working for various museums, zoos, and aquariums for the past 25 years or so, and writes extensively for museum blogs and scholarly journals.

Insta: @Marcos_Stafne

Event Information

Sep 28 2021 @ 7:00PM

Culture Lab LIC, Gallery B (5-25 46th Avenue, Long Island City, New York, NY 11101)

September 24, 2021 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: , ,

Meet “Defiant” Storyteller Desi Waters

Sep 28 2021 @ 7:00PM

Fabulous second story meeting last night! Check out our Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Event and meet our next “Defiant” storyteller Desi Waters.

JDB-Photography.com

Desi Waters is an actor, singer, writer, and director.  Her favorite roles include: Mrs Corry in “Mary Poppins,” Mabel in “Fame: The Musical,” The Nurse in “Romeo and Juliet,” Mariya in “Uncle Vanya,” Doggett in “Locked Up B*tches,” Lovah in “WELP!”  and as a vocalist for “President Clinton’s Birthday Celebration at Radio City Music Hall.”  TV: “The Big Help” for Nickelodeon, “The Blacklist,” “Broad City,” “CityKids: The TV Series,” and “Power.” Her daughter made her  debut in June 2018. Proud member of SAG-AFTRA. www.desiwaters.com

Event Information

Sep 28 2021 @ 7:00PM

Culture Lab LIC, Gallery B (5-25 46th Avenue, Long Island City, New York, NY 11101)

September 22, 2021 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: , ,
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