My Storytelling Debut

I really like comedy and have had aspirations to do some stand up comedy in the past. But as I watched more stand up, I realized that my style of comedy is more in the form of storytelling rather than shorter jokes that stand alone from each other. So I didn't think my comedy career would ever get off the ground.

But then a friend of mine (and reader of this blog) told me about Elna Baker. She's a storyteller, and she's Mormon. Here's a video of her storytelling (PG-13):

And then I borrowed her book from the library and read it in about two days. That's when I decided that I wanted to do comedy like her. Short stories, some punch lines, and some Mormon drama. I was sold on storytelling.

As I looked into it further, I learned about The Moth, where storytellers have the stage for a few minutes to wow the crowd. But I was living in Provo, Utah and The Moth is in New York, so I worked on writing my stories and improving my storytelling skills in front of a crowd of people.

I was serious about this. So serious that I discovered that there was a storytelling venue in Provo called "The Porch." Unfortunately for me, the scheduling didn't work out, so I didn't get a chance to share my stories there, or even attend a show. But I did scour its website and found a fellow BYU Law Grad's story (He's hilarious and you should listen to this story).

But tonight, fate of all fate aligned for me. My friend works for WDET and it sponsors Detroit's branch of The Moth and invited me to attend the show. I was excited about it because I had really wanted to see what it was like. I had no idea that I was going to tell a story while there.

Well friends, the topic was blunders. And in my life I really feel that if you don't have several embarrassing moments and blunders, you're not really living life to its fullest. So of course I have droves of stories that I could share. My friend convinced me to sign up to tell a story. (They pick 10 people at random from those that sign up and about 18 people signed up, so I wasn't a lock to perform).

I was chosen to go 4th. I was definitely nervous. I had only ever told my stories in a ward talent show and to my friends. I figured that a stage of strangers - and Detroiters - could be pretty harsh.

I told my story about first impressions where I participated in a speed dating event at BYU and then when I caught myself on fire by accident in front of a bunch of strangers.

I definitely got laughs and high fives. And an awkward hug from a very drunk man. I think I probably could have picked up a couple of guys had I tried a little bit, too. Who knew I had it in me?

My score wasn't that great, but I definitely feel like it was worth it and that I did a good job. I definitely want to improve my technique and tell more stories in the future.