creativity

A Year of Yes: My live storytelling event is tonight—NYC’s Secrets and Lies at CAVEAT

My live storytelling show, New York City’s Secrets and Lies, is happening tonight at 7:30pm at CAVEAT, located at 21A Clinton Street, New York, New York 10002. $12 tickets are on sale now on the CAVEAT website: http://caveat.nyc/event/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies/. I hope you can join us! Doors open at 7pm. Bar will be open before, during, and after 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:
“Did you ever wonder what it would be like to live in the New York Public Library?”
“A starlet, a millionaire playboy, and a world-renowned architect take center stage during the trial of the century.”
“An entire building in NYC has been stolen? Yes. Twice, actually.”
“How spite, paranoia, and the quest to throw wild house parties led to the creation of one of NYC’s hottest, most secret nightclubs.”

Host: Christa Avampato has a deep and unabiding passion for New York City and the secrets it holds. She began her career managing Broadway shows and national theater tours, and now works with performing arts organizations and museums to help them use technology to grow their audiences. She’s been an invited speaker on the power of the imagination at SXSW, Games for Change, New York University, and Columbia University. Her writing has been featured in The Washington Post, Royal Media Partners magazines, PBS.org, HuffPost, Megyn Kelly TODAY, and Cheddar. Dedicated to helping young people find their own voices, she’s worked with 826national.org, Sesame Workshop, New York Public Library, University of Pennsylvania (her alma mater), and Cornell Tech. This fall her young adult fantasy novel was published by Possibilities Publishing Co. Christa earned her MBA at the Darden School at the University of Virginia. You will always find her sharing her never-ending curiosity on Twitter @christanycInstagram @christarosenyc, and her daily blog christaavampato.com.

STORYTELLERS: 

Allison Huntington Chase, CEO of Madame Morbid’s Trolley Tours in Brooklyn.  Allison grew up in Hartford, CT and has a degree in Screenplay Writing from the School of Visual Arts. As a child, her father created one of the world’s largest haunted houses, which was featured in New York TimesEntertainment Tonight, and Newsweek as “one of the best haunted houses in the country,” thus making her the 2nd generation of ghost tours.

Michelle Young is the founder of Untapped Cities, a web magazine and tour company based in New York City. She is a graduate of Harvard College in the History of Art and  Architecture and holds a master’s degree in urban planning from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, where she is an Adjunct Professor of Architecture. She is also a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, Pre-College Division. She is the author of Secret Brooklyn: An Unusual Guide, New York: Hidden Bars & Restaurants, and Broadway. Michelle appears regularly as a guest speaker in documentaries, on television, and at conferences on urban issues. Originally from New York, she has traveled to over forty countries and is always looking for the next adventure.

Sarah Laskow is a senior writer at Atlas Obscura, an online magazine that covers the world’s hidden wonders. She writes about cities, the relationships between people and nature (plants in particular), and obscure histories. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, NPR’s All Things Considered, and many other fine print and online publications.
Alex Neuhausen is an engineer, musician, and venue owner. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He produces music which has been licensed for video games and television. His current project, “Strangers on the Internet,” has a forthcoming EP. He founded the legendary underground venue, Secret Loft, in a Brooklyn auto garage in 2013. Now in Manhattan, Secret Loft hosts a dozen events per month, spanning comedy, poetry, dance parties, live music, and circus and aerial dance shows. You can find a schedule of events (but not an address or phone number) at http://www.secretloftnyc.com, and you can see what you’re missing on Instagram @secretloftnyc.
Bridget Randolph is an NYC-based actor, writer and storyteller from small town Virginia. Bridget studied acting and performance with the Salon:Collective in London, UK before moving to New York; here she discovered the magical world of improv and storytelling thanks to the Magnet Theater (specifically, Rick Andrews and Adam Wade). Bridget has performed in Lady Sketch Show, the Everyone Is Sad show, and will be in Adam Wade’s Storytelling Series on January 6th. She is currently developing her first solo show. You can follow her on Twitter (@BridgetActs), and Instagram (@bridget.m.randolph), and find out about upcoming projects and shows at www.bridgetacts.com.
Carla Katz 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.  Katz 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. Katz learned storytelling craft from fellow Hobokenite Adam Wade– 20-time Moth winner and
comic extraordinaire.

 

creativity

A Year of Yes: My live storytelling show, New York City’s Secrets and Lies, at CAVEAT on Monday, January 29th

My live storytelling show, New York City’s Secrets and Lies, is happening at 7:30pm on Monday, January 29th at CAVEAT, located at 21A Clinton Street, New York, New York 10002. $12 tickets are on sale now on the CAVEAT website: http://caveat.nyc/event/new-york-citys-secrets-and-lies/. I hope you can join us! Doors open at 7pm. Bar will be open throughout the show. Visit the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/983548008463724/

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:
“Did you ever wonder what it would be like to live in the New York Public Library?”
“A starlet, a millionaire playboy, and a world-renowned architect take center stage during the trial of the century.”
“An entire building in NYC has been stolen? Yes. Twice, actually.”
“How spite, paranoia, and the quest to throw wild house parties led to the creation of one of NYC’s hottest, most secret nightclubs.”

Host: Christa Avampato has a deep and unabiding passion for New York City and the secrets it holds. She began her career managing Broadway shows and national theater tours, and now works with performing arts organizations and museums to help them use technology to grow their audiences. She’s been an invited speaker on the power of the imagination at SXSW, Games for Change, New York University, and Columbia University. Her writing has been featured in The Washington Post, Royal Media Partners magazines, PBS.org, HuffPost, Megyn Kelly TODAY, and Cheddar. Dedicated to helping young people find their own voices, she’s worked with 826national.org, Sesame Workshop, New York Public Library, University of Pennsylvania (her alma mater), and Cornell Tech. This fall her young adult fantasy novel was published by Possibilities Publishing Co. Christa earned her MBA at the Darden School at the University of Virginia. You will always find her sharing her never-ending curiosity on Twitter @christanycInstagram @christarosenyc, and her daily blog christaavampato.com.

STORYTELLERS: 

Allison Huntington Chase, CEO of Madame Morbid’s Trolley Tours in Brooklyn.  Allison grew up in Hartford, CT and has a degree in Screenplay Writing from the School of Visual Arts. As a child, her father created one of the world’s largest haunted houses, which was featured in New York TimesEntertainment Tonight, and Newsweek as “one of the best haunted houses in the country,” thus making her the 2nd generation of ghost tours.

 

Michelle Young is the founder of Untapped Cities, a web magazine and tour company based in New York City. She is a graduate of Harvard College in the History of Art and  Architecture and holds a master’s degree in urban planning from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, where she is an Adjunct Professor of Architecture. She is also a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, Pre-College Division. She is the author of Secret Brooklyn: An Unusual Guide, New York: Hidden Bars & Restaurants, and Broadway. Michelle appears regularly as a guest speaker in documentaries, on television, and at conferences on urban issues. Originally from New York, she has traveled to over forty countries and is always looking for the next adventure.

Sarah Laskow is a senior writer at Atlas Obscura, an online magazine that covers the world’s hidden wonders. She writes about cities, the relationships between people and nature (plants in particular), and obscure histories. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, NPR’s All Things Considered, and many other fine print and online publications.
Alex Neuhausen is an engineer, musician, and venue owner. He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He produces music which has been licensed for video games and television. His current project, “Strangers on the Internet,” has a forthcoming EP. He founded the legendary underground venue, Secret Loft, in a Brooklyn auto garage in 2013. Now in Manhattan, Secret Loft hosts a dozen events per month, spanning comedy, poetry, dance parties, live music, and circus and aerial dance shows. You can find a schedule of events (but not an address or phone number) at http://www.secretloftnyc.com, and you can see what you’re missing on Instagram @secretloftnyc.
Bridget Randolph is an NYC-based actor, writer and storyteller from small town Virginia. Bridget studied acting and performance with the Salon:Collective in London, UK before moving to New York; here she discovered the magical world of improv and storytelling thanks to the Magnet Theater (specifically, Rick Andrews and Adam Wade). Bridget has performed in Lady Sketch Show, the Everyone Is Sad show, and will be in Adam Wade’s Storytelling Series on January 6th. She is currently developing her first solo show. You can follow her on Twitter (@BridgetActs), and Instagram (@bridget.m.randolph), and find out about upcoming projects and shows at www.bridgetacts.com.
Carla Katz 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.  Katz 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. Katz learned storytelling craft from fellow Hobokenite Adam Wade– 20-time Moth winner and
comic extraordinaire.
creativity

A Year of Yes: Taking a storytelling workshop with Third Rail Projects

Staying true to my New Year’s resolution of “Yes”, I signed up to take a storytelling workshop with Tom Pearson, Co-Artistic Director of Third Rail Projects. You may know Third Rail from their ingenious immersive theater productions of Then She Fell and The Grand Paradise. Tom co-created both of these projects. I’ve been increasingly intrigued by this art form of immersive performance and want to expand my personal and professional skills in rich, 3-D storytelling as a vehicle for audience development. I couldn’t be more excited to take this class.

Ritual & Performance: Rites of Passage
This one-day intensive will demonstrate how an artist can (re)construct a story from just the remnant or shard of a fragmented narrative. We will look at the mythologies surrounding coming of age, death, re-birth, and oracular archetypes – and their applications in Third Rail’s recent immersive theater hit The Grand Paradise – as a way to understand ritual, narrative, and rites of passage in an immersive theater context. The workshops will mostly be in lecture/demonstration format. Hand written note-taking is encouraged, but there will be no electronic devices of any kind allowed. Please prepare to participate in group material and to work together in dyads. A Q&A session will wrap up the last hour of the day.

creativity

In the pause: Grab your tickets for my live show about NYC secrets at CAVEAT on 1/29/18

kristina-flour-185592
Kristina Flour on Unsplash  https://unsplash.com/photos/BcjdbyKWquw

I’m so excited to share that my live storytelling show about New York City’s secrets will be at CAVEAT on Monday, January 29th at 7:30. I hope you’ll join us for this exciting event and your chance to win a wonderful secret surprise if you can tell the different between fact and fiction. Tickets are on sale now.

I’m looking for 5 expert storytellers who are passionate about sharing little known secrets of New York City to be in the show. If you or someone you know would like to be a storyteller, please let me know.

New York City’s Secrets and Lies
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.

Monday, January 29, 2018. Doors open at 7:00pm. Show starts at 7:30pm. Run time: About 60 minutes. 


CAVEAT, recently featured in New York MagazineThe New Yorker and The New York Times, is New York’s newest speakeasy stage for playful, intelligent nightlife. Join us for drinks and go home smarter.

Our core creative team includes a recovering theoretical physicist, a renegade museum tour guide, and a one-time Moth StorySlam champion. That love for science and unconventional storytelling is at the heart of Caveat’s booking philosophy: we regularly host comedy, science talks, storytelling, concerts, trivia competitions, live recorded podcasts, and special events that defy description… you’ll have to come experience them for yourself! Ticket prices range from $10 to $20 for most events.

The decor is Harvard Club meets CBGB – the wood-paneled walls and library shelves hold images, artifacts, and books from all corners of the academic world. Caveat seats about 120, with cabaret style tables, armchairs, and bar stools. The venue was created with podcasting and filming in mind with a state-of-the art light and sound system. There’s also a reading library/bookstore…when was the last time you went to a bar with a library?

The bar serves ten craft beers on tap, ten wines by the glass and by the bottle, a selection of ciders and digestifs, and some truly tasty specialty sodas. We are finalizing a menu but are currently serving imaginative grilled cheeses, charcuterie plates, spiced nuts, chocolate, and popcorn.

creativity

In the pause: Starting a new chapter today

“You can fail at what you don’t want so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” ~Jim Carrey

Today I’m beginning a new full-time job. Success is never guaranteed to any of us though I fully believe that our odds of success increase dramatically when we do something we love. In that case, even if we fail, at least we have spent our time on something of value.

That’s how I feel about my book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters. It’s also how I feel about my work as a journalist, product leader, and theater manager. My new job utilizes all of my experience in the arts and business, and I feel fortunate and blessed to have this opportunity.

I’m sure there will be many learnings in the coming months. Today, I’m enjoying the thrill of the new and the unknown, the excitement that comes from putting my whole heart into something that makes the world a better place.

 

creativity

In the pause: Write and live like you’re running out of time—another lesson from Hamilton

“Why do you write like you’re running out of time?” ~Aaron Burr, “Non-Stop” from the musical Hamilton

Sometimes the best thing you can do with your neuroses is accept them and work within them. I think that might be the secret to life.

Hamilton has a way of teaching us so many lessons, about history, economics, and life. There are many ways to describe Alexander Hamilton and I think there is one that stands above all others—non-stop. Something in him knew his life would be short; he had seen so much loss at such a young age. He understood how fleeting life can be. He wrote and worked and loved and lived like he was running out of time because he was. We all are.

I’m not suggesting that this is the only way to live. I’m not even suggesting that it’s a good idea to focus so maniacally on what we’ve lost as Hamilton did. I just know that this is how my mind works. I see time ticking by and do what I can to make the most of it because I can’t make it slow down. This is what keeps me moving forward, especially in times of difficulty.

I’ve never been good at waiting and biding my time. No one I know would ever call me patient. I sit for 18 minutes a day meditating, and that’s about what I can handle. I don’t dwell on things I try that don’t work out—and that goes for baking a pie to landing a job and everything in between. I learn from my experiences and try something else. “Netflix and chill” is never going to be a phrase I embrace (and by that I mean the clean version, friends). I wish I could; I just can’t do it and be happy. And I like to be happy so I embrace my work, my friends, and my curiosity. Those are the things that matter to me.

We’ve just got this one life, and no one is ever going to find a way to manufacture more time. Time is the most equitable resource on Earth. We all get the same 24 hours. Let’s use them in ways that mean something to us. Hamilton certainly did.

creativity

Wonder: Theater saved me while I was moving

I’m moving to my new apartment today. As I was taping up the few remaining boxes, I felt another wave of nervous wash over me. And then theatre saved me, again, the same way it’s saved me so many times before.

I started humming the beautiful song I’ve Been Here Before from the musical, Closer Than Ever. I have been here many times before. I’ve felt these feelings. I’ve dealt with uncertainty and change in inordinate amounts. And you know what? I’m always, eventually, just fine. By some miracle, it always works out because I work. And work and work and work.

This time is no different. If anything, it’s far easier than my last move. I took one more (very) deep breath and went back to taping boxes. That’s how every move everywhere gets done: one box at a time.

creativity

Wonder: Take your time – a lesson from Hamilton, Adele 25, and Serial

Adele
Adele

When you’ve done something incredible, there’s an urge to attempt a second lightning strike as fast as possible. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Adele did it right. They took a significant amount of time between their first monumental successes and their second attempts. They wanted to roll the dice again, and they wanted to be the most skilled dice rollers they could be. That couldn’t happen over night. It couldn’t even happen in a year. Lin worked on Hamilton for five years. Adele took 4 years between her albums 21 and 25. They were patient, persistent, and thoughtful about it.

Serial, sadly, wasn’t. The second season isn’t anywhere near as interesting, suspenseful, nor intriguing as Season 1. I’ve already stopped listening because it’s not worth my time. They should have spent more time selecting, researching, molding, and shaping season 2. They should have been more concerned with content and less concerned about turnaround. We would have waited. We would have been here.

If you’re working on your second act, take the time to get it right. Don’t rush for the sake of rushing. Move along as fast as you can, and don’t compromise quality. In a world of so much noise, quality is worth the wait.

creativity

Wonder: I’ll be teaching a playwriting workshop for kids on 1/9 & 1/23 at 826DC

On With the Show!: Playwriting and Performance
On With the Show!: Playwriting and Performance

Two things I’d like to do more of in 2016 is teach and be personally involved in theater again. To get that going, I’m teaching a free playwriting workshop, On With the Show!: Playwriting and Performance, for kids ages 6-12 at 826DC’s office at 3333 14th Street (Columbia Heights neighborhood) on Saturday, January 9th, and Saturday, January 23rd, from 1pm – 3pm.

Together we’ll learn about storyboarding, plot development, character development, and snappy dialogue. To register your child, visit the 826DC workshop website and fill out this form. See you there!

creativity

This just in: You need to see the Neofuturists at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in D.C.

Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind

Last night I saw the Neofuturists perform 30 plays in 60 minutes at Woolly Mammoth Theatre here in D.C. Some made me laugh. Some made my eyes tear up. Some made me angry. And they all made me very happy that I spent the night with this talented group of 5 artists giving their hearts and minds to an audience that was both receptive to the work and more than willing to participate.

Their inventive style of storytelling is something I’ve admired from afar for many years, and I’m so glad that I got a chance to experience their work first-hand. A must see in D.C. this season, the show runs through January 3rd at Woolly. More details here: http://www.woollymammoth.net/