Tag: Grove 34

Meet “Left My Heart” Storyteller Catherine Kapphahn

Jun 05 2024 @ 7:00PM

Two weeks until our No, YOU Tell It! “Left My Heart” show and the storytellers are busy working with their respective story coaches on revisions. Let’s take the time now to meet our first storyteller, Catherine Kapphahn, and get your tickets here!

Catherine Kapphahn is a writer, educator, storyteller and speaker. Her memoir Immigrant Daughter: Stories You Never Told Mereceived The Center for Fiction’s Christopher Doheny Award and was published by Audible. Her manuscript Miseducation of a Dyslexic Girl: a Memoir in Poems and Classrooms was recently long listed for the Steel Toe Books Poetry Award. Catherine received grants from the Queens Council on the Arts and City Artist Corps. Her writing has appeared in Queensbound, Motherwell Magazine, Croatia Week, Newtown Literary, the Feminist Press Anthology This is the Way We Say Goodbye, Astoria Life, and CURE Magazine. Catherine is an adjunct lecturer at City University of New York at Lehman College in the Bronx, where her students’ stories inspire her. Catherine is also a yoga teacher. She grew up near the mountains in Colorado and now lives between two bridges in Queens, New York, with her husband and two sons. 

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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.

No, YOU Tell It! “Left My Heart” 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.

Event Information

Jun 05 2024 @ 7:00PM

Grove 34 (3183 34th St., Astoria)

May 22, 2024 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: ,

2024 Queens Art Fund Recipient

We are excited to share that in addition to being supported by our Flushing Town Hall Queens Community Arts grant, we are a 2024 Queens Arts Fund grant recipient!

We are proud to represent the borough of Queens and bring the first of two 2024 shows, in partnership with the Greater Astoria Historical Society, to Grove 34 in Astoria on June 5th!

The Queens Arts Fund offers project grants to Queens-based artists, artist collectives, and small non-profit organizations of all artistic disciplines to support the local production of artwork and cultural programs that highlight, engage, and bolster the borough of Queens.

It is administered by New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) in partnership with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA).

Please click here for the full award announcement.

No, YOU Tell It! received an Arts Access Grant, which is a $1,000 to $5,000 grant that is offered to Queens-based small-budget 501c3 nonprofit organizations or unincorporated artist collectives. These grants support community-based organizations and collectives in their efforts to produce public arts and cultural programs in the communities across the borough of Queens.

All recipients must have a public component–held in-person, virtually, or combination of both–in Queens within the 2024 calendar year to provide Queens community members with the opportunity to experience dynamic, easily accessible arts and cultural events. Follow the hashtag #QAF2024 for details on upcoming events.

Get your tickets here to join us on June 5th for No, YOU Tell It! “Left My Heart,” and thank you for being part of our continued creative journey!

May 16, 2024 Post Comment News Tags: , , , ,

Fantastic Art Heart Event!

On Saturday, we kicked off our upcoming “Left My Heart” show with a fantastic Queens community-building event at Sunnyside Arts.

Join us at Grove 34 on June 5th to hear how the true tales inspired by Tony Bennett’s life and music that we brainstormed together evolved. Get your tickets here, and tell friends! 

The four NYTI storytellers, creative team, and fun friends engaged with this imaginary interview published in the Queens Gazette by Bob Singleton, Executive Director of the Greater Astoria Historical Society.

“Although the interview is imaginary, the quotes are real. When I started to do research to write something about Tony Bennett, I checked the Notable Quotes page on the in­ternet and found a cornucopia of comments by him and it immediately hit me that if they were brought together, it would be very reveal­ing of the man and his career, as well as his roots within the community, his hometown of Astoria. They seemed to fit a pattern and with a few hours of sorting I had an interview that he never did, but his words revealed so much of a very humble, yet extraordinary artist who always valued his deep roots in the commu­nity.”

—Bob Singleton

The Art Heart: Storytelling and Portrait Trading workshop was co-lead by our own Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons and upcoming “Left My Heart” storyteller Zach Rothman-Hicks of Gabbing with Gays, an ongoing archive of Emotional Intimacy in the LGBTQIA+ community.

First, participants took turns reading the interview aloud and reflected on Tony Bennett’s life, art, and philosophies while listening to his music. Here are some highlights:

It was amazing how humble he seemed even when achieving so much. I live by the philosophy to always keep learning, so his thoughts on getting better/longevity are refreshing to hear. The note about the bartender in Arkansas (about “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”) is so cute – I wonder if he did end up buying the first record!

Despite seeing all of the horrors of WWII, he didn’t have bitterness or regret but walked forward.

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga were like two unlikely food flavors that somehow fit together.

Quintessentially old school, at the same time, he embraces what’s going on in the present.

I was surprised that “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” was originally the B-side of the record, but after hearing “Once Upon a Time,” I understand. That it is also a fabulous song. 

He made music for everyone, not just the young. I want adult music!

Is life a gift when life aligns with your gift?

Where are the negative feelings? Are they transformed into art?

Anywhere Tony Bennett performs (regardless of the size of the venue), he is 100% there. 

You need to take care of yourself and your health to be an artist. If we are dead, we can’t do anything.

Look at nature. It’s always going to change.

Next, we brainstormed personal stories inspired by the reflection and an “I Left My Heart in…” fill-in-the-blanks freewriting activity. Then, we paired people up, and they interviewed each other to learn more about the personal story they chose to share with their partner.

Finally, the story partners traced each other’s faces on transparency paper and incorporated what they heard in their stories to create a composite portrait of their partner.  The results were fantastic and will be on display at the show!

May 13, 2024 1 comment News Tags: , , , , ,

Happy 12-Year Anniversary

We are excited and grateful to celebrate 12 years of switched-up storytelling. Click here to read how it all began on May 8, 2012, in the No, YOU Tell It! Ten-Year Anthology foreword and take a look at NYTI “Over the Years” highlights below.

CELEBRATE with us this Saturday, May 11, at ART HEART: STORYTELLING AND PORTRAIT TRADING pay-what-you-wish community event at Sunnyside Arts from 2 to 4.

Meet and share stories with the No, YOU Tell It! “Left My Heart” storytellers. Then GRAB YOUR TICKETS HERE for our June team-up show with the Greater Astoria Historical Society at Grove 34 in Astoria.

Keep it going! Click here to donate in support of a new decade of No, YOU Tell It!

May 8, 2024 Post Comment News Tags: , , ,

Next Show! NYTI “Left My Heart”

Jun 05 2024 @ 7:00PM

Grab your ticket for our next show! Four curated storytellers will trade tales inspired by the music and history of Astoria native Tony Bennett from the Greater Astoria Historical Society archives. Plus, story trivia for fun literary prizes.

Want to meet the storytellers and share your story before the show? Join us on May 11 for ART HEART: STORYTELING AND PORTRAIT TRADING at Sunnyside Arts. All are welcome at this pay-what-you-wish community event. Register here.

Storytellers:

Carl Banks

January Yoon Cho

Catherine Kapphahn

Zach Rothman-Hicks

 

NYTI Creative Team:

KJ Fitzsimmons

Pichchenda Bao

Erika Iverson

Tim Lindner

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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.

Event Information

Jun 05 2024 @ 7:00PM

Grove 34 (31-83 34th St, Astoria)

May 1, 2024 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: , , , , , ,

“Fly By” Part 2: Ben Katzner and Briana McDonald (Episode 74)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Kicking off part 2 of our “Fly By” show, host Ellie Dvorkin Dunn shares some fun facts about teenage pilot Elinor Smith before we hear the second set of true tales inspired by the story of “The Flying Flapper” from the archives of the Greater Astoria Historical Society.

No, YOU Tell It! “Fly By” was on September 28, 2023, at Grove 34 in Astoria. Podcast introduction by Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons and features:

  • Like Me or Not by Ben Katzner, performed by Briana McDonald, directed by Erika Iverson
  • Macarons by Briana McDonald, performed by Ben Katzner, directed by Erika Iverson

Story partners Ben Katzner and Briana McDonald at Grove 34 in Astoria.

Want a copy of Ben or Briana’s middle-grade books? Grab your copy and share it with the young readers in your life.

Donate here to support No, YOU Tell It!, and we’ll send you an electronic copy of Annie Shi’s zine, “The Flying Flapper,” that we gave out to the audience at the show so you can learn more about Elinor Smith and her historic 1928 flight under not one but four East River bridges – Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg … and Queensboro!

 

SPECIAL THANKS

No, YOU Tell It! “Fly By” was an OFFICIAL 2023 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT.

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.

 

April 8, 2024 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , , , , , ,

Queens Community Arts Grant

We are extremely grateful to Flushing Town Hall for awarding No, YOU Tell It! a Queens Community Arts Grant as part of the Statewide Community Regrants program funded by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).

Click here for the full list of grantees. This funding will support two special 2024 Queens shows produced in partnership with the Greater Astoria Historical Society.

First up! Save the date for No, YOU Tell It! “Left My Heart” on June 5th at Grove 34 in Astoria.

Featuring

Storytellers:
Carl Banks
January Yoon Cho
Catherine Kapphahn
Zach Rothman-Hicks

NYTI Creative Team:
KJ Fitzsimmons
Pichchenda Bao
Erika Iverson
Tim Lindner

Thank you, FTH and NYSCA!!

April 1, 2024 1 comment News Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Fly By” Part 1: Lowell Stephens and Robin Gelfenbien (Episode 73)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Have you ever heard of Elinor Smith? Our fall “Fly By” show was a fantastic way to learn about this teenage pilot who beat out Amelia Earhart for “Best Woman Pilot in America” in 1930.

For this special show hosted by Ellie Dvorkin Dunn and produced in partnership with the Greater Astoria Historical Society, we provided our storytellers with a visual prompt depicting Elinor Smith’s legendary 1928 flight under four East River bridges—Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg … and Queensboro!

The animated image created by Queens artist Annie Shi inspired a modern-day story swap of a very different kind of airplane dare and a gutt-wrenching attempt to bridge the divide between father and son. WATCH the full show here on our YouTube page.

Lowell Stephens performs Robin Gelfenbien’s story

Donate here to support No, YOU Tell It!, and we’ll send you an electronic copy of Annie’s zine, “The Flying Flapper,” that we gave out to the audience at the show so you can learn more about Elinor Smith and her historic flight.

No, YOU Tell It! “Fly By” was on September 28, 2023, at Grove 34 in Astoria. Podcast introduction by Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons and features:

  • Connecting Flights by Robin Gelfenbien, performed by Lowell Stephens, directed by Erika Iverson
  • Liquid Mercury by Lowell Stephens, performed by Robin Gelfenbien, directed by Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons

 

SPECIAL THANKS

No, YOU Tell It! “Fly By” was an OFFICIAL 2023 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT.

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.

March 25, 2024 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , , , , ,

Queens Community Events and New Show

Save the dates for these upcoming Queens community events open to all and our NEW SHOW at Grove 34!

Register here for the Queens & Me: Personal Writing Workshop at The Astoria Bookshop. Writers of all levels welcome!

Follow us on FB and Insta for more details on our Art Heart event and upcoming “Left My Heart” show.

March 12, 2024 Post Comment News Tags: , ,

Show, Workshops, & Alum Updates!

Our next show is June 5th at Grove 34 in partnership with the Greater Astoria Historical Society. SAVE THE DATE!

But first… Come tell your story at writing workshops led by NYTI producers Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons and Tim Lindner. Kelly Jean leads a monthly Sip & Scribe at Sunnyside Arts.  Register HERE for Friday, March 1.

Plus, don’t miss her “Queens & Me: Personal Writing Workshop” at The Astoria Bookshop on 4/17.

Tim leads a monthly Write with Flights at Departed Soles Brewery in Jersey City. Click HERE to register for this month’s, which is coming up fast on Thursday, February 22.

What have our NYTI Alums been up to? So happy you asked! Here are some fun updates.

Monique Peterson performs at Jimmy’s No. 43 in 2013. Photo by Gili Getz.

SPECIAL WEST COAST SHOUT OUT to MONIQUE PETERSON from our “Alter Egos” show, who will be the only spoken word story performer in the upcoming Center for the Arts open mic showcase in Nevada County, California, this Wednesday, February 21.

 

GABRIEL BEREZIN produces and hosts the podcast FUGUES.

Gabriel Berezin swaps stories with Courtney Frances Fallon in Ep 38: Blowback Part 2. Give a listen here!

 New episodes coming out next month! What is Fugues? The quick answer – it’s The Moth with neuroscience and music (and a bit of sci-fi…) 

More details at:

 

ROSALIE CHANDLER is stepping up to perform her “Here & Gone” story from our first team-up show with the Greater Astoria Historical Society next month for RISK!

Rosalie surprises her fellow storytellers with Westinghouse Time Capsule buttons at our “Here & Gone” show at Grove 34.

Helmed by “College Try” storyteller Kevin Allison, RISK! is a live show and weekly podcast where people tell true stories they never thought they’d dare to share in public. Come join us to see how Rosalie’s story has grown now that she’s doing the telling.

RISK! Live in NYC & Online 

Thursday, 3/21/24

Caveat, 21 A Clinton Street, New York, NY 10002

9:30 PM  / Doors 9:00 PM

Tickets: http://risk-show.com/live

 

CHRIS CROWTHERS (center square) opened up a shop with his husband last year in Narrowsburg, NY!

Project Weekend: Weekend Goods for Good Weekends. Check it out HERE.

Give a LISTEN or WATCH Chris’s story “Watermelon Sugar” in our Anniversary Apart online show from January 2022!

They sell Men’s Clothing + Accessories and Outdoorsy + Weekend Inspired Goods. Follow them on IG: @projectweekendny

 

Founding member MIKE DRESSEL recently profiled the Choreographer Bruno Isakovic for the Gay & Lesbian Review. Note: The piece hasn’t gone up yet, but it will run HERE soon. Maybe even by the time you check!

Mike Dressel hosts our 2019 “Snapped!” show. Give a listen and read Mike’s intro about our special Stonewall50 story swap at Dixon Place in the NYTI Ten-Year Anthology.

He also has a Bookshop.org affiliate site where he’s curated some reading material. Check it out and shop through the link: https://bookshop.org/shop/Dressel

 

MATT STORRS was recently on The Moth (2/13), and you can listen to the episode (available 2/19) here!

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

Give a listen to Matt’s “Punch Up” swap or WATCH the full show live-streamed from Culture Lab.

Matt also filmed Stories from the Stage in Boston on 2/14, and last but not least, keep an eye out for him at the NYC Fringe in April! We’ll share more info as it becomes available.

 

Congratulations to AIDA ZILELIAN for her newly released novel All the Ways We Lied, which explores the commonality of sisterhood through the eyes of four unforgettable women who have nothing in common except that they are bound by Armenian blood and history.

Upcoming Book Events!

New York/Queens

Boston/Somerville

Rhode Island

  • April 19 – Riffraff Bookstore 
  • April 20 – Watertown Library
  • April 21 – St. Sahag Church

Back in NYC/Queens!

  • April 27 – Lincoln Center: Key speaker for Genocide Awareness
  • May 9 – LIC Book Culture

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

Give a LISTEN to Aida’s “Punch Up” swap or WATCH the full show live-streamed from Culture Lab. You can also watch other past shows on the NYTI YouTube channel.

Still Reading? THANK YOU for your support. Keep it going!
Spread the word about all these alum updates.
Tell a friend to follow No, YOU Tell It!
CLICK HERE to make a donation through The Field.

That’s all for now. Follow Insta and Facebook for more. NYTI Alums, feel free to send us your news for our next update!

February 19, 2024 Post Comment News Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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