Cold Night, Warm Stories

This past Saturday, Better Said Than Done put on a storytelling fundraiser for Friends of Reston for Community Projects. This was our fourth fundraiser for Friends, and we raised nearly $1000.

What makes a storytelling fundraiser great is that it doesn’t really feel like a boring old fundraiser. No long speeches. No items being auctioned. Just a great show of true personal stories by some of the area’s best storytellers that happens to raise money along the way.

I did want to send out a special thank you to all of the volunteers – my friends, Friends of Reston Board Members and staff, my husband – the wonderful audience for attending and the storytellers for putting on a great night of storytelling.

We had two shows that night, but both were pretty similar and the lineup was the same, so here’s a quick run down.

Derek Hills told about the most awesome igloo he can ever remember building.

Kim Ruff touched our hearts with her story about the homeless in winter.

Mel Pine reached out for a little warmth on a cold night in New York City.

Geraldine Buckley showed us all her lethal weapons.

Dustin Fisher lost a girl to a blizzard, but might have been better for it.

Jessica Piscitelli Robinson trained for a marathon in the middle of winter.

Mike Baireuther had a less than perfectly planned romantic weekend in Paris, almost.
Continue reading

Posted in Storytellers, Storytelling | Leave a comment

More Charitable Storytelling

Of course you will all be at one of the two storytelling shows this Saturday night, listening to great stories and helping to support nature education programs at the Reston Nature House. But after this weekend’s storytelling fundraiser, there is another one just a week away.

Voices in the Glen will be presenting:
Story Surge:
A storytelling concert to benefit the Island Park, NY public library, which lost over 20,000 books in Hurricane Sandy.

The event will be
7 p.m. on Saturday, February 16th
One More Page Books
2200 North Westmoreland Street, #101
Arlington, VA, 22213.

Performances are intended for adults and children who can listen like adults. Featured performers are Noa Baum, Geraldine Buckley, Margaret Chatham, Tim Livengood, Lauren Martino, Miriam Nadel, and Merrillee Pallansch, with Gary Lloyd emceeing.

Suggested donation is $10-25. If you are interested and unable to attend, the store will have a donation jar out for the week before the event.

You can also contribute by check payable to the Island Park Public Library and sent to:

Attn: Island Park Public Library Restoration Fund
Nassau Library System
900 Jerusalem Ave.
Uniondale, NY, 11553-3039

Posted in Events, Storytellers, Storytelling | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Storytelling for a Cause

Our show on February 9th – next weekend! – is also a fundraiser. We run 1 – 3 fundraisers a year. They are always great nights for storytelling, with great energy from the crowd, and, of course, a great cause. Next Saturday’s show benefits Friends of Reston for Community Projects, and specifically nature education programs at the Reston Nature House. I hope to see you all there. We have a fantastic line up of talented storytellers, and your ticket price goes to a great cause.

Brrr, It’s Cold Outside – stories of winter nights, ice queens, and finding warmth
Saturday, February 9th, 2013
Walker Nature Education Center
11450 Glade Dr.
Reston, VA
7:00PM Show/Doors Open at 6:30PM
9:00PM Show/Doors Open at 8:30PM
$15 Tickets Available at: coldstories.eventbrite.com or at the door

Join storytellers Mike Baireuther, Geraldine Buckley, Dustin Fisher, Derek Hills, Mel Pine, Jessica Robinson, and Kim Ruff for a night of cold stories that will warm your heart.
All proceeds benefit Nature House.

Posted in Events, Storytelling | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Famous Videos

For our first storytelling show of the year, Better Said Than Done storytellers shared true, personal tales of their 15 minutes of fame. In case you missed the show, or just want to see the best storytelling show in Virginia all over again, here are all the videos from our fantastic cast, in order of appearance.

Click on any of the names to view the video.

Jeremy Strozer’s sordid tale of working as an extra

Kimberly Ruff’s journey to Jerry Springer

Anna Marie Trester’s auspicious meeting with Ralph Fiennes

Jessica Piscitelli’s career as a production assistant

David Supley Foxworth’s international fame

Miriam Nadel’s Jeopardy answers

Cara Foran’s search for celebrity

All the storytellers brought their best and have earned much more than 15 minutes of fame.

If you want to see Virginia’s best storytelling show, or are just looking for a great night out, don’t miss our next show – “Brrr, It’s Cold Outside.”

Brrrrr It’s Cold Outside
– stories of winter nights, ice queens, and finding warmth

Saturday, February 9, 2013
Walker Nature Education Center
11450 Glade Drive, Reston, VA

7:00PM Show/Doors Open 6:30PM
9:00PM Show/Doors Open 8:30PM

$15 Tickets Available Online Here Or At the Door

Join storytellers Mike Baireuther, Geraldine Buckley, Dustin Fisher, Derek Hills, Mel Pine, Jessica Robinson, and
Kim Ruff for a night of cold stories that will warm your heart.
All proceeds benefit Reston Nature House.

Posted in Events, Storytelling | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Famous for 15

At Saturday night’s storytelling show, “15 Minutes of Fame,” we heard stories of celebrity (Ralph Fiennes, Johnny Depp, Jerry Springer), stories of notoriety (a jaunt on Jeopardy, a job on Batman), and stories of the quest for Stardom (TV commercials, blogs, and cooking shows).  All of the stories were, of course, fabulous.  This is, after all, the best storytelling show in Virginia, or, as one fan put it, “the most fun you can have on a Saturday night.”

To recap, just a little, the night kicked off with Jeremy Strozer telling us about how his body was chopped up and shipped through the mail.  Nice lead off, dontcha think?

Kim Ruff picked up with an adventure story that ended at the Jerry Springer show. Anna Marie Trester told us how she came to be nicknamed Chewbacca, and that tied in to her meeting Ralph Fiennes.

After a short intermission, we picked up with Jessica Robinson’s story of her time as the actor handler on movies, and one hard to handle actor in particular.  David Supley Foxworth stirred it up a bit with a tale of two TV shows.
Continue reading

Posted in Events, Storytellers, Storytelling | Leave a comment

Storytelling Workshop with your Team

Better Said Than Done teachers Jennifer Luu and Jessica Robinson were recently asked to lead a storytelling workshop for PRB (Population Reference Bureau), a non profit located in DC. They brought ten of their best communicators and we lead them on a story finding journey.

Ericha Gudmastad, of PRB, had this to say about the experience: “Jessica and Jennifer were great to work with. They tailored the session to our organization’s specific needs and altered the workshop on the fly to make sure all of our questions and challenges were thoroughly addressed. They created a comfortable, enabling environment which was key to getting work colleagues to open up and fully participate. The experience left us creatively rejuvenated with a new perspective on our work.”

An onsite workshop is different from attending one of our weekend workshops because, as Ericha said, we tailor the session to your company’s specific mission. In the case of PRB, they were struggling with the need to use data (numbers, statistics, etc.) in their messaging, and yet somehow present that data in relatable terms. We helped coach their team on ways to find the stories behind the numbers, and hopefully to make those details something a reader or viewer could grasp and feel once the story was in place.

If you work with a group of people who share a mission, consider hiring Better Said Than Done to lead an onsite workshop. We work with the group as well as the individuals in the group to coach them into developing stories to inspire, move, and persuade.

For more information about our storytelling workshops, click here.
To contact Better Said Than Done for a consultation or quote for a onsite storytelling workshop for your team, email Jessica today.

 

Posted in Storytelling Workshops | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

In the news, the Reston news

We have a great lineup for tomorrow night’s show – details here – and a great class on February 2nd – details here – but I was very excited this morning to find out our upcoming storytelling fundraiser for the Reston Nature House was featured in the Reston Connection.

Check out page 8 for the full article.

One quick note, I may have given them the old URL for ticket sales (I did), so if you are so inspired after reading the article that you want to pre-purchase tickets, make sure to click here!

Posted in News, Storytellers, Storytelling | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

How to Tell a Good Story

This past Saturday, Better Said Than Done hosted our first storytelling workshop of the year, “Spotlight on You.” It was a great class with a wonderful group of up and coming storytellers. We received this lovely and unsolicited testimonial the day after the workshop from one of the students:
“I really enjoyed your class. It was so interesting learning about the nuances to storytelling. And the way you get us right into it was great! Great class for those that need a new hobby, or for those that want to increase their speaking impact!” -FD

Our next storytelling workshop “Your Business Story” focuses on teaching how to find the story or stories of your business. Students will learn what makes for a compelling business story and how to mine the goals, missions, history and tasks of their business or non profit for a great tale or two!

“Your Business Story”
February 2, 2013
Reston Nature House
11450 Glade Dr. Reston, VA
10AM – 2:30PM with 30 minutes for lunch
Taachers: Jennifer Luu and Anna Marie Trester

Click here to find out more and to register.
Students must pay and register in advance.

Posted in Storytelling, Storytelling Workshops | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Famous yet?

Join us for our next night of true, personal, unbelievable stories.

15 Minutes of Fame:
Stories of celebrity, notoriety and the quest for stardom
Saturday, January 26th, 2013

7:00PM Show/Doors Open at 6:00PM
$10 Tickets at Door

Join storytellers Anna Marie Trester, Jessica Piscitelli, Miriam Nadel, Jeremy Strozer, Cara Foran, Kim Ruff, and David Supley Foxworth on an adventure in STARDOM!

Posted in Events | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Year, New Stuff

Man, we got a busy year already! 2013 is going to be fantastic for storytelling in Virginia.

Just a quick peek at what’s in store in the next couple months.

Classes:

Spotlight on You
January 19th, 2013, 10:00am – 2:30pm, Reston
A half-day workshop where you will learn structure, character building, and how to win the audience over. For storytellers of all levels. Students should come with an idea for a story and will leave with a story ready to tell.

Your Business Story
February 2, 2013 , 10:00am – 2:30pm, Reston
Motivate volunteers for your cause, move prospects to sign on as clients and convince investors yours is the right business by telling your story. After this half-day workshop, which focuses on how to write a compelling story, students will leave with stories to use as content for their website, brochure, and elevator speech. Stories are workshopped with teachers and other students, lending many different perspectives on your business tale.

Spotlight on You
March 16th, 2013, 10:00am – 2:30pm, Reston
A half-day workshop where you will learn structure, character building, and how to win the audience over. For storytellers of all levels. Students should come with an idea for a story and will leave with a story ready to tell.

You can read more about our storytelling workshops, and register for upcoming classes here.

Shows:

15 Minutes of Fame: Stories of celebrity, notoriety and the quest for stardom
Saturday, January 26th, 2013
Epicure Cafe
11213 Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA
7:00PM Show/Doors Open at 6:00PM
$10 Tickets at Door

Continue reading

Posted in Events, Storytelling, Storytelling Workshops | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment