Looking Back on “Don’t Look Back”

Most of the storytellers who shared their story on Tuesday night were able to attend the workshop the week before the event.  The workshop was successful for many reasons. Namely, they all got to know one another a little bit and build a little support network. They gave great feedback on each others’ stories and hopefully gained some confidence.

I was able to better select the ordering of the stories in order that the night flowed well.

The night of the event itself was unusual for me because one of the people who had committed to sharing a story was unable to join us because chronic health issues were plaguing him and he had to back out. He did so on Tuesday morning and I had to make a choice: call one of the people who said they could help in a pinch, or tell a story of my own.

I opted to share a story.

Generally, I choose not to share my own stories at Tell Us Something because I want to remain out of the spotlight as much as possible, keeping to focus on the storytellers and their stories.

The fact that I was also sharing a story brought back the nervous energy I hadn’t felt in a while. What to share? How can I keep to 10 minutes? There is such a huge range of details from which to choose when telling the Tell Us Something story I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do it.

Turns out, I did.

Spring break affected attendance a little, and I learned from that (Look at ALL the calendars when scheduling an event, not just event calendars).

The storytelling was strong all around, the audience left feeling good.

I breathed another sigh of relief before turning my attention to recruiting storytellers for the April 6 Helena show at Free Ceramics. The theme: “The First Time.”

(you can get tickets for the April 6 Helena show here.)

Your Story Matters.

–Marc