Upcoming and past live shows
What’s coming up for No, YOU Tell It! in 2019?
We will be announcing our full season soon, which includes our team-up show with Lambda Literary in June, but FIRST save the date, Wednesday 2/27 at 6:30, for a special evening of switched-up storytelling at The Astoria Bookshop.
Follow @NoYouTellIt for updates and SUBSCRIBE to our podcast on iTunes or AudioBoom to hear true-life tales with a twist.
What a fabulous show this weekend at the summer residency for Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Creative Writing MFA program!! After working together throughout July to develop their stories on the page, Tiffany L. Berryman, Andrew Condouris, and Eliot Schrefer took the stage Sunday morning, August 5th, to perform each other’s true-life tales inspired by the theme “Schooled.”
The tri-flip was directed by our own Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons and we couldn’t be happier by the ecstatic reception from FDU students, alums, and faculty in attendance. Podcast of the live show coming soon. SUBSCRIBE today!
Left: Tiffany L. Berryman, Top: Andrew Condouris, Eliot Schrefer, Tiffany L. Berryman
Click here to see more pictures from the show. Learn more about our switched-up “Schooled” storytellers below!
Left: Eliot Schrefer, Top: Andrew Condouris, Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons, Bottom: Lovely FDU applause!
TIFFANY L. BERRYMAN is a former YES Network TV Personality who still believes in the mystical power of the curveball. A former publicist and high school English and creative writing teacher, she fancies herself an inspired-type with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Now, as an educational consultant, Berryman relishes the opportunity to help others find their own authentic voice. She is the co-creator of www.mybookship.com and has a Masters in Theology from Georgian Court University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Fairleigh Dickinson University with a concentration in the Young Adult genre. Happily sharing her creative journey on social media as she writes the next chapter and tries to dispel the great myths of New Jersey. And while she prefers her maltipoo, Merlin, to most humans, she promises not to bite if you follow her on twitter @TiffyInspired
ANDREW CONDOURIS has been writing since he was eight years old. One night, the stars in the sky mixed up with the city lights, and he wrote a little poem about it. Since that night, he has always been inspired by shadows and the strange beasts he finds there.
ELIOT SCHREFER is a New York Times-bestselling author and has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award. In naming him an Editor’s Choice, the New York Times has called his work “dazzling… big-hearted.” He is also the author of two novels for adults and four other novels for children and young adults. His books have been named to the NPR “best of the year” list, the ALA best fiction list for young adults, and the Chicago Public Library’s “Best of the Best.” His work has also been selected to the Amelia Bloomer List, recognizing best feminist books for young readers, and he has been a finalist for the Walden Award and won the Green Earth Book Award and Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award. He lives in New York City, where he reviews books for USAToday. Visit www.eliotschrefer.com UPCOMING: His next novel, Orphaned, comes out 9/25!!
Join us at The Astoria Bookshop on May 10th at 6:30 pm for a night of switched-up stories about MAYDAYS of the heart, the soul, and the morning after… Click here to RSVP.
Who are our “Mayday” storytellers? So happy you asked!
One of New York’s fastest rising up and coming comedians, Angela Cobb’s self-deprecating charm and nonchalant intellect make her a favorite among audiences in the Big Apple and beyond. A regular at Broadway Comedy Club, Cobb can also be heard on Sirius XM Radio and her tweets have appeared on Comedy Central’s @midnight, someecards, and in The Huffington Post. Additional credits include ComedyTime TV, and the She-Devil, Stand-Up 360, and Westchester Comedy Festivals.
As a producer, Cobb is the creator and host of “My First Time: A Stand-Up & Storytelling Show” at QED in Astoria, in which comedians and storytellers share hilarious virginity loss tales. The popular show was featured in NYC’s 2016 “StoryFest.” Cobb recently made her acting debut co-starting in “A Hot Mess,” a webseries from Silver Tree Entertainment, LLC and was also ranked #6 in the Fall 2015 issue of It’s Queens: The Magazine’s list of the borough’s “Top 15 Comedians.”
Allison Escoto is a poet, copywriter, and head librarian at the Center for Fiction. She is a New Yorker by way of the suburbs of Louisiana and, with the exception of a few, mostly regrettable exceptions, has lived in Queens since 2001. She is the Associate Editor of Newtown Literary Journal.
Skye Holly’s literary career spans 16 years in writing, journalistic and editorial work. A proud Brooklyn native of Haitian descent, she explores life (or tries to) through a global lens. She is passionate about community development and the arts. She has a Master of Fine Arts from Fairleigh Dickinson University and is pursuing a Master of Science at Columbia University. Her articles and essays have appeared in The African and The Jewish Voice, among other publications. She is a regular contributor to The Haitian Times and The Canarsie Courier. Holly published a collection of poetry in 2010 and has had a few of her plays produced, as well. She works as a Family Coordinator for a charter school by day, moonlights as a journalist by night and is a doting mother to her teen son 24/7. He reminds her how uncool he thinks she is fairly often (but still invites her to hang out with him and his friends from time to time). He knows the deal.
Ryan Holmes is a member of Actors’ Equity Association whose New York theatre credits include SLAM! A Graffiti Musical at New York Theatre Barn; Peace Warriors at Fordham – Lincoln Center; Blocked: A Play About One Man at Manhattan Repertory Theatre; What You Will, a workshop with the Bristol-Riverside Theatre; and the award-winning cabarets Cait Doyle’s Hot Mess in Manhattan and The Rescignos, both at The Duplex. Los Angeles theatre credits include Mariachi Much Ado About Nothing with the East LA Classic Theatre Company; Summer People, and The Bacchae, both with the International Classical Actors’ Project. Ryan is the host of the Internet radio show and podcast, BlazinRy Radio, where he has interviewed showbiz heavyweights like Betty Buckley, Biz Markie, Lea DeLaria, Kellie Pickler, Crystal Waters, Sticky Fingaz, Murphy Lee, Orfeh, Tammy Blanchard, Alex Lacamoire, Tommy James, and AJR. Ryan is excited to return to No, YOU Tell It for the fourth time.
Visit http://blazinryradio.com or download the podcast for free at http://bit.ly/blazinryitunes.
We were thrilled to celebrate 5 years of No, YOU Tell It! at our “Blowback” show this week! Molly Touger, Ariel Mahler, Gabriel Berezin, and Courtney Frances Fallon delighted a packed back room at Jimmy’s No. 43 with their stunning story swaps.
Thank you to everyone who came out! Audio from the evening available soon on the No, YOU Tell It! podcast.
SUBSCRIBE (available on iTunes and GooglePlay) to make sure you don’t miss out. Click here to catch up on past episodes featuring true-life tales recorded live at our shows.
In ONE WEEK! Celebrate 5 years of No, YOU Tell It! at our BLOWBACK show. See you at Jimmy’s No. 43 on Wed, May 17th. Drinks at 6:30. Stories start right at 7 pm. FREE!
Click here to RSVP via Facebook.
For this special anniversary edition, returning alums Ariel Mahler and Molly Touger will swap true-life tales with newbies Gabriel Berezin and Courtney Frances Fallon. Let’s learn a bit more about our switched-up storytellers, shall we:
Gabriel Berezin is a singer, songwriter and musician. He formed and fronted the band, Monuments for 12 years and recorded three original albums, touring the country numerous times. Conceptually the material varied between love and loss, fate, consciousness, cults, paradoxes, and anything else that falls under the umbrella of science fiction. Gabe has never been shy about telling stories, both at social gatherings and at home where he diaries regularly like a teenager in a John Hughes movie. After a hiatus from song-writing, he’s enjoying the freedom to tell a tale without the pressure of rhyme, or the rigidity of verses and choruses.
Courtney Frances Fallon recently relocated to the city from Western New York (Buffalo). She is a writer, performer, and director best known for You Know This Girl – a one woman satire of Girls Gone Wild culture which was performed in over a dozen cities. In January, her Vagina Postcards photo series and performance art piece Look At Me were included in the anti-Trump art show “Hands OFF My Cuntry” and now you can see her vagina lighting up a cigarette in the Huffington Post. Next she’ll be participating in the Kennedy Center Summer Playwriting Intensive. www.courtneyfrancesfallon.com.
Ariel Mahler is a writer and director who has recently made the not-so-smooth yet terribly exciting transition from theater into film. Their most recent project, Façades, centers a nonbinary trans person who falls in love with a drag queen. Hilarity and drama ensure. This spring, Ariel is working on several exciting projects, including a play to be performed in Brooklyn’s Trans Theater Fest, an independent feature film, and Dixon Place’s HOT! Festival, which they are co-curating. Thanks for coming to support this kooky and fun group of storytellers! Enjoy the show!
After stints as a journalist, publicist, backwaiter, nonprofit writer, kayak guide, and instructional designer, Molly Touger is about to embark on an MFA in creative nonfiction, a move heavily inspired by the folks at No You Tell It. She plans to thank and blame them for whatever comes next 😉
Wondering what is switched-up storytelling? Watch and see:
May 17th! Save the date! We had our first story meeting last week and you don’t want to miss this intense set of swapped stories inspired by the theme “Blowback” from:
Gabriel Berezin
Courtney Frances Fallon
Ariel Mahler
Molly Touger
Our last live show at Jimmy’s No. 43 until September!!
Thank you to everyone who came out to Jimmy’s No. 43 on Wed night for our “Migration” show! Here are some fun pics from the evening.
New podcast episodes featuring the storytellers trading their true-life tales coming soon. SUBSCRIBE on iTunes and GooglePlay.
Our next installment of No, YOU Tell It! is Wednesday, May 17th at 7 pm at Jimmy’s No. 43. Save the date!
Group photo left to right: Ken Crossland, Erika Iverson, Leslie Malaika Lewis, and Elisa DeCarlo
Click here to learn more about our switched-up storytellers.
Who are our “Migration” storytellers for Wednesday’s show? I’m so glad you asked!
Ken Crossland is a writer, children’s book designer, podcaster, and comedian from New York City. He’s the founder of the Curious Civilian, a website dedicated to politics and policy, and is a contributing editor to the Huffington Post, writing about government. You can follow him on Twitter (@kencrossland), curiouscivilian.com, or by typing his name into Google, and seeing what comes up.
Elisa DeCarlo is a writer/performer who has performed solo shows around the country, including the critically acclaimed “Toasted,” based on a real-life murder case, and “I Love Drugs”. Her work has been collected in “Cervix With A Smile: Comic Sketches and Plays by Elisa DeCarlo” (Exit Press). She has written comedy for National Public Radio, TV Land and Nickelodeon. Elisa is also a novelist, writer of “The Abortionist’s Daughter,” “The Devil You Say,” and “Strong Spirits”, the latter two published by Avon. As a journalist she has been published in The New York Times, New York magazine, Sarah Lawrence magazine, and others.
Erika Iverson is a director and dramaturg for No, YOU Tell It! and has participated in almost every one of their shows as a director, performer, or both. She is a certified instructor of the Alexander Technique and an enthusiastic director of one-woman shows. She was last seen on stage at La Mama ETC as a clown of ambiguous gender and the embodiment of Air in Magis Theatre Company’s production of Calderon’s Two Dreams. She is super grateful to Kelly Jean, who provides Erika with deadlines and shames her into showing up for things on time. Thanks KJ!
Leslie Malaika Lewis is an actress, writer and producer best known for creating the solo show Miracle in Rwanda. She is the leading lady and lead producer of the film With Child, available for streaming on iTunes and Amazon. Leslie starred as Dorothy Dandridge at the National Black Theater. A Harvard graduate, she has a MFA in Acting from UCLA. Awards: The Streisand Sony Award at UCLA and an AUDELCO and Jessie Award nominee. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity, The Magis Theater Company and The Actors Center. She thanks God, her family and friends for their support.
See you at 7 pm at Jimmy’s No. 43. We will open the back room right at 7 for the show, but feel free to come early for drinks/food in the bar area. (no min or max on either!)
CLICK HERE to RSVP via Facebook.
Our next show is in ONE WEEK. See you back at our old stomping grounds, Jimmy’s No. 43, for a night of switched-up stories inspired by the theme “Migration” from:
Ken Crossland, Elisa DeCarlo, Leslie Lewis, and our very own Erika Iverson!
Click here to RSVP via Facebook.
Check back soon to meet our “Migration” storytellers!
Our own Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons and Mike Dressel had a blast trading true-life tales with the editors of The Literary Review – Minna Zallman Proctor, Jessie Vail Aufiery, and Heather Lang – at the 2017 AWP Conference & Bookfair in Washington, D.C.
Here’s a few fun moments from our “Deleted Scenes” themed story swap on February 9th.
Audio soon! SUBSCRIBE to our podcast on iTunes and GooglePlay. Curious about what we do? Click here to WATCH and learn more about No, YOU Tell It!
Save the date for No, YOU Tell It! “Migration” back at our usual haunt Jimmy’s No. 43 on March 22nd at 7 pm!
