Better Said Than Done’s 5 Year Anniversary Show and Story Contest is only two weeks from tonight! Today, we introduce you to Dustin Fisher, one of the 10 storytellers who will be performing in the show. (Watch the story Dustin submitted to our online contest.)

Best in Show: 5 Year Anniversary Show and Story Contest
Saturday, May 28, 2016
6:30 PM (doors open at 5 PM)
Jammin’ Java, 227 Maple Avenue East, Vienna, Virginia
$15 per person (Advance tickets available online)

Name: Dustin Fisher

Age: Young enough to play football, but too old to stand up straight the next day.

Profession: Writer, storyteller, and stay-at-home dad. These are just all nice ways of saying “unemployed.”

Town where you live: New Carrollton — either 2:00 on the beltway or the other end of the orange line, depending on your preferred method of travel.

Blog: Daddy Needs A Nap

When did you first start telling stories on stage? I performed my first stand-up routine in the summer of 1995. It was such a rousing success, I decided to do it again in December 2007. After that, I decided to stay up there for a while, but I hadn’t really heard of storytelling as an art form until 2009. I performed my first story at SpeakeasyDC in April 2009 and it gradually replaced my passion for stand-up comedy.

What was the first story you told about? I told a 3-minute true story in that 10-minute stand-up routine back in 1995 about a time my dad tried to order a pizza by walking up to a Domino’s Pizza on his way home from work one night. He knocked on their glass front door and they pointed to a sign that said, “No walk-in customers after 9 PM.” So my dad went to a pay phone and called them and ordered the pizza to their store, just outside. This story is legendary both in our family and in certain small circles in the Bridgeport, Pennsylvania community. I’ve also since told this in plenty more stand-up routines, storytelling events, and singles bars.

What’s your favorite storytelling moment? I was part of an award-winning Fringe show in the summer of 2010. It was an incredible run and being a part of the creative process was amazing. But my favorite storytelling moment came the following February, when we were asked by SpeakeasyDC to perform the show for their Valentine’s Day program in the Atlas Theatre (approximate seating: 250). I get nervous before every show I ever do, especially this one, because I am on stage with three other people for an hour, taking turns telling very precisely crafted stories, which play into each other and come together as one big piece of art. So if I screw up, I bring the whole ship down, not just my own dinghy. I got to the show an hour and a half early and practiced my first four sentences about 15-20 times when I wasn’t yapping with the other storytellers, feeling anxious about not practicing for the show. And just before the performance — literally 2 or 3 minutes before — I looked out at the growing crowd of 250 people and felt a calm I hadn’t felt before or since. This confidence that I knew the material. I didn’t feel the need to rehearse the first four sentences in my head anymore. I knew it. And I had perhaps my best night of storytelling ever. I jumped when a barrel was rolled at me, I dribbled without looking at the ball, I was present with the crowd — it was other-worldly. And when I uttered the final word an hour later, the crowd gave Molly, Jen, the incredibly talented and late Kevin Boggs, and me a standing ovation. We had caught lightning in a bottle, and I realized even then but certainly now, that this was probably one of those very few times in my life that I would do something great. People were legitimately moved by our story.

Any other hobbies or avocations you’d like to share? As mentioned, I still manage to find time to play football, but as I also mentioned, I’m a stay-at-home dad to two toddlers, so I tell stories and sing folk songs about a time when I would go to the movies or the golf course, but those times are long buried in ruins — at least for another few years. Though I do run a Facebook-based movie fan site that has gotten relatively popular. I guess that’s a hobby, even if by accident. And I don’t have any avocados I want to share.

What’s your favorite fictional story? The more I talk about it, the more obvious it’s becoming that Big Fish is probably my favorite story. As it is, I had a father with a little bit of a secret life, that of a bookie and a back-of-the-pool-hall poker dealer. As the cancer started to gradually get to him, I found out more about his life, and it didn’t quite unfold in the fantastical way that it did in Big Fish, but I can certainly relate to an adult son trying to learn about his dad before he didn’t have the chance to anymore — and in the end, understanding and becoming closer to him than he ever was before.

Since the show in May is at Jammin’ Java, please tell us how you take your coffee. Sugar, no cream, and then give it to my wife so I can drink my Long Island Iced Tea.

Jammin’ Java is in Vienna, Virginia. Have you been to the original Vienna? No, but I’m taking my time, because I hear it’s waiting for me.

We expect the anniversary show to sell out. Do you have your tickets yet? Don’t miss your chance to hear 10 fantastic stories (read more about the storytellers here) and vote for your favorite of that night! There are cash prizes for the 3 storytellers who get the most votes and door prize drawings for audience members.