April Storytelling Events!

Troy

Tuesday, April 10 @ The Ale House (7:30 – 9:30 pm)
Hosted by Ashok 
Theme: “Being Brave”

Courage is hard to define and an underappreciated and hard to find virtue. The following quote is from Game of Thrones:

“Bran thought about it. ‘Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?’
‘That is the only time a man can be brave,’ his father told him.”

Please come and share your stories about fear and pushing through fear to be brave.

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Albany

Monday, April 16 @ The Olde English Pub (7:30 – 9:30 pm)
Hosted by Gregor Wynnyczuk
Theme: “Gettin’ Schooled”

Learning is important. We should always be learning. And while school is a great place to learn, not all learning happens in school (and not everything that happens in school is learning).

What are your most important lessons? How did you learn them? The hard way?

Bring those stories down to the OEP Monday for a night of laughter and learning.

 

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March Storytelling Events!

Troy

Tuesday, March 13 @ The Ale House (7:30 – 9:30 pm)
Hosted by Mike DeSocio
Theme: “In Transit”

Everyone loves to travel. But sometimes, the journey ends up being more interesting than the destination. Tell us a story about getting there. What went wrong? Something almost always does. How did you figure it out? Who did you meet? And what did you learn along the way? Come share your tumultuous travel experience. Whether you walked, ran, rode, drove, swam or flew, we want to hear about.

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Albany

Monday, March 19 @ The Olde English Pub (7:30 – 9:30 pm)
Hosted by Gregor Wynnyczuk
Theme: “Lies & Liars”

Nobody likes to be lied to. It doesn’t feel good. But it happens. Sometimes with the best intentions, sometimes with the worst. Of course, we generally think of ourselves as truthful and transparent, but telling the truth is often difficult. And lies are so much easier. They make things better. Until they don’t. Come share your story of lying or being lied to…

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This Place Event at the UAlbany Art Museum

Tuesday, March 27 (5:00 – 7:00 pm)
Gregor Wynnyczuk will host a special open mic event as part of This Place – an exhibition featuring photographs from twelve internationally renowned artists who spent portions of three years in Israel and the West Bank to capture unfiltered insights on everyday life. More information on the show (and directions) can be found here.

Theme: “Finding My Place”

Places can resonate with us. We may feel we belong in some places, and don’t in others. But ‘place’ is not just a geographic concept – it’s also a societal construct. We often serve a role or function that is determined by others. Sometimes this can be useful and make our lives easier. Sometimes this can be dangerous and make our lives difficult.

Consider a story about finding your place – whether it be physically, geographically, or in relation to others.

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Listening is an act of Love

Front Parlor is a place to hear and tell stories around a designated theme. We generally have 8-12 storytellers, five minutes each, telling true stories. No notes. It’s just like The Moth radio hour, except it’s local storytellers in front of the most loving and supportive audiences anywhere.

February Events!

Troy

Theme: “Resolve”

Host: Mike DeSocio

Tuesday 2/13 @ 7:30 – The Ale House, 680 River Street, Troy

February 2018 marks seven years of the Front Parlor Series. To do anything for seven years is certainly an accomplishment, and it takes a certain amount of resolve. Tell us about a time you stuck it out. What gave you the determination to make it through? Alternatively, tell us story about giving up. Why did you lack the resolve to keep going?

Albany

Theme: “Power”

Host: Allison Continelli

Monday 2/19 @ 7:30 – The Olde English Pub, 683 Broadway, Albany

It’s been said that power corrupts. So being powerful is dangerous. But then again, so is being powerless…

 

How does power manifest in your life? Do you seek it? Fight it? Do you have a superpower? Or do you just leave power to those who want it more than you?

 

Whatever your relationship with it, think about a time when power was the defining factor – and bring that story to the Olde English for a night of stories on Power!

MLK Day Storytelling in Albany

The Front Parlor is back in Albany in January – Monday, January 15

The Olde English Pub, 683 Broadway, Albany, NY 12207

7:30 pm with your host Gregor Wynnyczuk

Theme: “He Said, She Said – Stories on Gender”

What’s it like to be a man or a woman today? For many of us our gender is such a key aspect of who we are there is no way to separate our identity from it. It’s the water we swim in.

But at times we become aware – “that happened because I’m a ___”, or “that wouldn’t have happened if I were a _____”. How does your gender dictate your experience? What can or can’t you do or say? What obligations do you feel?

Please come and share about a time when gender was part of the story.

December Events!

Please be advised The TROY event is cancelled this month. We’ll see you back at the Ale House in January!

Albany

Monday, December 18 @ The Old English Pub — 7:30 – 9:30 pm

Hosted by Gregor Wynnyczuk
OEP, 683 Broadway, Albany, New York 12207

Theme: “Getting Lucky”

Everybody gets lucky sometimes. We just don’t always get lucky when we need to get lucky. So consider those time when something good happened and things worked out. Did you know how lucky you were? Alternately, consider your bad luck – those times when it all just fell apart. Were you counting on that lucky break? Or did bad things just seem to materialize out of thin air?

Wildcard option: you could just talk about “getting lucky” 😉

Either way, it will be a great night to take a break from the holiday hubbub and enjoy some good food, drinks and stories…

 

Bennington

Tuesday, December 19 @ Two Brews Cafe – doors open 7pm

Hosted by Forest Byrd

230 North St. Bennington VT

Theme: “Signs”

Craft a story about signs in your life. When has there been something that is just impossible to ignore and you had to follow it just to see what it was saying. Signs are all around, and they are different for every single one of us. Interpret however you see fit.

November Events!

Tuesday, November 14 @ The Ale House in Troy

Hosted by Abby Norton-Levering
7:30 – 9:30 pm
680 River Street
Troy, New York 12180

Theme: “Enough”
Do you lay awake at night wondering if you are enough? Well, how much is enough? Maybe you’re fed up, “now that’s enough!” Enough what? Money, sex, power, beauty, sleep, heartbreak, marshmallows?

Stories of enough: striking the balance of accumulating and shedding, holding on and letting go. How many stories will be enough? Are there ever enough stories? Come share yours!

Monday, November 20 @ the Olde English Pub in Albany

Hosted by Gregor Wynnyczuk
7:30 – 9:30 pm
Quackenbush Square
683 Broadway
Albany, New York 12207

Theme: “Telling Tales – Stories about Stories”
This could get a little meta, but we’ve all told stories as a means of dealing with an issue in life. To try to get a discount, to ease a breakup, to make ourselves look good – we often tell stories for a reason. So this month, consider those times when you’ve used a story to try to do something besides just entertain. Then tell it in a way that will entertain 😉

 

Tuesday, November 21 @ Two Brews, Bennington, VT

Hosted by Forest Byrd
7:00 – 9:30 pm
Story Night at Two Brews
230 North Street
Bennington, Vermont 05201
Doors open at 7, Stories start at 7:30 Come early for a place to sit.

Theme: “Making Peace”
These days, peace in the outside world seems further and further out of reach. Our own personal experiences might be more telling. Tell about the laying down of arms, the olive branch, the surrender to the greater good or the fierce battle for an even playing ground. Peace is possible in our own lives, it may not be obvious so interpret how you will. 

True, no notes, no props. Event is recorded. It’s like the Moth Radio Hour, only in Vermont. Come for great dinner and stories.

Flash Non-fiction brought to you by Tap House 

‘Tell of a time you felt at ease or the world around you was that way. What caused it? Did something disrupt that peace?’

October 2017 Events!

Tuesday October 10 – TROY

Theme: “Misunderstanding”

Host: Gabby Saulsbery

Location: The Ale House – 680 River Street

Time: 7:30

Perception is funny. Language is, too. In both, we can witness something–see it, hear it–and be totally off about what’s really meant or going on. Maybe it’s October and you were told to dress up for a party, and the host meant fancy clothes but you showed up in a ghoulish costume. Or maybe you were angry because you thought you saw your partner flirting with your friends but they were really just planning a surprise party for you. The “Oh! I thought you meant…”s can lead to pretty great stories.

Come share yours.

Monday October 16 – ALBANY

Theme: “It Is What It Is”

Host: Gregor Wynnyczuk

Location: The Olde English Pub, Quackenbush Square

Time: 7:30 pm

At a certain point you just have to accept some things for what they are. People, situations, the human condition. Whatever it is, you get that point where you know you can’t fight it anymore. Tell about the challenges, the obstacles, the humor that you encountered on the way to finally, at long last, accepting something for what it is.

Tuesday October 17 – BENNINGTON

Story Night Bennington

Theme: “Fire in the Hole”

Host: Forrest Byrd

Location: Two Brews 230 North St, Bennington VT

Time: 7:00pm

What’s it like at ground zero? In a crisis there may be only a few options. Did you come out swinging or did something else happen? Tell a story of how you got through or interpret how you will.

Front Parlor is a place to tell, and listen to other people tell, five minute stories around a designated theme. True stories, no notes. It’s kind of like The Moth radio hour, which has become pretty popular on public radio and in cities around the country. In our region, we have three local Front Parlor events each month with some pretty talented storytellers. First-time storytellers and veterans alike get lots of love from the audience. Or, just come and listen.