Better Said Than Done had a busy year. A successful year. An emotional year. Basically, we had a lot going on – so much so that I need to sum things up or this blog post will run 40 pages. Here are a few of the things that happened in Better Said Said Than Done storytelling in 2017.
Storytelling Shows
In addition to our usual, wonderful, last Saturday of the month shows at The Auld Shebeen in Fairfax, Better Said Than Done performed at a variety of venues and experimented with a few different show formats.
Old Friends:
We returned to Jammin’ Java in April to perform Roar: True Tales of Women Warriors. (More below.) We also returned to Epicure Cafe for a four part series of storytelling shows we called the Summer Spotlight Series. Each show featured one storyteller, sharing one feature length (approx. 60 mins.) story. Our spotlight storytellers included Susan Gordon, Jessica Robinson, Ellouise Schoettler and Anne Thomas.
And New:
In 2017, Better Said Than Done also began a new chapter, at a new venue. We took on a second monthly show – the 3rd Wednesday of the month at the Lake Anne Coffee House in Reston, VA. These free shows, run by Mary Supley Foxworth, have been so successful that we are continuing with them into 2018!
Storytelling Workshops and Presentations:
Better Said Than Done storytelling teachers led corporate storytelling workshops and presentations for the Office of Personnel Management, George Washington University School of Business, the Warrior Womens Weekend, the Fall for the Book Festival, and an unnamed government agency. (Shhhh)
We also hosted our Spotlight on You, Your Business Story, and our Take the Stage storytelling workshops throughout the year, encouraging new storytellers to craft their own true stories.
In addition, Better Said Than Done teacher Jessica Robinson started teaching a six week storytelling course at The Insight Shop in Vienna, VA. Jessica will continue teaching at the Insight Shop in 2018, as well as leading some workshops there with Mary Supley Foxworth.
We love our corporate and non-profit clients and, more importantly, we love teaching the art of true, personal storytelling to organizations and individuals. We’re looking forward to doing a lot more teaching in 2018!
Roar: True Tales of Women Warriors
In April, Better Said Than Done started a movement. We put on a show with an all female cast and published a book by 21 female authors on the theme of Roar: True Tales of Women Warriors. We stood on stage, and wrote on the page, to say, “We are women. Hear us roar!” Sadly, when the show came out, everyone said, “how timely.” When the book launched, everyone said, “how timely.” When Bards Alley Bookstore in Vienna, VA hosted an author event for us and when we performed Roar on the National Mall in Washington DC, everyone said, “how timely.” We created Roar in late 2016 because the idea of women’s rights, equality and respect seemed timely. Sadly, it still does. I look forward to the day when we don’t need to roar, because we will be heard without raising our voices. For now, join the movement, and roar with us!
Roar: True Tales of Women Warriors, a book anthology of true, personal stories about obstacles and empowerment, is available for purchase
at Bards Alley Bookstore in Vienna, VA, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
Fundraising
In total, Better Said Than Done raised over $2300 for charity in 2017. With our storytelling show at the Walker Nature Center in Reston, VA, we raised over $600 for Friends of Reston. With our Roar: True Tales of Women Warriors show and book sales, we donated over $1700 to the National Network to End Domestic Violence.
Storytelling is about community. It’s about sharing stories and connecting people. It follows that storytelling is a great way to help people through fundraising as well. Better Said Than Done has a commitment to grow our community, connecting people and helping where we can.
Our Storytelling Community
There are so many people involved in building and supporting the storytelling community in Northern Virginia, I can’t name every person. I can say the success storytelling has seen in this area is due entirely to the people who support us: the storytellers, who not only open their hearts, but work to turn their personal experiences into well-crafted stories; the audiences who come to hear those stories; the owners and staff at The Auld Shebeen, Lake Anne Coffee House, Jammin’ Java, and Epicure Cafe who give us a home for our community; the many storytelling organizations out there who help spread the word about storytelling; press and writers who have shared the word about our shows and events; and our storytelling students, corporate, non-profit and individual, who open themselves up to the experience of storytelling. Thank you for being part of this wonderful storytelling community. We will see you in 2018!
A Look Ahead – 2018
We already have the first several months of shows listed on our upcoming storytelling show page, including one at the City of Fairfax Public Library! We have a million storytelling workshops coming up, and events at the Insight Shop. We hope to see you soon – in a workshop, at a show, or on our stage.
Happy New Year!
