John Holiday’s music went straight to me heart this week when I went to see his recital as part of the Crypt Sessions at the Church of the Intercession in Hamilton Heights. I’m in awe. I can’t believe he doesn’t have an album yet. One has to be on the horizon. Also, his piano players Neeki Bey and Kevin J. Miller are just as incredible as John. Here’s a bit of John and Neeki for your listening pleasure:
Tag: New York City
A Year of Yes: April Edition of NYC’s Secrets & Lies
Had such a great time hosting last night’s NYC’s Secrets & Lies w/ these amazing storytellers: Adam Wade, Vicki Eastus, Suzanne Reisman, Carla Katz, and Madame Morbid (Allison Huntington-Chase). It is an honor to have this show at Caveat and I feel so lucky to do the work I love with these wonderful people. My heart is full. Thank you to everyone who came to the show – you were a fantastic crowd. Our next show is on the books for June 25th at 7pm. Mark your calendars. Tickets on sale soon!
A Year of Yes: NYC’s Secrets and Lies is tonight
I’m so insanely excited about the storytelling show NYC’s Secrets and Lies tonight at Caveat. I’ll be hosting a slate of incredible storytellers who have dug up some incredible NYC secrets all hidden in plain sight that we walk by every single day. The show is capped off with trivia by Madame Morbid and a fantastic prize from our pals at Untapped Cities. Doors open at 6:30pm, show starts at 7:00pm. Tickets available at http://caveat.nyc/event/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-2/. See you there!
A Year of Yes: NYC’s Secrets & Lies partners with Untapped Cities
I’m so excited to tell you that my monthly storytelling show, New York City’s Secrets and Lies at Caveat (next show on April 17th at 7pm!), has partnered with Untapped Cities, an online publication that “unearths New York City’s most unique and surprising places, stories and events for the inquisitive reader. We are a community of over 600 passionate contributors, interested in what’s hidden and unnoticed, and how our history informs city life now and in the future.”
What does that mean?
- 20 members of Untapped Cities Insiders get a free ticket to the show
- Untapped Cities will offer the fantastic prize to the winner of our show
- Untapped Cities will feature the show on their media channels before and during the show
I am absolutely in love with the work that Untapped Cities does to showcase our amazing city, and I’m honored to have them partner with us to bring to life the most wild stories about New York City.
A Year of Yes: Finding your light
“Your greatness is revealed not by the lights that shine upon you, but by the lights that shine within you.” ~Ray A. Davis
I’m off on a business trip to San Francisco today. Over the course of my life, I’ve almost moved there several times. For a long time I thought my future was there. It was my dream city to live in when I graduated from college; when I first visited, it felt like a place where I could find my light. It wasn’t meant to be, and I ended up moving to New York. I couldn’t be happier that things didn’t work out the way I planned because in New York, I found the light within me. Still, it will be nice to see my old friend, San Fran.
A Year of Yes: Scene from New York City’s March for Our Lives
This young woman, mixed with a very small group of counter-protesters in the shadow of some of the greatest museums in New York City, was just asking to be free to express herself through art rather than being worried about guns. A simple ask that we must answer with an emphatic “Yes”. Take a look at the future. It’s so bright and I couldn’t be more hopeful. More photos below.
A Year of Yes: March for Our Lives
Because my travel plans were derailed this week, I’m in New York City instead of D.C. today. I’ll be joining March for Our Lives in my hometown, standing up for an end to gun violence and safer world for all of us, especially our young people. They are our future and I want them to have every opportunity to build a life they’re happy to live. This video by Veterans for Gun Reform articulates exactly the message we need to send to all of our policy makers.
A Year of Yes: Supporting Central Park
Central Park staff were out early this week cleaning up the park after the storm. Phineas and I spend a lot of time in this park, and we really appreciate everything that the staff does to keep this park the jewel of the city that it is. To thank and support them, I became a member. They are a big part of making this city such a wonderful place to call home.
A Year of Yes: My live storytelling show New York City’s Secrets and Lies is now a monthly show for a year at Caveat
I’m so excited to tell you that my first storytelling show New York City’s Secrets and Lies was so successful in January (a sold out show!) that it’s now going to be a monthly show for a year at Caveat starting in April.
The next show will be on Tuesday, April 17th at 7pm. Tickets are now on sale for $12 so get ’em while they’re hot and spread the word! Hope to see you there.
Link to buy tickets: http://caveat.nyc/event/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-2/
More details about the show:
Can you tell the difference between a secret and a lie? Five expert storytellers spin incredible tales about the secret pasts of NYC locations you walk by every day. All the stories are true except for one. If you can identify the lie, you’ll be in the running to win a pair of tickets to a secret NYC event.
Stories Include:
“When a secret nature versus nurture experiment is exposed, a delicious New York City restaurant is born.”
“New York City nearly became its own country, but not for the reasons you’d expect or hope for.”
Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7:00pm
Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 at the door
STORYTELLERS:
Adam Wade
Adam is an inimitable fixture in both the New York City storytelling and comedy scenes. He is the winner of 20 SLAMS at The Moth (18 StorySLAM victories and 2 GrandSLAM Championships) with 20 different winning stories. He has toured across North America with The Moth Main Stage. His stories have appeared on The Moth Radio Hour and The Moth Podcast.
Adam has been performing his New York Times and Time Out New York’s critic’s pick monthly solo show The Adam Wade from NH Show since January 2010. He is also a regular performer on Nights of Our Lives at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and has made several appearances on Asssscat 3000 (guest monologist), Whiplash and Night Train with Wyatt Cenac.
Adam recently released his debut storytelling/comedy album Adam Wade: The Human Comedy, with Comedy Dynamics. The album was enthusiastically lauded in Sarah Larson’s profile of Adam in The New Yorker. He has been seen on HBO’s GIRLS Season 5 finale and on Season 2 and 3 of Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer.
In 2017, Adam began hosting a tech web series for Bloomberg called Conversations with Coders as well as a series he created called Wade on the Bench in Hoboken.
A seasoned teacher of his craft, since 2010, Adam has been teaching a variety of 6-week Storytelling Classes at NYC’s Magnet Theater. In December 2017, Adam teamed up with Airbnb to create his very own NYC Storytelling Experience.
He also conducts one-on-ones meet ups and workshops for businesses and organizations. Find him online at AdamWade.com, on Twitter at @adamwade, and on Instagram at@adamwadestoryteller, and Facebook at @adamwadestoryteller.
Carla Katz
Carla is Jersey born and bred storyteller and now lives in Hoboken. She debuted her solo show “Body Parts” at this year’s SOLOCOM 2017 at the Peoples Improv Theater. She has performed at numerous Moth StorySlams, at the Magnet Theatre, in “Adam Wade’s Storytelling Series”, and in front of her dog Finn. Carla likes to get emotionally naked and she tells stories that expose the small dramas that make us laugh or cringe. By day, she is a labor union leader, lawyer, and political animal. By night, she gets naked and howls at the moon over Manhattan. Carla learned storytelling craft from fellow Hobokenite Adam Wade, a 20-time Moth winner and comic extraordinaire.
Jane Cooke
Jane is a stage, film, and television actress originally from Canada. She has worked at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada, and has been in the touring company of Broadway shows including Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Mamma Mia!. She comes from a large family with six siblings so she’s been telling “stories” her whole life. Jane loves a big red wine from Napa, and hates soft cheese.
Suzanne Reisman
Suzanne lives in Manhattan with her husband and teddy bear, but, unwilling to fully abandon her Chicago-area upbringing, insists on calling soda “pop,” and sneakers “gym shoes.”
Her first book is Off the (Beaten) Subway Track: New York City’s Best Unusual Places, a travelogue about/guide to unusual places and things to do in NYC. She is also the author of 1.87 yet-to-be published novels. Her essays and fiction have appeared in New York Nonprofit Press, Metro New York, City Limits Magazine, Bookanista, Flash Fiction Magazine, and The Sunlight Press.
In addition to writing, Suzanne is the founder of TwentyTwenty Books, a nonprofit organization that connects marginalized voices in literature to community-based book clubs. She has MFA in creative writing from the New School and an MPA from Columbia University.
She likes eating, running, House Hunters International, wandering around cities, and sleeping.
Vicki Eastus
Vicki is a storyteller, an improviser, and a law professor. She grew up in Dallas, Texas, the land of tall tales and tall hair.
She left Texas for Harvard, where she spent most of her time as an activist on feminist issues but also studied obscure 19th century Russian novels. Years of law school and lawyering led Vicki to need more joy in her life, so she studied improv at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade and storytelling with Adam Wade.
Vicki performs with the indie team “Improvisers of a Certain Age” and can be seen at Sunday Night Improv at Stand Up NY. Vicki has spun her tales at Moth StorySlams, in Adam Wade’s Storytelling Series, and in numerous shows at the Magnet Theater. She is developing a solo show of her stories, “Can Feminists Wear Tiaras?”
For fans of slide decks, Vicki has presented “Using Techniques from Improvisational Comedy and Storytelling to Help Students Find Their Legal Voices” at academic conferences in New York and Verona, Italy.
A Year of Yes: My New York City storytelling show is growing
This week I had 4 partner conversations with people and organizations I greatly admire to discuss my passion for storytelling and New York City history. 3 months ago, my idea for a show was barely a seed. Now it’s bigger and brighter than I ever thought possible. Here’s to dreaming and living out loud. I love this town. More details soon!
