October 2024
Spooky Season & Our Next Show!
I. OUR NEXT ONE FOR A WHILE
Catch us while you can!
It was really quite surreal celebrating our 10th anniversary. Stories We Don’t Tell was truly built and realized one event at a time. We did one show and it worked, so we did another one. It can be difficult to find things that are genuine and, we shudder a tad at using the word, but authentic. But, our event is authentic because it grew in an organic way. We have thought about “scaling” it up (whatever that means), but we honestly like it exactly the way it exits - as a small, but (we hope) potentially important thing that people can connect with - whether it be a story they heard or just the event and what it stands for.
Over ten years, we have produced 67 events, workshopped 331 stories, recorded 157 podcast episodes, and published one book. That’s not too shabby!
We deeply thank every one of the people behind those 331 stories and all the people who came to the 67 events. It’s also pretty surreal to write these numbers and we cannot believe that we’ve been able to create a platform that has connected this amount of people.
And now we’re hopefully starting on a journey of another ten years. Our next event will be on Saturday, November 16th (Grab your Ticket here!). It’s not too late to sign-up to tell a story with us and we will say that this might be your last chance for at least a little while! We do two workshops leading up to the event: Thursday, October 24th at 6:00pm and Saturday, November 9th at 1:00pm. Please come and join us!
Here are a bunch of ways to engage with us online and get information on how to participate in SWDT events:
Learn more about the process of telling a story with us.
Check out all workshop and event dates for the entire season.
Use this form to sign-up to join workshops and tell a story.
Listen to the SWDT Podcast.
Get your copy of the SWDT book.
We look forward to seeing you on November 16th!
— The SWDT Crew
II. SWDT PODCAST
Listen to our new season celebrating our 10th anniversary.
Stories We Don’t Tell is celebrating our 10 year anniversary and to mark this, we have put together a special 10 part series. We picked ten people who have told stories with us, one person from each year, and interviewed them. We really do attract some incredibly interesting people and these interviews do not disappoint.
We went in wanting to know the interview subjects’ relationship to storytelling, why they chose SWDT, and hear about their experience performing at the event. But, those were really just a starting point and each interview took on its own life and really became a very insightful and revealing look into our storytellers and our event. So, for each episode, you’ll get an interview with a storyteller and their story that was recorded live at our event.
Here are the first three episodes in the series:
Episode 155: Brianne Benness. For this first episode in the series, we talk with Stories We Don’t Tell founder Brianne Benness. We discuss the origins of the event and what she’s up to now. Spoiler alert: it’s pretty cool and you can find out more about her work around chronic illness here: No End in Sight.
Episode 156: Erin. You’ll hear from Erin, an old friend of the show and fan favourite. We talk about a wide array of subjects, including: their involvement with SWDT, the impact of sharing personal stories, and the creation of Stories of Ours.
Episode 157: Jake. You’ll hear friend of the show and guest producer Jake. We talk about his experiences with SWDT and hear a classic story that once again brings up the controversial debate of the best comfort food: rice or noodles. Or, maybe something else entirely!
Subscribe to the SWDT Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
III. THE BOOK
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The book version of Stories We Don’t Tell includes 61 stories that were all told in front of a live audience at one of our shows. The authors have generously contributed these pieces of their lives to be included in this book. Along with each newsletter, we feature a summary of a story from the book. This week, we’re highlighting a story from one of our producers, Paul, and since it’s spooky season, the tale is about that time he dated a ghost.
When I was a child, our basement had nothing really down there, it was just storage. I always remember there was a painting hanging on the wall. It was like a leftover from some previous owner because it just didn’t fit with anything else we had. I remember this painting because it was the face of a young woman, and it was one of those creepy paintings that looked like the eyes were following you.
Each story in the book created a memorable moment in front of a roomful of people. Moving through this anthology is an experience where these many moments complement and reflect each other, contradict and draw parallels, have profound wisdom and absurdity. Learn more about the book and order your very own copy at this link.
We welcome any comments or questions, whether it be about the event, podcast, telling a story, or general thought about storytelling. Email us: thestorieswedonttell [@] gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you!
