Rochester Storytellers Project announces 2024 season. How to share your story, get tickets

Michael Kilian, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
·2 min read

The Democrat and Chronicle will host its eighth season of live storytelling events in 2024.

Two Rochester Storytellers Project shows will feature entertaining, compelling, true stories told by people who live and work in the Rochester area. The dates and themes will be:

· April 17, 7 p.m.: ROC Flavors: Our Stories

· Nov. 20, 7 p.m.: Holiday Travel Tales

All will be held at Comedy at the Carlson, 50 Carlson Road. The venue and bathrooms are wheelchair accessible. Free parking is in a lot across the street. ASL interpreters may be provided with at least two weeks notice.

Tina MacIntyre-Yee, Democrat and Chronicle photographer, talks about making holiday cookies as a child and then carrying on that tradition with her daughter during the Democrat & Chronicle's Storytellers Project held at the Comedy @ The Carlson. The theme was holidays.
Tina MacIntyre-Yee, Democrat and Chronicle photographer, talks about making holiday cookies as a child and then carrying on that tradition with her daughter during the Democrat & Chronicle's Storytellers Project held at the Comedy @ The Carlson. The theme was holidays.

Tickets are on sale now at https://storytellersproject.enmotive.com/events/register/2024-rochester-storytellers-project/key:wyszzfocraqpqgkr . The cost is $12; a limited number of discounted tickets are available for $8. Doors open at 6 p.m. Food and drink will be available for sale.

Live storytelling events have become popular over the past decade or so. What sets Rochester Storytellers Project shows apart is that Democrat and Chronicle journalists curate the shows and coach the storytellers.

The Storytellers Project launched at the Arizona Republic in Phoenix in 2011. The Democrat and Chronicle has been hosting storytelling events since 2017 (they were held online in 2020 and 2021).

Become a storyteller

The Democrat and Chronicle is looking for storytellers from all backgrounds who are willing to share their true, first-person stories. Tellers will work with journalists to shape a 7- to 9-minute story around the theme of the night. Tellers receive between three and five hours of training in all.

The themes for 2024 will be:

April 17: ROC Flavors: Our StoriesThroughout Rochester’s history, unique foods and dishes have helped define life here. Indeed, each generation of newcomers historically has brought new flavor to local meals. Come hear stories of some of these culinary delights and what they mean to us.

Nov. 20: Holiday Travel TalesWe all have heard that getting there is half the fun. Is that really true, though, when we seek to travel to visit loved ones or friends for a holiday visit, or when they travel to visit us? Come hear stories of people in motion and all the heartbreak and hilarity they might have encountered along the way.

To pitch your story, email tcoles@gannett.com. Include your name, age, place of residence and a few sentences describing the story you want to tell. The Rochester Storytellers Project team will curate the evening to make sure the tellers are diverse and that there’s a mix of stories that will result in an entertaining evening.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Rochester Storytellers Project 2024: Ticket info, become a storyteller