New event brings real stories to stage
This week, a new Sioux City event aims to bring storytelling out of the living room and onto the stage.
Ode, created by Ally Karsyn, a features reporter at the Sioux City Journal, allows community members to tell real stories before an audience.
“Ode is a passion project for me,” said Karsyn, who is the founder, producer and host of the series, set for the last Wednesday of every other month. This month’s event is Jan. 27 at ISU Design West. The next event is scheduled for March 30 and theme is inspirations and influences.
Here’s five questions with Ally.
Question: Tell me about Ode and why you created it?
Answer: Ode is a storytelling series where community members tell true stories on stage to promote positive impact through empathy. It was partly inspired by a monthly live lit event I attended over four years ago in Chicago, called Essay Fiesta. It was a moving experience to see and hear people tell true stories live. I realized I could start something like it right here in Sioux City after going to the Society for Features Journalism conference in the fall and hearing from Megan Finnerty, a reporter at the Arizona Republic who founded the Arizona Storytellers Project. I spend a lot of time passively observing people to write about them. It feels good to do something active and add to Sioux City’s cultural landscape.
Q: What are your favorite kinds of stories to tell? What are your favorite kinds of stories to read? And why?
A: As a journalist, I love telling stories about the people behind startups and small businesses. Their entrepreneurial spirit never ceases to inspire. And there’s often a fair amount of built-in drama that leads someone to make a life-altering decision. I’m endlessly fascinated by what people do for a living, so what I read often overlaps with the kinds of stories I write. I also enjoy reading “think pieces” and stories about social trends. My Facebook newsfeed is filled with articles from sites like Refinery29, Bizwomen, Broadly, Inc. Magazine, Narratively and The Atlantic.
Q: Telling personal stories onstage is much different than telling them to a group of friends. Why did you want to create a forum like this one?
A: We all tell stories. And you don’t need to look much further than Facebook to see how much we love to share the details of our lives. Live lit is like telling a story to your best friend who will let you talk about yourself for 10 minutes, uninterrupted. But in this case, your best friend is a captive audience.
Part of my job is to be a professional listener. I have excellent head nodding skills and I’ve learned a lot from sitting back and listening to people tell their stories. Others would be wise to do the same.
Q: What do you hope to achieve through this organization? What do you hope people take away from the night?
A: The tagline for Ode is “impact through empathy.” I want people to feel something, to gain a new perspective, to walk away changed, if ever so slightly.
Q: Tell me about the speakers, and the stories they will be sharing.
A: Four storytellers will give an ode to breaking points and new beginnings. The lineup includes Donna Brooks, a writer, instructor and bibliophile; John Paul Engel, a motivational speaker and man on a mission; my coworker Kirby Kaufman; and myself.
For each live lit event, selected storytellers are given up to 10 minutes to deliver their true tales that have been crafted around the month’s theme. This is Ode’s debut event. The show starts at 7 p.m. in the lower level of ISU Design West, which is situated off an alleyway by T&W Tire on the corner of Third and Court.
The event is free and open to the public. Get the latest updates from Ode at facebook.com/odestorytelling. Story ideas can be submitted to odestorytelling [at] gmail [dot] com. Remember, it must be true, about you and told in 10 minutes or less.
About the Author
Thomas Ritchie I love food, cycling, family, music, social media and especially Sioux City. Got an idea for a story - shoot me a note at siouxcitynow1@gmail.com.