Entertainment |

Diatribes and diaries: Story Collective champions the power of authentic truth-telling

The Moth, a nonprofit group dedicated to the art of storytelling, was founded in 1997 by poet and novelist George Dawes Green.

While the wordsmith brought the concept of people reading their own tales to New York City 25 years ago, The Moth has certainly spread its wings and gone on to host 600 different storytelling events a year in more than 27 U.S. cities and in London and Melbourne.

There’s just a certain magic that coincides when folks gather to share personal stories, authentically, and with plenty of heart.

Boulder now has its own continuing series that spotlights the real-life tales of participants.

Story Collective launched in the spring at Junkyard Social Club and has since been attracting crowds enthused to hear the emotional, harrowing, and even embarrassing, experiences of others told in their own words.

From diary entries to diatribes, nothing is really off limits.

The next installment will take place at Junkyard Social on Saturday. Doors are at 7 p.m., and the show is at 8 p.m. Writers submitted stories under the theme “Unexpected” and will read autobiographical pieces that contain elements of shock and surprise woven throughout.

Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 the day of the show. Beer and wine will be available for purchase, and a food truck will be on site.

Personal, touching, raw and at times hilarious, the content put forth by brave storytellers resonates with attendees and sometimes even inspires audience members to break out the laptop and get to writing when they go home.

One of the cherished elements of Story Collective is that submissions are open to everyone through the organization’s website. Each time, a prompt theme is given. Currently, organizers are accepting stories for “New” taking place on January 21, 2023 and “Home” taking place on April 29, 2023.

Founder and producer of Story Collective, Lizzie Ziegler, along with co-producer Katie Horney, sound producer Daniel Horney and house band members Jon Parsons, Josh Schnabel and Erin Gael Friedman work hard to create a vibe that lends itself to honest sharing, entertainment and, of course, plenty of fun.

We caught up with Ziegler to find out more about what inspired her to bring this eclectic series to Boulder, what we can expect from Saturday’s event and why it’s important for others to saunter up to the mic and share their truth.

Kalene McCort: Since launching this ongoing series in April, what has been the response?

Lizzie Ziegler: The response from both participants and attendees has been incredibly positive. We came out with a bang at our first event in April with a packed house and ended up having to borrow chairs from our local elementary school.

We’ve started to receive submissions from past attendees who have never told a story on stage before, but have felt compelled to after seeing others share their stories. My co-producer Katie Horney has a background in theater production and costume design, and she takes great care in creating bits of whimsy and wonder tied to each event theme, which gives our guests another opportunity to interact, which I think they enjoy.

KM: What inspired you to want to establish this as a permanent offering at Junkyard Social?

LZ: My husband Jon Parsons (a member of the house band) and I previously hosted a series like this out of our home in the historic Laurel Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles. We built a fiercely loyal community around the events, eventually having to add a second night for each show. We had people who came to every event.

There was a familial feel, both with the storytellers and audience. When I visited the Junkyard last year for a birthday party, I was immediately struck by how the space could lend itself to an event like this, so I reached out and soon learned from Junkyard’s Chief Experience Officer Ryan Madson that we had shared goals of creating community and bringing more arts to Boulder. Story Collective turned out to be a great collaboration for this.

KM: For Saturday’s Story Collective, I understand the theme is “Unexpected.” What are some of the tales of folks receiving surprising news that we can expect to hear?

LZ: We have seven storytellers, of which I am one, who will share stories of the “unexpected” — ranging from one woman’s receipt of life-changing news in a bathroom at 35,000 feet to a man’s reckoning with his religion while on the face of a rock in a thunderstorm. Another storyteller will share about her unexpected journey around the world to radical schools to eventually bring a nature preschool to Boulder, and one man will tell of his unexpected friendship with an orphaned boy in the jungle of Thailand. There’s more, but I don’t want to give away too much.

KM: What are you hoping folks take away from these storytelling events?

LZ: First of all, the hope is that people will hang around after the events and talk to the storytellers and fellow audience members, perhaps sharing more stories and building community.

When they do leave, we hope that folks will walk away feeling like they were part of something special, in on a secret, if you will. Our storytellers are up on the stage, bearing it all in many cases, sharing their personal triumphs and tragedies. At our first event, we had a storyteller who shared her personal story of losing her home in the Marshall Fire. I think the vulnerability and bravery the storytellers bring gives our audience the chance to perhaps see the world through someone else’s eyes, and there is connection in that.

KM: What do you see for the future of Story Collective, and have you already started receiving submissions for the next event set for January 2023?

LZ: Our hope for Story Collective is that we can continue to build a community around these events, as well as to offer expanded programming. For now, we are looking to host events three to four times per year, but as we grow and have a consistent flow of storytellers, we’d like to do the event monthly.

We would also like to offer writing workshops and potentially kid-focused storytelling events and workshops. I have a 10-year-old who has been attending the events, and he’s got the itch to get on the stage, so I think there is a gap we could fill there, too.