theater

Joy Today: NYC’s Secrets & Lies celebrates 1 year at Caveat

A year ago I was flyin’; I had just finished the 1st show of NYC’s Secrets & Lies at Caveat with a sold-out crowd. I had no idea what I was starting but I’m so dang grateful to everyone who’s been a part of this journey, on-stage and in the audience. So many of you have been beyond supportive of this crazy idea and there’s no way I’ll ever be able to say thank you enough. This is a collection of our casts to-date and I just adore them all. How lucky I am that this show brought them all into my life! Their stories have inspired me, moved me, and made me fall in love with our city even more. Join us for our 1-year anniversary show on Thursday Feb 7th with another set of storytelling rockstars. Doors at 6:30pm. Show at 7pm. Click here to purchase tickets on Eventbrite.

Cast members:
January – Sarah Laskow, Michelle Young, Allison Chase, Carla Katz, Alex Neuhausen, Bridget Randolph
April – Adam Wade, Vicki Eastus, Suzanne Reisman, Carla Katz
June – Hannah Frishberg, Sabrina McMillin, Cindy Mullock, Emerie Snyder, Tija Mittal
August – Ashley Semrick, John Bucher, Erin Hunkemoeller, Tom Rowley, Leslie Goshko
October – Erin Leafe, Zak Martellucci, Alex Taylor, Michele Carlo, Julie Gaines
December – Justin Mugits (street artist Blanco), Jackie Peters, Vicki Eastus, Dustin Growick

A Year of Yes: Trailer for NYC’s Secrets and Lies on December 6th at 7pm

It’s impossible to articulate how excited I am about our holiday edition of NYC’s Secrets & Lies at Caveat on Thursday, December 6th at 7pm so I made a trailer to show you what our storytelling show about secret NYC history is all about! This month’s cast includes all-star storytellers Vicki Eastus, Dustin Growick, Jackie Peters, and Nate Charles with Brooklyn street artist Blanco as our special guest. If you can guess the lie correctly, we have prizes from Untapped Cities, Kaitery_NYC, and a secret one from me. Grab your tickets and I’ll see you there: New York City’s Secrets and Lies on Eventbrite.

A Year of Yes: NYC’s Secrets and Lies returns to Caveat

It’s still a month away and I’m already bonkers excited about this A+ lineup of expert storytellers spinning wild stories about secret NYC history for NYC’s Secrets & Lies show at Caveat on December 6th, 7pm. Four are telling the truth and one is a liar. Guess the liar correctly, and you’ll be in the running for great prizes from Untapped Cities and a few secret surprises that I’m cooking up! Look, it’s the holidays and I love giving presents.

This show’s stars include Dustin Growick, Vicki Eastus, Sandi Marx, Jackie Peters, and Nate Charles. Tickets are on sale now at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-tickets-52038003068. See you there!

A Year of Yes: In & Of Itself

It’s difficult to put into words the emotions that surface during Derek DelGaudio’s In & Of Itself. Part magic show, illusion spectacular, storytelling night, and clairvoyant event, it is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. His poise, grace, empathy, and masterful command of the stage and audience are on a level of genius that I didn’t know was possible. I alternately cried and laughed for close to two hours, completely riveted by the through line and captivated by Derek’s presence. Mostly I sat there with my jaw on the floor because I was astounded by his work.

My friend and mentor, the incomparable writer and storyteller John Bucher, took me and our friend, Ashley, to this show a few weeks ago and I’ve thought about it every day since. I will be thinking about it for many days, weeks, and months to come. Even now as I write this post, I keep getting chills down my entire spine. In & Of Itself is that electric.

Derek gave every member of the audience a gift, personal and perfectly crafted. I’m not quite sure how I’ll ever be able to repay him, and legendary director Frank Oz, for all they gave me—a stranger they will likely never meet—during this performance. Thank you feels so woefully inadequate, and it’s what I have. I mean it from my whole spirit. Thank you, Derek and Frank, for showing all of us what can happen when we show up with our whole heart, pay attention, and make purposeful connection with another person our single goal. It is the purest form of magic I know—to really see and be seen.

In & Of Itself runs this weekend at the Daryl Roth Theatre in Union Square. After Sunday, August 19th, it will be never be done again.

A Year of Yes: NYC’s Secrets and Lies recap

Another successful NYC’s Secrets & Lies happened on Wednesday night with a stellar cast! I had the best night hosting another edition of this storytelling show of secret NYC history at Caveat. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Thank you to the phenomenal cast (what a tribe!), the entire packed audience, and Caveat for being the best dang venue in NYC.

Ashley Semrick, Erin Hunkemoeller, Leslie Goshko, John Bucher, and Tom Rowley (our special guest talking about Story Map!) filled up my heart. Thanks to Untapped Cities for your partnership!

We’ll be back again on October 9th w/ Alex Taylor, Michele Carlo, Zak Martellucci, and one more to-be-named storyteller. Andrew Ousley of Unison Media will be our very special guest. Tickets will be on sale soon!

Tom Rowley of Story Map

Leslie Goshko

John Bucher

The cast!

Our audience

Our cast!

Erin Hunkemoeller

Ashley Semrick

A Year of Yes: Untapped Cities features NYC’s Secrets & Lies storytelling show

Received a lovely writeup in Untapped Cities for the New York City’s Secrets & Lies show on August 8th. Our storytellers are diving into dusty archives and busted up boxes of historical footage to bring you the craziest pieces of NYC history we can find. Looking forward to seeing you at Caveat. Doors open at 6:30pm and the show starts at 7:00pm! Tickets available at http://caveat.nyc/event/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-8-8-18

A Year of Yes: NYC’s Secrets and Lies returns to Caveat in a month

I’m bonkers excited about the next performance of New York City’s Secrets and Lies on Wednesday, August 8th at 7pm at Caveat, a speakeasy on the lower east side made for intelligent nightlife (with a killer wine and beer list). John Bucher, Leslie Goshko, Ashley Semrick, Erin Hunkemoeller, and our special filmmaker guest are going to wow you with fantastical tales of our amazing city’s history. 3 are true. 1 is a lie. The audience separates fact from fiction.

I made you this trailer video to give you a peek at what it’s like to be at our show. Oh, and a few tips: we have an amazing audience prize from Untapped Cities and our special guest needs you for his new film project so come on down and learn what it’s all about! Tickets on sale now at http://caveat.nyc/event/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-8-8-18/.

A Year of Yes: What my storytelling show is all about

What my storytelling show, New York City’s Secrets and Lies, is all about:
storytellers dazzling us with wild New York City history. I’m honored to do this show at Caveat. Thank you to this amazing cast and our packed house of audience members who joined us on Monday night. What a blast!

Mark you calendars for our next show: August 8th with John Bucher, Leslie Goshko, Ashley Semrick, and Erin Hunkemoeller. Plus a very special secret guest! Tickets on sale soon.

A Year of Yes: New York City’s Secrets and Lies Returns to Caveat on Monday, June 18th, at 7pm

I’m so excited that the next New York City’s Secrets & Lies show is happening at Caveat in exactly 2 weeks—Monday, June 18th at 7pm. This month’s all-star all-female lineup of storytellers is going to spin tall tales about the history of this incredible city we call home. 4 are truths. 1 is a lie. Your mission in the audience: separate fact from fiction for a chance to win an amazing prize from our friends at Untapped Cities. I’d love to see you there! Tickets on sale at http://caveat.nyc/event/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-3/.

Host:
Christa Avampato (me!)

Storytellers:
Tija Mittal (The Moth, Story District)
Hannah Frishberg (Atlas Obscura, Gothamist, Brokelyn)
Emerie Snyder (New Georges, All For One)
Cindy Mullock (5 Perry Street)
Sabrina McMillin (HXMXN)

A Year of Yes: NYC’s Secrets and Lies for June 18th is on sale

The next performance of my live storytelling show, New York City’s Secrets and Lies, at Caveat is now on sale and we have an all-ladies all-star cast! It will be on Monday, June 18th at 7pm. Tickets are now on sale for $12. Please share the link and I hope to see you there.

Link to buy tickets: http://caveat.nyc/event/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies-3/

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:
-Teenagers live crazy lives. New York teenagers take crazy to a whole new level.

-There’s a manhole cover in Brooklyn that leads to an underground world if you’re daring enough to pick it up and climb down.

Doors: 6:30pm
Show: 7:00pm
Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 at the door

Hannah Frishberg
Hannah is a Brooklyn-based freelance editor, reporter, and 4th generation Brooklynite. She was previously the Editor in Chief of Brokelyn, a beat reporter in Bensonhurst, a staff writer at Brownstoner, and has had words and photography appear in Gothamist, Narratively, Curbed, Urban Omnibus, Atlas Obscura, The Huffington Post, and DNAinfo.

Sabrina McMillin
Sabrina is the project manager at HXMXN, a feminist creative agency in New York. She has helped everyone from up-and-coming lady writers to the United Nations tell their stories to the world. Sabrina moved to New York last year, but has always loved this godforsaken island. She dreams of dying a widow in one of those rent control apartment deaths where nobody finds you until the neighbors start to complain about the smell. Previously, Sabrina told bizarre stories as a stand-up comedian in Washington, D.C. As a native of Rochester, New York, she loves to argue with anyone who refers to White Plains as “upstate.”

Tija Mittal
Tija is a storyteller who most recently performed with the Moth at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood, as well as the Apollo Theater in 2017. A native of Washington DC, she has also performed at DC’s Lincoln Theater among a variety of other venues and festivals, and received a competitive fellowship to perform longform work through Cultural DC. She also has two masters degrees (an MBA and an MPP) that have nothing to do with storytelling, but eh, it probably doesn’t hurt to know. When she’s not performing or working on a PowerPoint, she’s covered in dust because she bought a fixer-upper. Thanks for nothing, HGTV.

Cynthia Mullock
Cindy was raised in a Victorian bed and breakfast with twenty strangers-turned-friends sharing stories at the breakfast table each morning. She now dedicates her days to uncovering the secret histories of forgotten places through historic preservation and heritage work. She is the Founder and CEO of 5 Perry Street, leading the historic preservation of a beachside 1879 National Historic Landmark Victorian inn in Cape May, NJ. She is also restoring an 1868 landmark Jersey City building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which previously served as the residential quarters of a 19th century brewery.

In her legal practice, Cindy was named a Rising Star in 2015 by New York Law Journal, a recognition reserved for the region’s most promising lawyers 40 and under. She has guided emerging technology and financial services companies as General Counsel, advised international corporations and sovereign entities on capital raising and other strategic initiatives throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Australia, and been an invited speaker for Columbia University and The Economist, among other industry events and panels. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in English and Political Science and holds a law degree from Columbia Law School and an MBA from Columbia Business School. Cindy serves on the board of Volunteers of Legal Service and splits her time between the streets of New York City and the beaches of Cape May, NJ.

Emerie Snyder
Emerie announced at age five that her hobby was “thinking about lots of things.” It’s still true. She grew up in a hippie enclave just outside of Washington, DC, and has been happily settled in (and continually exploring) NYC since 2002. Emerie is a theatre director and creator of new performance work, focusing on site-responsive theatre, relationships between visual art and theatre, and solo performance. She has directed plays by Samuel Beckett, Stephen Belber, Sheila Callaghan, Joyce Carol Oates, Edwin Sanchez, Daniel MacIvor, and Len Jenkin, and has developed new work with contemporary playwrights including Anton Dudley, Davy Rothbart, Mfoniso Udofia, and Lally Katz.

Current projects in development include EXHIBIT, an immersive gallery tour play (developed in residency through New Georges, premiered at 3LD in June 2017), TRANSMISSION, a participatory performance sermon by Gwydion Suilebhan, and THIS IS LIKE THAT, a slide lecture play by Michael Sean Cirelli. Past credits as an actor include productions at Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth, Theater J, Rorschach Theatre, and Olney Theatre. Emerie is an NYU/Tisch graduate, and a New Georges Affiliated Artist. She also serves as Arts Curator for Warren Saint Marks Community Garden in Park Slope, Brooklyn.