Storytelling Night
We all have at least one great story we tell. Maybe yours is about a blind date that went nowhere fast, or perhaps you met a famous person once. One that I sometimes tell is about when I got tossed out of Cardinal Stadium for public intoxication right after I turned 21 years old. [Let the record show that I developed a two-drink limit and swore off vodka after that particular hangover.]
The stories we tell are sometimes funny, sometimes sad. Some of them give others a small window into our souls, while others show who we used to be once and left behind. Listening to other people’s stories can be a form of entertainment as much as a lesson in humanity’s triumphs and foibles.
Abby Koenig and Katy Hopkins are both so passionate about the power of storytelling that they created Grown-Up Story Time 502 in 2023, a monthly storytelling event in which writers and non-writers submit their personal stories, which are then read by others in front of a live audience.
Both Abby and Katy have backgrounds in theater. Abby lived in Houston, Texas, for many years and was part of a theater group that started a similar concept of live storytelling.
“It was a little more theatrical out there; people would get dressed up and play roles. It was really just to hear your writing from someone else’s perspective,” she says.
Katy earned a degree in theater and lived in New York City, gaining experience directing performances.
“I became increasingly passionate about theater’s ability to amplify voices and stories that are not typically heard,” she says, and that’s something she loves about Grown-Up Story Time 502.
If you’ve heard of The Moth, you have an idea of what Grown-Up Story Time 502 is like, but there are distinct differences. For one thing, Grown-Up Story Time is not competitive, so there is no pressure to win or worry if you run over the allotted time. Abby has experience as a dramatic writer and says,
“If you don’t feel comfortable with your writing, you’re probably not going to submit [to The Moth]. And if you don’t like reading, forget it; you’re not going to do it,” she says. Not every person who writes also likes to read what they wrote aloud to an audience.
Abby says Grown-Up Story Time can be a useful tool for writers because they get to hear something they wrote read by other people who, through their performance, may put a different spin on the words and what they mean. Sometimes a writer may realize they need to change their story to better reflect their intentions.
Not every person who writes a story for Grown-Up Story Time considers themselves a writer, which shouldn’t prevent anyone from submitting a story.
“For the most part, we try to stay true to the writing that we get as long as it fits the theme and doesn’t go too long,” Abby says. “If it runs over 10-12 minutes, I’ll go back to the writer. If stories go too long, people tune out, and that’s not fair to anybody involved.”
Anyone who has told a story to a friend has the potential to share their story at Grown-Up Story Time 502. Abby often encourages people who have a good story to tell theirs aloud to themselves or a friend while recording it on their phone. The transcript of that story is the type of story that Grown-Up Story Time is looking for.
Each month, Grown-Up Story Time 502 announces its theme or prompt for the month. Past themes have included “Best Laid Plans,” “Family Secrets,” “Beginnings/Endings,” and “Food,” so they are broad enough that the stories encompass many directions, styles and tones.
Katy says the Derby-themed stories have been especially impactful and bring in voices from all over the city.
“I particularly love the stories that are submitted that have a sense of place and really root us in Kentucky,” she says. Some stories explain how the writers landed in Kentucky or share a slice of their life further afield in the state.
Both Abby and Katy serve as co-hosts of the monthly event, which for the past year or so have been taking place at West Sixth Brewing. Readers are invited on stage to perform the stories that have been submitted, but attendees who come to hear stories will also have the chance to write a very short story (1-3 sentences) if they want.
“We encourage audience members over the course of the evening to complete a prompt and put them in a basket. They’re anonymously submitted, and we read them between the stories,” Katy says.
The feel of a Grown-Up Story Time event is very casual.
“When we moved to West Sixth, we hoped to encourage people to drop in. It’s wonderful when we have a full audience that sticks with us, but we also want people to feel comfortable to come in, stay for a story and then leave if they’ve got somewhere else to go,” Katy says.
While Grown-Up Story Time 502 isn’t R- or X-rated, the stories are often about adult issues and reflections, so it’s not an event that children would find appealing.
When Abby and Katy began Grown-Up Story Time 502, Abby was looking to come out of the COVID-19 funk, feel better about life and get motivated to write. Her reasons were personal, but she has discovered that the people who listen to the stories gain a sense of solidarity and community.
“Every time I’m like, ‘Why are we doing this? This is so much work,’ someone will come up to me after the event and say, ‘This is my favorite night of the month,’” Abby says.
“We’ve definitely had people come up and thank us for the community service. That isn’t something that Abby and I would have labeled it, but it is something that people identify it as. It is a community service to give voice to people around everyday things,” Katy says. Plus, hearing stories reminds people of their common humanity. “It’s a nice reminder that we have quite a bit in common with each other,” Katy says. “It is a respite from the typical dialogue we can get caught up in on social media.”
Whether you are interested in attending an event as an audience member or would like to read or write as part of Grown-Up Story Time 502, you can find each month’s prompts and event updates on Facebook and Instagram.
