Storytelling Toronto's new Story Pillar series kicked off on Saturday, September 26 at the Palmerston Library theatre.  Hosted by Tales Toronto co-founder Briane Nasimok, the show featured true tales from a number of seasoned tellers.  While the theme was comedy, many of the stories were bittersweet, including memories of lost loves, consequences of questionable decisions, and challenging encounters with overt racism.  

  

  

Briane started the show off, sharing a tale of romance as a teen carny at the Ex; Maddy Sedgwick detailed the lengths she had to go to to get over a breakup; Matt Baram took us to the Edinburgh Fringe for a warm show that suddenly turned cold; Elaine Gold declaimed on how she originated the term "ghosting" on a camping trip gone wrong; Justin Shaw (STT Artistic Director) bonded with his father-in-law over movies and scotch; Sandra Whiting became a Big Sister and reclaimed the term "Pollyanna" as someone being the change they want to see in the world; and Paul Hutcheson wrapped up with a hilarious recounting of his first year as a high school teacher facing very distracted classes.

  

Briane also invited attendees who were curious about telling funny stories to check out the upcoming STT workshop Finding Your Funny: Humour in Storytelling led by

Scott Faulconbridge, October 15 & 22.  Who knows?  You might be the next humorous teller!

Next up in the Story Pillar series: Stories We Carry presented by Kesha Christie & Ugomma presented by Ugonma Ekeanyanwu on Thursday, October 24  at the Palmerston Library.