Tag: Symphony Space

“Before & After” Part 1: Calvin S. Cato and Michele Carlo (Episode 79)

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Our spring “Before & After” show was our second time performing at the beautiful  Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space on March 13, 2025, but it was our very first student matinee! 

Our storytellers and our special guest host, Najah Imani Muhammad, who are all No, YOU Tell It! alums, illustrated the power of storytelling for a theater full of high school juniors from Global Learning Collaborative and Talent Unlimited High School to help inspire the personal stories they want to tell in their college application essays.

Story siblings Calvin S. Cato and Michele Carlo. Photo credit: Russ Rowland

Give a listen to part one of our show, where Calvin S. Cato and Michele Carlo become story siblings by stepping into each other’s true tales about the best-laid plans and unforeseen accidents that send our lives in new directions. 

Thank you to NYSCA-A.R.T./New York Creative Opportunity Fund (A Statewide Theatre Regrant Program) for helping us make our first-ever student matinee a reality. Here’s to what we hope is the first of many!

Podcast narrated by Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons.

Stories

  • “Don’t Quit Your Day Job,” by Calvin S. Cato, performed by Michele Carlo, and directed by Tim Lindner
  • “The Accident,” by Michele Carlo, performed by Calvin S. Cato, and directed by Tim Lindner.

Bios

Named one of Time Out New York’s LGBTQ Comics of Color to Watch Out For, Calvin S. Cato has dazzled audiences around the world. His on-air and radio appearances include Oxygen, Netflix, Sirius XM, RISK!, WIRED Magazine, and an unaired pilot for Vice Media called Emergency Black Meeting. His comedy has been featured in numerous festivals and events, including the New York Comedy Festival, San Francisco Sketchfest, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Gotham Storytelling Festival, Brooklyn Pride, and FlameCon. In early 2021, Calvin was published in Kweendom, an anthology of essays by queer comedians and entertainers. In 2022, Calvin concluded a three-month run hosting a daily talk show on RushTix.com.

Michele Carlo is a writer, storyteller, sometimes actor, and the author of the NYC-set memoir Fish Out of Agua: My Life on Neither Side of the Subway Tracks (Citadel/Kensington). She has appeared on podcasts, festivals, and stages across the U.S., on NPR, and the WGBH-PBS television series Stories from the Stage. For bookings and more info, go to: www.michelecarlo.com 

April 18, 2025 Post Comment Podcast Tags: , , ,

Live Long and Prosper

Live from the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space, it’s US!

Photo credit: Russ Rowland. Pictured left to right: Calvin S. Cato, Nicole Greevy, Michele Carlo, Najah Imani Muhammad, Tim Lindner, KJ Fitzsimmons, Carl M. Banks

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for an amazing, first-ever student matinee yesterday. Not only did we hear amazing story swaps, but the students also engaged in a little activity afterward to inspire their own college essays.

Huge thanks to:

  • Everyone at Symphony Space for the beautiful venue and all of the support to make this happen.
  • Our alumni storytellers for such inspiring stories and performances.
  • Najah Imani Muhammad for being an incredible (INCREDIBLE) host.
  • The students from Global Learning Collaborative and Talent Unlimited for being such an energetic and engaged audience (and the staff that helped facilitate!)
  • The NYTI creative team for all their work behind the scenes.
  • Russ Rowland for these fabulous photos.
  • NYSCA-A.R.T./New York Creative Opportunity Fund (A Statewide Theatre Regrant Program) for helping to make this show a reality.

Follow us on INSTA and BLUESKY for more photos and podcasts from the show and to hear what we’re doing next.

Until then, live long and prosper!

March 14, 2025 Post Comment Live Shows Tags:

Meet “Before & After” Host Najah Imani Muhammad

Our first student matinee is tomorrow, 3/13, at 1 pm at Symphony Space!! We are extra excited to introduce our “Before & After” guest host, Najah Imani Muhammad.

Najah was a storyteller for our “College Try” show. Look at that show’s highlights and learn more about Najah below!

Najah is a director, educator, actor, and host based in Beacon, New York. Regardless of the hat she is wearing, Najah uses the arts as a communicative tool to connect. She has directed new works in multiple NYC Festivals, as well as developmental workshops for companies such as InterAct Theatre, Full Out Creative and NC Black Rep. Najah’s passion for arts education has led her to direct students in musicals, plays, and Shakespeare, as well as teaching acting intensives on to students near and far! She currently directs shows for two of her local school theatre programs, while balancing work for companies such as Beacon Performing Arts Center, Disney on Broadway, and The New Victory Theatre. Najah is also the Director of Education for Leaders by Choice, which teaches leadership skills through the arts. She holds a degree in Theatre Education and Acting from Emerson College. Follow along her journey @najahknows

March 12, 2025 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: , ,

2025 NYSCA-A.R.T./New York Creative Opportunity Fund

We are thrilled to announce that No, YOU Tell It! has received a grant from the 2025 NYSCA-A.R.T./New York Creative Opportunity Fund! Check out the other winners of the 2025 Creative Opportunity Fund here.

Our second story meeting is tonight for No, YOU Tell It! “Before & After” at Symphony Space on March 13 at 1 pm. The four storytellers will read each other’s revisions aloud and receive feedback on strengthening their true tales on the page.

Next week, they will swap stories on stage for the junior class at Global Learning Collaborative, who have been working with Kelly Jean on the stories they want to tell in their college application essays.

Thank you to NYSCA-A.R.T./New York Creative Opportunity Fund (A Statewide Theatre Regrant Program) for helping us make our first ever student matinee a reality. Here’s to what we hope is the first of many!

March 5, 2025 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: , ,

Meet Our “Before & After” Storytellers

Our first story meeting for our first student matinee is tonight! But FIRST, meet our “Before & After” alum storytellers.

These four storytellers participated in four different NYTI shows over the past decade. They are meeting tonight to help each other develop their true tales inspired by the theme “Before & After” on the page.

On March 13, they will swap stories on stage for students and faculty from Global Learning Collaborative High School.

Meet our NYTI alums!

We’re excited to build our creative community by having alum storytellers return and trade tales with a new story partner!

These matinees for students working on their college essays are a dynamic example of how the No, YOU Tell It! collaborative process makes writing and performing personal narratives accessible, empathetic, and transformative.

We hope to do more student shows and are raising $2500 in March to make that happen.

If 50 people donate $50, we’ll reach our goal! Want to be one?

Donate $50 here via our fiscal sponsor, The Field, to get the ball rolling.

Want to see this special show at Symphony Space at 1 pm on March 13? Email noyoutellit@gmail.com for a ticket!

February 26, 2025 1 comment Live Shows Tags: , , , ,

Upcoming Shows

We are gearing up for two new 2025 shows, including our first student matinee on March 13 at Symphony Space!

This special show is for the junior class at Global Learning Collaborative and features all NYTI alum storytellers.

Kelly Jean has been working with the students on their college essays, and we can’t wait for them to experience the power of personal storytelling.

Student matinees with alum storytellers are a great way to make new connections within our NYTI community while inspiring the next generation of storytellers.

We hope this is the first of many!

Then, in May, we are partnering with Queens Memory and the Greater Astoria Historical Society to explore “My Place” in Queens!

What’s your Queens story? We will use the interactive Queens Name Explorer map to learn the stories behind the people’s names that grace Queens streets, parks, monuments, and more to inspire and trade our own true tales.

Follow No, YOU Tell It! on Bluesky for more on our first student matinee and how to share your story as part of our May “My Place” show.

February 12, 2025 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: , , ,

Celebrating “College Try”

One year ago, we had a very special show at Symphony Space! View this glimpse of how our shows work and highlights from the “College Try” story swaps.

Huge thank you to “Here & Gone” storyteller and friend Rosalie Chandler who created this fantastic featurette for us.

The show also raised funds and awareness for Bottom Line, an educational nonprofit that partners with thousands of degree-aspiring students from under-resourced communities as they get into college, graduate, and go far in life.

Learn more at bottomline.org. Want to support or attend Bottom Line’s HATS OFF! Spring Benefit on May 22 at the Tribeca Rooftop? Contact us at noyoutellit@gmail.com for more info.

Stories Highlighted:

  • A Trophy-Less Life by Brett Felder, Performed by Dion Flynn and Directed by Ellie Dvorkin Dunn
  • Buried by Dion Flynn, Performed by Brett Felder, and Directed by Ellie Dvorkin Dunn
  • The Pickles Pickle by Kevin Allison, Performed by Najah Imani Muhammad and Directed by Nicole Shawan Junior
  • When Billymackin’ Goes Wrong by Najah Imani Muhammad, Performed by Kevin Allison and Directed by Nicole Shawan Junior
March 16, 2024 Post Comment News Tags: , , , , , ,

BKBF Bookend Events!

Sep 28 2023 @ 7:00PM

Take a look! Our Queens “Fly By” Bookend Event is featured on the Brooklyn Book Festival website.

Click here to check out the plethora of BKBF Bookend Events that kick off Sept 24 and take place city-wide through Oct 2. Including a special Selected Shorts celebrating Willa Cather on 9/27 from our friends at Symphony Space!

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THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2023 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT.

The Greater Astoria Historical Society is the place to learn and celebrate Long Island City and its neighborhoods. Learn more at astorialic.org.

This project is supported by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Flushing Town Hall.

This project is made possible (in part) with public funds from the Queens Arts Fund, a re-grant program supported by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts.

Event Information

Sep 28 2023 @ 7:00PM

Grove 34 (31-83 34th St, Astoria)

September 13, 2023 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: , ,

Symphony Space Success

“No, YOU Tell It! is a treasure of a show. You have to witness it to really get how special it is. Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons assembled a team that puts so much heart and soul into guiding storytellers of different ages, races, genders, and backgrounds to swap stories, so that the performers are in each other’s shoes, as the saying goes. The result is hilarious and heartwarming, but also, such a profound experiment in fostering empathy. Everyone in the room, storytellers, show producers, and audience members, have an unforgettably moving evening of entertainment together, and that special sort of connecting of people going on in the show really is something to be cherished.”

– Kevin Allison, RISK!

Story partners Kevin Allison and Najah Imani Muhammad. Photo credit: Russ Rowland

What an incredible night at Symphony Space last week! We’re still on Cloud 9 and couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who made the night a success by attending in person, via the livestream, and/or donating. Check out more “College Try” photos on Facebook or Instagram.

Hey, while you’re there, why not LIKE or FOLLOW?

Special shout out to all who helped us provide free student tickets to high school juniors. We had a wonderful pre-show college essay jumpstart workshop, and the students loved the show!!

Want to help No, YOU Tell It! provide more opportunities for future storytellers and students? Click here to make a tax-deductible donation.

What’s next? So glad you asked. SAVE THE DATES:

I can’t think of a better way to kick off our 11th year! Thank you again from all of us at No, YOU Tell It!

March 23, 2023 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: , , ,

The College Try and Then Some!

Left to right: Dion Flynn, Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons, Brett Felder, Ellie Dvorkin Dunn, Najah Imani Muhammad, and Kevin Allison. Photo credit: Russ Rowland.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
Thanks to everyone who came out or watched the show on the live stream.
We had a great time, and we hope you did too!
Thank you to our storytellers for sharing their words and those amazing performances.
Thank you to our host, directors, and creative team!
Thank you, Symphony Space, for the amazing space and for being an amazing host.
AND we raised $500 for Bottom Line, thanks to your generosity!
Didn’t win a copy of our anthology? Grab a copy here. Until next time, friends!
March 17, 2023 Post Comment Live Shows Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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