We are now accepting registrations for our winter 2022 storytelling workshops. You can register for yourself or, you know, maybe get it as a gift for that person you can never figure out what to get? There are 2 half day Spotlight on You workshops and one 5 week workshop starting in January 2022 – so you’ve got options!
Spotlight on You January 16, 2022, starting at 1:00pm EDT. Led by Jessica Robinson February 12, 2022, starting at 1:00pm EDT. Led by Jessica Robinson
Class sizes are limited to no more than 8 registrants so that each attendee will have time to share a story and receive critical feedback. Because the workshops will be over Zoom, participants can also record their own stories and feedback and save the recording for future reference.
Register for a virtual storytelling workshop below.
After registering, you will receive a receipt. Login information and details for the class will be sent approximately 3 days prior. If you have questions in the meantime, or don’t see the email, please contact stories@bettersaidthandone.com
Your Story, Your Life
5 two hour classes, over five weeks, to help you develop secondary characters, dialogue, non-linear structure, enhanced performance skills, and stories of varying lengths to be performed on stage. Students will be able to workshop and hone at least one, and possibly several, stories over the course of 5 weeks. $195 per registrant Led by Jessica Robinson. Next workshop starts January 26, 2022 We will meet online from 7:00pm – 9:00pm Jan. 26, Feb. 2, Feb. 9, Feb. 16, and Feb. 23
Read about our storytelling teachers, as well as about what you can expect in our workshops here.
We offer customized in-person or virtual, storytelling workshops, webinars, and presentation for your organization. Read about our corporate programs here.
Click Here and Scroll Down to “Past Workshops” to purchase a recording of Jessica’s 90 minute presentation “The Art of Crafting a Personal Story,” given for Story Crossroads. The cost is $25.
Join Better Said Than Done storytellers as we celebrate the END OF 2021.
The Recording of Food, Folx, and Fun Storytelling Show is now available for purchase! Hosted by Alton Chung, with storytellers Mary Theresa Archbold, Adam Booth, Laura Deal, Carmen Agra Deedy, Linda Schuyler Ford, Megan Hicks, Cindy Rivka Marshall, Melissa Reaves, Victoria Rocha, and Anne Shimojima! All ticket holders get a link to our recipe collection with over 20 recipes from our community of storytellers.
Pay-what-you-think-it’s-worth. Any contribution gets you the recipe “book,” as well as the link to watch the recording of the show.
In the “Buy Tickets” box, click on the amount you’d like to pay and then “add to cart.” At the top of the “Buy Tickets” box, a little box that says “Go to Cart” will appear. Click on that. Confirm everything in your cart is correct. Click “Review Cart and Make Payment.” Then click on “Make Payment through Paypal.” That will take you to Paypal where you are given the choice to login to pay OR to pay with credit card.
Please Note
After purchase, you will receive 2 emails. One will be your receipt, the other will have the link to watch the show.
If you don’t see the link to watch the show – check your junk folder. If you still don’t see it, email stories@bettersaidthandone.com BEFORE the show starts. We cannot respond to emails during the show.
On November 27th, 2021, join MC Nick Baskerville and storytellers Richard Barr, Sandra Hull, Dave Lawson, Miriam Nadel, Jessica Robinson, and Diana Veiga for “Thanksgiving: Stories of Gratitude, Grace, and Gravy” bothin-person at The Auld Shebeen in Fairfax, VA andlive streaming online. PLEASE NOTE THE TIME FOR THIS SHOW IS 7:00PM EST.
The Auld Shebeen is located at 3971 Chain Bridge Rd., Fairfax, VA 22030. Better Said Than Done performs DOWNSTAIRS. The entrance is located on North St. Doors open at 6:00pm. The show starts at 7:00pm.
DUE TO HEALTH CONCERNS, WE ARE LIMITING IN-PERSON TICKET SALES. WE INVITE FULLY VACCINATED PEOPLE TO JOIN US IN-PERSON. ONCE WE SELL OUT OF ADVANCE TICKETS, WE WILL BE SOLD OUT OF IN-PERSON TICKETS. IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND IN FAIRFAX, GET YOUR TICKETS NOW BEFORE WE SELL OUT.
Saturday, November 27, 2021
7:00pm EST Show Starts/6:00pm EST Doors Open
Tickets below are divided into virtual tickets ONLY – for watching online live or anytime after the live stream starts – OR in-person.
When you purchase a ticket, you will receive an email within minutes. The email will include a link to watch the live stream. Whether or not you are coming to the live show, you will get the link to watch the video. If you purchase a table, your name will be entered on the list at the door. You do not get a physical ticket.
Ticket sales for the in-person show close when we sell out or when the show starts. However, you will be able to purchase the recording of the show for several days after, if you miss it live.
PLEASE NOTE: Once we sell out of in-person tickets on this page, we are sold out. If we do not sell out, we’ll have tickets available at the door for $15 per person. We cannot guarantee there will be tickets left at the door and recommend you get them in advance.
In the “Buy Tickets” box, click on the amount you’d like to pay and then “add to cart.” At the top of the “Buy Tickets” box, a little box that says “Go to Cart” will appear. Click on that. Confirm everything in your cart is correct. Click “Review Cart and Make Payment.” Then click on “Make Payment through Paypal.” That will take you to Paypal where you are given the choice to login to pay OR to pay with credit card.
When I think of the “good old days,” I sometimes struggle to think what was so good about them! So, I figured I would ask the creative storytellers of our upcoming storytelling show, “Back in My Day: Stories of the Good Old Days,” what they think.
You can hear emcee Carol Moore and storytellers Jane Dorfman, Ty Fance, Johanne Pelletier, Antonio Sacre, Jack Scheer, and Sarah Snyder’s stories on the theme live online at 8:00pm Eastern on October 23rd, or watch the recording after. Either way, get your Tickets Here.
In the meantime here are some of the storytellers’ thoughts about then, and now.
Jane Dorfman
These days, Jane Dorfman has 2 Storytelling World Award Winning CDs.
But back in the good old days…
“My Uncle Jerry came home from Korea the night I was being born. My grandmother said she didn’t know who to be more excited about–her first grandchild or her son back in mostly one piece.
(I am sure she chose her son.)”
Well, we’re happy Jane was born and will be performing with us on the 23rd! Even if she didn’t have to return from a war to get some stories.
Ty Fance
With the help of some great actors, a producer, and family and friends – Ty Fance recently made a short film entitled “Chump City“. The story is loosely based on one of his short stories call “Bank Shot”.
Back in his Jackson 5 days, Ty’s interests were a little different. “With the advent of the “Pill” and the efforts of Hugh Hefner (PlayBoy), the Sexual Revolution kicked off. I didn’t participate. I hadn’t completed puberty and found riding my bike, playing football and shooting my b-b gun more interesting than girls.” But he’s happy about some of the improvements we’ve seen since then, even if the results aren’t always pretty. “The picture quality on Television. Back then there was no depth of field and the picture was all grainy. Now you can see the hairs in a person’s nose.”
Johanne Pelletier
Johanne Pelletier was one of the volunteers that decoded the Anne Lister diaries – the diaries of an 19th century woman in England who wrote about her life, including her sexual affairs, in code – its the basis of the HBO-BBC series Gentleman Jack. That was waaaaay back in the day. When Johanne was a youngster in the 20th century, the US started using the ZIPCODE and the Internet was technically invented (actually 1969)! As amazing as all that was, some things have gotten better. Like – “Medicine, health care, and hair products….lol.”
Antonio Sacre
Antonio Sacre once told stories in between rounds of a Lucha Libre pro wrestling match at an outdoor stadium of 15,000 drunk screaming fans in Birmingham, Alabama. The year he was born, Mister Rogers debuted on NET (now PBS). Hard to imagine anything getting better than that but the decades since have seen some improvement. “In the 1970s, our car was always breaking down on the side of the road, and people would empty out the car ash trays full of cigarette butts in parking lots in front of the supermarket. My car today has nearly 200,000 miles on it and has never broken down once (knock on wood!).” And I’m going to assume, when it does, there won’t be an ashtray to empty!
Jack Scheer
Jack Scheer has been telling for a little over six years now, so a full quarter of his storytelling career has been via Zoom. And as if those #s aren’t impressive enough, here’s some more. “I was born at the end of March 1970. Within the first two weeks of my life three of the most important events of the ’70s happened: the Beatles broke up, Apollo 13 happened, and the AMC Gremlin was introduced.” As to what has gotten better in the meantime – “Television shows. I don’t think the ratio of good to bad shows has changed, but because of the sheer number of things being produced we get a lot more high quality programming.”
Sarah Snyder
Sarah Snyder is the author of 4 books, the most recent one published this summer, “DIY Solo Retreats: A Handbook for Creating Your Space, Setting an Intention, and Getting the Self-Care You Deserve” (and we all deserve lots of self-care these days)! The year Sarah was born: Bell Telephone introduced the first touch-tone phone; Five digit ZIP codes were introduced nationwide; and Cap’n Crunch cereal, cassette tapes and decks, Chips Ahoy!, Crispy Critters cereal, freeze-dried instant coffee, Instamatic cameras, McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish, Speed Stick, Sunny Delight, Tab, and the Veg-O-Matic food processor were all introduced. And as wonderful (and healthy!) as all that sounds, Sarah is excited that these days information is available at our fingertips, literally.
Now that you’ve learned a bit about our storytellers’ sordid pasts, make sure to come hear their sordid – or not so – stories about the long – or not so – long ago! Our show kicks off at 8:00 P.M. EDT. As ever, it’s a “pay what you’d like” show – with a suggested contribution of $15 and a minimum of $5. Get your ticket now!
You can now watch emcee Dr. Joel Ying and storytellers Nick Baskerville, Bonnie Gardner, Rachel Ann Harding, Sammie James, Donna Washington, and Megan Wells in “He Said/She Said/They Said: Stories About Gender.”
$15 Suggested/$5 Minimum
All proceeds split between Better Said Than Done and the night’s performers.
TICKET SALES END ON NOVEMBER 14th.
In the “Buy Tickets” box, click on the amount you’d like to pay and then “add to cart.” At the top of the “Buy Tickets” box, a little box that says “Go to Cart” will appear. Click on that. Confirm everything in your cart is correct. Click “Review Cart and Make Payment.” Then click on “Make Payment through Paypal.” That will take you to Paypal where you are given the choice to login to pay OR to pay with credit card.
Please Note
After purchase, you will receive 2 emails. One will be your receipt, the other will have the link to watch the show.
If you don’t see the link to watch the show – check your junk folder. If you still don’t see it, email stories@bettersaidthandone.com BEFORE the show starts. We cannot respond to emails during the show.
Rose Valley Storytelling House Concerts! Hosted by Megan Hicks
Saturday, November 6, 2021, Jessica Robinson will be giving a house concert for Rose Valley Storytelling at 7:30pm, premiering her solo show “Magic Hour,” a collection of stories based in magical realism. Jessica will perform stories, in-person, for about an hour, in front of a live audience.
In case this is your first Rose Valley Storytelling House Concert, you’ll need the address. It is: 3 Rose Valley Road, Media, PA 19063. There will be a sign at the top of the driveway. Red letters, all caps: STORY
Please call or text (540-371-6775) to let Megan know you’re coming. If you find out later that you won’t be able to make it, please let her know. There is a waitlist. If you contact Megan and she doesn’t respond in a timely manner, please try again. Text, talk, or email megan@meganhicks.com. Suggested donation remains at pre-pandemic level: Twenty bucks per person – 100% of which goes home with the featured teller. There will be a complimentary beverage self-service, but no snacks. We’re treading carefully. Thanks so much for taking care of others by taking care of yourselves.
PROTOCOLS: It is imperative that everyone in attendance be fully vaccinated. While we are indoors, we will all be masked, except for the performer while they are performing. Please, even if you’ve made a reservation, if you’re feeling puny that night, stay home. Windows will be open, and there will be fresh air. Socializing outdoors on the patio. You might need a wrap.
Here’s a batch of dates to save for Rose Valley Storytelling, as per Megan Hicks. “There’s Jane Dorfman, on October 16. And then we have Jessica Robinson, producer of “Better Said Than Done” and “The Women’s Storytelling Festival,” who is also a crash hot storyteller. That’ll be November 6. In December, we’re swapping weekend evenings and doing this thing on SUNDAY, December 12 with Kim Weitkamp. Then back to Saturdays again — January 8 — we are proud to welcome Adam Booth.”
For those of you who don’t know, Megan Hicks is a crash hot storyteller herself. She’ll be joining us for Better Said Than Done’s final storytelling show of 2021, on December 9th. As always, get details on upcoming storytelling shows here.
Find out more about Jessica Robinson, and her upcoming performances and workshops, here.
When I think of storytelling, I tend to think about how stories touch me. Whether it’s the powerful emotions that can be stirred by someone’s true story or how the imagination is fired up by a rousing fairy tale or adventure yarn, what first comes to mind is how stories make me feel.
Seemingly drier subjects such as chemistry or ecology don’t readily leap to mind. But then I recall people like Jacques Cousteau, Jane Goodall, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, individuals who spin incredible true tales born out of their explorations of the larger worlds around us. Talk about engaging!
That’s what Better Said than Done has got in store for you this Thursday, October 14th when we present Gravity: Stories of Science and Nature. Our fearless leader Jessica Robinson is your host for the evening. She’ll be your guide to the worlds presented to us by Charlotte Blake Alston, Claire Hennessy, Tim Livengood, Gwendolyn Napier, Sam Payne, and Kirk Waller. Tickets are on sale now – grab them quick!
Let’s find out a little bit about the tellers that will be bringing us stories of their encounters with the universe…
Charlotte Blake Alston
Charlotte Blake Alston is a nationally acclaimed storyteller, narrator, instrumentalist, librettist, and singer who performs in venues throughout North America and abroad. She is the host of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s preschool concert series, Sound All Around, and has appeared as host and narrator on the orchestra’s school and family concerts since 1991. She has appeared in such venues as the Smithsonian Institution, the Kennedy Center, the National Storytelling Festival, and the National Festival of Black Storytelling. Her international appearances include performances in Ghana, South Africa, China, Switzerland, and the Cape Clear Island Storytelling Festival in Ireland.
Claire Hennessy
British-born Claire Hennessy is an award-winning storyteller, producer, podcaster (The Bonkers Brit) and author. She performs funny, true and often embarrassing stories around the San Francisco Bay Area. She has been published in award-winning anthologies and is hoping to find an agent for her humorous memoir before she is too old to go on a book tour. She started an online storytelling show at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and co-produces Six Feet Apart Productions with longtime, successful comedian Regina Stoops. Together with her husband (the Tech Guru) Mark, they have produced over 40 online live storytelling shows.
Tim Livengood
Tim Livengood is going to save valuable storytelling time by abusing the short bio to do some scene-setting. He is a planetary astronomer and in 1993, while still young and cocky, he went on his third working trip to Hawaii and spent two weeks of fourteen-hour nights, at the top of a mountain, working shoulder to shoulder with just one person. That is why he ran from humanity to risk his life hiking in solitude on a volcano, even though he was not then, and is not now, a very good hiker. And that is where his story commences.
Gwendolyn Napier
Gwendolyn Napier – Native of Atlanta and known to many as “Miss LuvDrop” the Storyteller. She has been sharing stories for over 15 years locally and out of state. Retired educator, teaching and performing artist for the Georgia Council of the Arts Teaching Registry, founder of LuvDrop Storytelling Productions, and serving as an Atlanta Early Education Ambassadors for GEEARS. Member of Kuumba Storytellers of Georgia, Southern Order of Storytellers, National Association of Black Storytellers and more.
Sam Payne
Sam Payne hosts The Apple Seed – an award-winning national radio show – and serves as the Weber State University Storytelling Fellow. Sam has brought his stories and songs to halls in Canada, Bulgaria, Tokyo, and from coast to coast in the United States, and has written books and stage pieces, including Sanctuary: The Story of Zion for the centennial of the National Parks Service, Echoes of Hammers and Spikes (with Suzanne Christensen) for the sesquicentennial of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, and One of a Million Stars, commemorating the 14-year mission of the Mars rover Opportunity.
Kirk Waller
With a lifelong love of story, literature, and the visual arts, Kirk Waller has been immersed in these art forms for over 20 years. He summons all of his God-given talents and fuses them together, using spoken word, rhythm, music and movement to create an unforgettable storytelling experience. Kirk has told at festivals, The national storytelling festival in Jonesboro, Tennessee, schools, libraries and events across the country and beyond.
Now that you’ve met the tellers, make sure to come hear what they have to share about the amazing world all around us! Our show kicks off at 8:00 P.M. EDT. As ever, it’s a “pay what you’d like” show – with a suggested contribution of $15 and a minimum of $6. Get your ticket now!
The recording of “Back in My Day: Stories about the good old days” is now available for purchase. With emcee Carol Moore and storytellers Jane Dorfman, Ty Fance, Johanne Pelletier, Antonio Sacre, Jack Scheer, and Sarah Snyder! Ticket sales close on October 25th. You can watch the recording for up to one month after purchase.
$15 Suggested/$5 Minimum
All proceeds split between Better Said Than Done and the night’s performers.
All ticket holders get a link to the recorded show and can watch the recording for a month after.
TICKET SALES END ON OCTOBER 25th. EVEN THOUGH THE SHOW IS ON OCTOBER 23rd, your ticket will say 10/25/21 on it.
In the “Buy Tickets” box, click on the amount you’d like to pay and then “add to cart.” At the top of the “Buy Tickets” box, a little box that says “Go to Cart” will appear. Click on that. Confirm everything in your cart is correct. Click “Review Cart and Make Payment.” Then click on “Make Payment through Paypal.” That will take you to Paypal where you are given the choice to login to pay OR to pay with credit card.
Please Note
After purchase, you will receive 2 emails. One will be your receipt, the other will have the link to watch the show.
If you don’t see the link to watch the show – check your junk folder. If you still don’t see it, email stories@bettersaidthandone.com BEFORE the show starts. We cannot respond to emails during the show.
The recording is now available for purchase! Get a ticket and watch emcee Jessica Robinson and storytellers Charlotte Blake Alston, Claire Hennessy, Tim Livengood, Gwendolyn Napier, Sam Payne, and Kirk Waller in “Gravity: Stories About Science and Nature!”
Ticket sales close on October 17, 2021
$15 Suggested/$5 Minimum
All proceeds split between Better Said Than Done and the night’s performers.
In the “Buy Tickets” box, click on the amount you’d like to pay and then “add to cart.” At the top of the “Buy Tickets” box, a little box that says “Go to Cart” will appear. Click on that. Confirm everything in your cart is correct. Click “Review Cart and Make Payment.” Then click on “Make Payment through Paypal.” That will take you to Paypal where you are given the choice to login to pay OR to pay with credit card.
Please Note
After purchase, you will receive 2 emails. One will be your receipt, the other will have the link to watch the show.
If you don’t see the link to watch the show – check your junk folder. If you still don’t see it, email stories@bettersaidthandone.com BEFORE the show starts. We cannot respond to emails during the show.
Watch emcee Jessica Robinson and storytellers Jeff Gere, Misty Mator, Kory May, Roopa Mohan, Sam Pearsall, Ed Stivender, and Joey Talbert in a pop-up night of stories! The video is now available for purchase. Tickets sales close on September 26th!
$15 Suggested/$5 Minimum
All proceeds split between Better Said Than Done and the night’s performers.
TICKET SALES END ON September 26th. Your ticket will say 09/26/21 on it.
#storytelling
In the “Buy Tickets” box, click on the amount you’d like to pay and then “add to cart.” At the top of the “Buy Tickets” box, a little box that says “Go to Cart” will appear. Click on that. Confirm everything in your cart is correct. Click “Review Cart and Make Payment.” Then click on “Make Payment through Paypal.” That will take you to Paypal where you are given the choice to login to pay OR to pay with credit card.
Please Note
After purchase, you will receive 2 emails. One will be your receipt, the other will have the link to watch the show.
If you don’t see the link to watch the show – check your junk folder. If you still don’t see it, email stories@bettersaidthandone.com BEFORE the show starts. We cannot respond to emails during the show.
