In 2009, I started ‘Real Stories Bay Area’ above a bar in downtown Walnut Creek. Ignorant about the amount of work & time - I flailed on. But, by God, people kept attending! RSBA outgrew the space. Even when it was Thurs. nite and TV showed, ‘Dancing with the Stars All-Star Reunion’. Newscasters and celebrities wanted to tell a story. The Walnut Creek Library became a sponsor and donated a room. Awesome people - those ‘Creekers. They take crap from the SF artsy community, but no kidding – they ain’t ALL Nordstrom shoppers. My people. Now Danville . . .
Jump ahead four years. Producing left me less time for telling my own stories – I missed performing. So I traveled. Told stories on stages across the country, on National Public Radio, in front of businesses & comedy clubs. I ended up in arsty, creative, vibrant, car-window smashing Oakland. Anxious to get back and produce more story events I called a good friend & a talented storyteller – Gina Gold. “It’s time for expansion with fresh energy. Would you like to join me on my mission to change the world? Because that’s what stories can do.” She was sleeping so she said ‘Yes’. That’s how awesome she is. And so is her 7yr old daughter, Ariel.
Love, Love. I’m so grateful. And it’s Oakland – Ariel can have two mommies.
Forging ahead, we relaunched as ‘BustingOut Storytelling’.
We are two strong women who love to laugh. If it sounds like it – you’re wrong, we are not a couple. Both hetero, with stories to confirm. If history is any indicator of the future – we will banter. We will argue & cajole. We will use white boards and dream. We will coach & encourage storytellers to do their homework, be painfully honest & delightfully playful. We will insist the story is personally crafted, told well and reflects a personal meaning.
Yes, I am making us sound smarter than we really are.
But, we really don’t have time to mess around – we’re on a mission is to change the world.
