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News from the world of No You Tell It

Register For Our Storytelling Intensive at Q.E.D. Astoria

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Write your story. Perform someone else’s. Two days, two ways to explore storytelling with No, YOU Tell It! 

We’re excited to offer a switched-up storytelling intensive at Q.E.D., a new workshop and event space located in Astoria. You can learn more about Q.E.D. here.

We believe everyone has a story to share, and our two-part intensive provides a supportive space to experience the creative, vulnerable, and ultimately elating process behind both writing and performance. There is limited enrollment, so participants will receive individual attention from the NYTI creative team.

Some nitty-gritty on the way the workshop will be conducted:

Session 1 (11/15, 2-6 p.m.) Participants will be guided through a series of writing exercises to help them draft an impactful nonfiction story.

Between sessions, participants will work on their story. While they are busy writing, we will pair the stories – and switch-up the storytellers – based on how they complement each other.

Session 2 (11/22, 2-6 p.m.) Flipping scripts, participants are coached through performing their partner’s story. Then, the paired partners perform one another’s stories for the group.

You will leave the intensive with a draft of your true-life tale on the page, experience performing someone else’s on stage, and feedback on what direction you want to take your piece in next.

The fee for the workshop is $50. NOTE: Class is limited to 8 students and advanced purchase is mandatory. If you cannot attend both sessions, you will not be refunded so please keep this in mind when signing up!

Click here to register. As always, you can email us with questions or concerns. We love to hear from you!

Fated: The No, YOU Tell It! Fall Workshop

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We recently wrapped up our fall workshop, where participants followed the NYTI formula of drafting a story based on a theme, in this instance Fated, revising those pieces, then switching-up and performing them. We’re grateful to The Astoria Bookshop for hosting the public reading. A final workshop session allowed the authors to compare their experiences and explore options for further revisions.

Speaking of the process, here’s a testimonial from May Flam about her experience:

I had no idea how valuable switched-up storytelling would be for my writing and performing. I decided to take the workshop to “shake up” my performing voice and make myself write. As someone who has only ever performed my own stories, I was enlightened when performing a piece with a different sensibility and tone than my usual writing. The vulnerability and immediacy with which I had to perform showed me that before this workshop, I had been holding back. I would recommend this workshop to anyone interested in writing and/or performing. No, YOU Tell It’s writing exercises, performance direction, and workshop model have honestly been more helpful to my growth as a performer than any other model I’ve ever tried. And all by telling another person’s story. Who knew?

From the reading at the Astoria Bookshop, here’s Cailean O’Connor performing “A Painless Chronicle” written by May Flam.

Our second half of the night paired workshop participants Steve Baird and Amanda Jacklin, who wrote the stories “Animal Rescue” and “Journey to the Top” respectively. Below you can listen as they perform one another’s pieces.

Of the workshop experience, here’s what Amanda had to say:

I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to work with talented writing instructors and classmates, and feel that my writing improved as a result.  I also had a blast doing the reading – it was more fun than I ever would have expected!

Echoing those sentiments, Steve said that “NYTI was a fun, enjoyable process with a very supportive group of directors and writers. As a first-time story writer (and teller) I learned a lot.”

If you’re interested in taking part in an upcoming workshop, or bringing one to your school or business, get in touch with us!

Save the Date: Uproar

Nov 18 2014 @ 7:00PM

Just a quick reminder: we’re going to unleash our next switched-up storytelling joint, entitled Uproar, on November 18th. Mark your calendars accordingly.

Event Information

Nov 18 2014 @ 7:00PM

Crazy Sad by Nelson Lugo

Switching it up to close out the show, here is Shelley Gazes performing Nelson Lugo’s story “Crazy Sad.”

September 23, 2014 Post Comment News Tags: ,

All in the Cards by Shelley Gazes

Beginning the second half of the evening, here is Nelso Lugo performing “All in the Cards” written by Shelley Gazes.

September 23, 2014 Post Comment News Tags: , ,

My Almost-Jan Brady by Raquel I Penzo

Now, switching it up, here is Roger Nasser performing Raquel I. Penzo’s “My Almost-Jan-Brady.”

The Elusive Card #66 by Roger Nasser

Starting out our evening entitled Wild Card, here is Raquel I. Penzo performing Roger Nasser’s story  “The Elusive Card #66.“

Meet Our Wild Card Storytellers

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Here they are, the four storytellers who’ll be swapping tales of pop culture obsessions, psychic encounters, birth-order myths, and broken pottery. Let’s get to know them:

Shelley Gazes has studied fiction and nonfiction writing at Barnard College, Sarah Lawrence College’s Writing Institute, Gotham Writers Workshop, and MediaBistro. Her work has appeared in The Journal News and The Huffington Post. She is also a regular volunteer for 826NYC’s storytelling field trips for children, helping students to foster their own creative voices. She’s excited for her work to be performed for the first time with No, YOU Tell It! and looks forward to taking part in more storytelling events in the future.

Nelson Lugo is a Magician, Sideshow Artist, and Batman enthusiast. He was featured by TimeOut NY as an Entertainer to Watch and co-hosts a podcast called “The EPIC PIEcast” for NerdyShow.com. He’s been a guest speaker for The Sunday Assembly NYC, a guest singer for the BTK Band, a storyteller at Adam Wade’s Whatever Happened to the Nerds, and was featured on the Story Collider podcast twice. He is currently performing a solo show called “Gathering The Magic” at The Tank Theater which you can see on Saturday September 20th that is slice-of-life storytelling and sophisticated stage magic. More info at NelsonLugo.com.

Roger Nasser is a writer, actor, director, gourmet rice crispie treat maker and a native New Yorker (Go Queens!). His plays have been performed at The Brick, La Mama and The Flea. As an actor he has appeared in numerous indie theater productions. He is an Associate Artistic Director at The Brick Theater. He is also the Late Night Curator at The Brick and produces and curates The Cleverbot Plays. Roger is also writing and directing It’s Getting Tired Mildred, a soap opera for the stage, premiering October 11 at The Brick. He is excited to be part of this!!

Raquel I. Penzo is a Brooklyn, NY native who has carved a career for herself as a writer, editor, and literary event curator. She hosts the New Voices Reading Series each quarter in NYC and works as a copywriter at Brooklyn Public Library. Raquel authored the self-published My Ego Likes the Compliments…And Other Musings on Writing, and the short stories, “Grey Matter,” published online at Blue Lake Review, and “Perspective on a Murder,” published by Mason’s Road. An anthology of works from participants of her reading series was released on April 29. She can be found online at RaquelPenzo.com.

Live Show: Wild Card

Sep 17 2014 @ 7:00PM

Our next storytelling show, Wild Card, is a little more than a week away. We drafted artist Sarah Gentile to create our themed image, which as you can see is intricate and dynamic and wonderful. Asked about her inspiration, here’s what she had to say:

When presented with the theme of “Wild Card,” the first (and probably most obvious) things that came to mind were playing cards. I love face cards and knew right off that I wanted to create my own Joker. What snuck its way in a bit unexpectedly was the loop symbol for infinity. Maybe it was stuck in the back of my mind while I sketched.

It seems appropriate that I include it, though, because for me a wild card or Joker represents infinite possibility and change. I hope to convey through this image a bit of chaos and order, motion and stasis, positive and negative space, looping into that sideways figure-eight as a reminder of the infinite possibilities within our lives and the stories we tell.

Indeed. We love that notion, too, of  “the infinite possibilities within our lives and the stories we tell.“

We’ll be introducing our four Wild Card storytellers shortly. Details on the reading are here.

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Event Information

Sep 17 2014 @ 7:00PM

Jimmy's No. 43, East 7th Street, New York, NY, United States

September 9, 2014 Post Comment Live Shows, News Tags: ,

Storytelling Workshop in Astoria

We had such a terrific time with our Alumni reading at the Astoria Bookshop that we’ve gone ahead and planned a storytelling workshop in our favorite neighborhood. Maybe that’s something you’d be interested in attending? Sessions will be held on Sunday afternoons beginning September 7th, and the five-week workshop includes a public reading at the bookstore. We are finalizing our participants but still have space if you want to take part. Further details, including times, fees, and all the fine print, can be found here on Facebook or by emailing us

Looking ahead, our next proper storytelling show, Wild Card, will take place on September 17th. More info to come. 

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