Our life stories, ourselves, and Amy Saidman, artistic director of SpeakeasyDC

The tales we tell hold powerful sway over our memories, behaviours and even identities, according to research from the burgeoning field of narrative psychology.
Research has also found that stories can also shape our future. In particular telling stories of struggle that turn out well may give people the hope they need to live productive lives. And stories that vividly describe turmoil seem to help people grow wiser in the aftermath of major life challenges.
However, the power of narrative, however isn’t always positive: Telling stories about your spouse that focus on negative traits for instance, can cause you to forget about the positive traits you used to cherish, finds research by John Holmes, PHD, a psychology professor at Waterloo University.
“For better or worse, stories are a very powerful source of self-persuasion, and they are highly internally consistent,” says Holmes. “Evidence that doesn’t fit the story is going to be left behind.”
Stories shape memory so dramatically. Once you tell a story it’s hard to get out of that story’s framework, and they tend to get more dramatic over time.

Neuroscience is now presenting compelling evidence that we are as humans literally biologically hardwired to remember stories as such be prepared for a burgeoning field of storytellers in everything from medicine, science, history, life stories, artistic and more.
So let’s Meet Amy Saidman and the non profit theatre company SpeakeasyDC

Last weekend I spent my Saturday with a wonderful group here in Australia called the Australian Storytelling Guild (NSW) who come together bi-monthly to share the delights of the oral tradition.

As someone who has spent 15 odd years of my business career in marketing and PR where the craft of creating compelling stories can make or break a product I am fascinated by the growing field of oral storytelling.

The field is not widely known in this country but in the states for example there are coffee shops that host ‘teller nights’, festivals that attract annually up to 10,000 people and of course acclaimed business storytellers such as Annette Simmons who we have featured on The Brave Discussion and Stephen
Denning who has written The Leaders Guide to Storytelling are driving storytelling as a business discipline for sparking action, transmitting values,
sharing the brand, change management, leading into the future and more. I now also incorporate storytelling training into my own consultancy practice as there is now sufficient evidence to realize that pages of facts and data don’t achieve cut through. Social media for example is a wonderful space to  Facts tell… stories sell.

So today on The Brave Discussion where we discuss many issues of social justice that impact on women’s lives and of course some great inspiring women too, I wanted to share with you something a little different today

It is one of Washington, D.C’s newest hotspots and isn’t a trendy restaurant or bar. Rather, it’s a place where regular people, some visibly nervous, step onstage and tell stories from their lives.

Often it’s the most unassuming people who tell the most riveting, hilarious and heart-rendering tales, says Amy Saidman, artistic director of the non profit theatre group who run the event.

Amy’s co-directed the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival’s top-selling show The Sin Show, 2009?s Mommie Dearest Mother’s Day Special, and is in the cast of Chocolate Jesus. She has been performing, hosting, teaching, and directing with SpeakeasyDC since 2000 and is a two-time recipient of the artist fellowship award from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanties (most recently for FY2009-10).

Storytelling can be interpreted in many ways. At SpeakeasyDC, storytelling is the performance of autobiographical narrative. Broken down into its parts it means a few things:

First, it’s a performance. These stories are shared live on a stage. It is an oral art, as opposed to written or visual. It is not a reading.

Second, it’s autobiographical, which means its true, original, and first-person. It’s not fiction or folktale.

Third, it’s narrative, which means it’s a story with an arc — a beginning, middle, and end. It is not an essay, a series of jokes, or poetry.

Through the art of autobiographical story performance, SpeakeasyDC gives voice to the authentic experience of ordinary people, builds community, and promotes understanding. They have a three-part mission: to produce high quality storytelling performances; provide ongoing training and performance opportunities to the public; and preserve the oral tradition in a way that speaks to and enriches contemporary life.

Origins of SpeakeasyDC

In 1990, a small group of storytellers and storytelling enthusiasts–spearheaded by Linda Fang and Ann Mesritz–got together to form the Washington Storytellers Theatre. Their goal was to bring professional storytellers from around the country to the Washington, DC area to perform and teach the art of
storytelling.

Inspired by The Green Mill poetry slam in Chicago and Stories at the Moth in New York, then Executive Director Robert Revere, along with the help of performer Leslie Sapp, began The Speakeasy in 1997 as complement to WST’s main stage programming. The intent was to give locals and non-professional storytellers a space to tell stories.

The open mic was held first at the old Black Cat Club (1997-2000), then moved to HR-57 (2001-2006), then to Cada Vez in 2006 which was remodeled and
changed to Station 9 where the event took place until August 2009. Currently, the open mic takes place at Town Danceboutique at 8th and U Streets, NW,
Washington, DC.

Amy Saidman became the Speakeasy’s Artistic Director in 2001 and the Executive Director of WST in 2006. At that time, the decision was made to
discontinue the programs that featured out-of-town performers in order to focus entirely on the cultivation of local talent and the development of personal,
true stories. To reflect that change, the organization’s trade name was officially changed from Washington Storytellers Theatre to SpeakeasyDC,

Stephanie Garibaldi was hired as the Education Director, and programs were expanded to support the new mission including comprehensive coaching,
classes, ensemble performances, professional services, and a podcast. Each year, SpeakeasyDC exposes thousands of people to this brand of storytelling and
trains hundreds to tell their own.

Through the art of autobiographical story performance, SpeakeasyDC gives voice to the authentic experience of ordinary people, builds community, and promotes understanding. They have a three-part mission: to produce high quality storytelling performances; provide ongoing
training and performance opportunities to the public; and preserve the oral tradition in a way that speaks to and enriches contemporary life.

A great example of how SpeakeasyDC is impacting lives in a positive way has been written about in the American Psychological Association. In an article by Sadie Dingfelder she shares how powerful the SpeakeasyDC workshops can be for participants.

“One such participant, Erika Hagensen, a disability rights activist, wanted to craft an anecdote about a flight attendant who initially refused her request to pre-board. She then called attention to Hagensen’s cane, “Everybody step aside, this little girl is handicapped!”
Hagensen excised a passage where she likened boarding the flight to running with the bulls in Spain, and instead skipped ahead to the point of the
story. “I fastened my seatbelt low and tight across my hips, I locked my pride in the upright position,” I am making this flight.”

She does more than survive the flight – she emerges stronger, more confident and more comfortable requesting accommodation in the
future. Such a narrative arc, in which challenges give way to triumph, are typical of highly generative adults.

SpeakeasyDC now produces several original ensemble shows, with unique casts, each year. Past shows include: top-selling and critically acclaimed
Capital Fringe Festival shows Chocolate Jesus, Revenge of the Cat-Headed Baby and Other True Tales of Life & Death; The Sin Show; Sucker for Love Valentine’s Day Special; Outside Looking In: A Tribute to “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” for DC’s Big Read; and Mommie Dearest Mother’s Day Special.

Each year, in addition to producing over about 20 original performance, they offer over a dozen educational opportunities, train almost 300 new storytellers a year, publish a free bi-weekly podcast; host multiple video channels on YouTube and Vimeo, lead outreach programs, host community events, and offer trainings for professionals. Their clients have included The American Heart Association, The Microcredit SummitCampaign, Amnesty International, the Congressional Hunger Center, and Brailsford & Dunlavey.