Tag: Mariam bazeed

Episode 50 – Pride and “Snapped!” Bonus

In celebration of Pride and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, for this, our 50th podcast episode, we wanted to share some of our favorite LGBTQ stories from years past.

First up, from our recent “Snapped!” show at Dixon Place, a drag queen offers handy advice about standing one’s ground in “Lessons from The Queen,” written by Robb Leigh Davis and read for us here by story partner and Lambda Literary fellow, Mariam Bazeed.

Pride. Drag Queens. Courage. It’s all in there.

Click here to read Robb’s story, recently published on The Good Men Project.

Left: Robb Leigh Davis and story partner Mariam Bazeed. Right (top to bottom): Nicholas Maistros, Jeff Wills, Ariel Mahler, and Erika Iverson directs Molly Touger.

Next up, we revisit a show from our previous longtime home, Jimmy’s No. 43 in the East Village.  Author Nicholas Maistros writes of unexpected revelations during a visit with his mother in “Collecting.” Read for us here by his story partner, Jeff Wills, as part of our “Outdated” show.

Click here to give a listen to Nick read Jeff Will’s story “Lost Track” in Episode 41. 

Finally, a superfan desperately wants to connect with the Wonderful Wizard of YouTube, Todrick Hall, in Ariel Mahler’s story “Under the Rainbow, Over the Sea.” Presented here by Ariel’s story partner Molly Touger for our “Blowback” show.

Switching it up, click here to hear Ariel’s performance of Molly Touger’s “And in Local News…” in Episode 37

Speaking their partner’s piece aloud gives a No, YOU Tell It! storyteller the chance to step into another person’s shoes and experience their story on stage, a powerful way to amplify queer voices at a time when their true-life tales need to be heard and shared more than ever.

If you enjoyed these stories, please help us spread the word and share them with your podcasting-loving friends!

Oh, What a Night!

4 storytellers, 3 creative team members, 2 story workshops to develop the pieces on the page, 1 personalized rehearsal session with each storyteller to help them embody their partner’s story on stage = an invigorating evening of “Snapped!” stories last night.

Huge thanks to Lambda Literary for helping us bring this special night of Queer Storytelling with a Twist to Dixon Place. Happy Pride all!!

Pictured left to right: Mike Dressel, Robb Leigh Davis, Mariam Bazeed, Erika Iverson, Kent D. Wolf, Naomi Gordon Loebl and Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons. Photo credit: Ariel Mahler

Click here to visit our No, YOU Tell It! fundraising page to learn more about how you can help us keep the switched-up storytelling going and more! 

Meet “Snapped!” Storyteller Mariam Bazeed

Two weeks until our “Snapped!” show at Dixon Place. Join us in the lounge on June 11th. But first, meet storyteller & Lambda Literary fellow Mariam Bazeed.

Mariam Bazeed is an Egyptian immigrant, writer, and performance artist living in a rent-stabilized apartment in Brooklyn. They have an MFA in Fiction from Hunter College. An alliteration-leaning writer of prose, poetry, plays, and personal essays, Mariam is a current fellow at the Center for Fiction, and a past fellow at the Asian American Writers Workshop and the Lambda Literary Foundation. As a performance artist, Mariam has been a fellow of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics at NYU, and Needing It! by the Helix Performance Network. Mariam’s work has been supported by residencies from Hedgebrook, Marble House Project, the Millay Colony, the Kimmel Nelson Harding Center for the Arts, and Art Omi. Mariam’s first play, Peace Camp Org, was staged at La Mama Theater, NYC (2017) in the Squirts Festival of Queer Performance Art; the Arcola Theatre, London (2018), in its inaugural festival of International Queer Playwrights; and The Wild Project, NYC (2018), in the Fresh Fruit Festival, where it won the Spirit Award. Peace Camp Org is available in anthology from Oberon Books, UK.

To procrastinate from facing the blank page, Mariam curates and runs a monthly(ish) world-music salon and open mic in Brooklyn, and is a slow student of Arabic music.

Snapped! Storytellers

Our team up with Lamba Literary for a night of queer storytelling with a twist is coming up fast! HERE are the four storytellers who will trade their true-life tales.

Mariam Bazeed (top left) Lambda Literary Fellow

Kent D. Wolf (top right) The Friedrich Agency

Robb Leigh Davis (bottom left) Meditation on a Theme

Naomi Gordon-Loebl (bottom right) Lambda Literary Fellow

The storytellers will meet each other for the first time next week when they meet with the NYTI creative team to workshop the first drafts of their stories inspired by the theme SNAPPED! 

More info on the storytellers soon. But save the date! June 11th @ Dixon Place!