TALEFEST: A FESTIVAL OF STORYTELLING
July 10th-14th Kraine Theater
TaleFest is a five-day festival that celebrates the best of the New York City comedy storytelling scene; featuring some of the top storytelling shows in the city coming to the Kraine Theater.
Produced by Harmon Leon (This American Life, Observer) in tandem with Erez Ziv and The Kraine Theater, TaleFest spotlights the wide variety themed shows that dots the New York.
TaleFest features such top shows as Kweendom, Las Quince: Latino Storytellers on Adolescence, The Muff: A Parody Show of the Moth, TALE, Happy Hour Story Hour, and more…
Plus live storytelling podcast recordings and solo performances by such established NY storytellers as Adam Wade (Inside Amy Schumer), Michele Carlo (Moth StorySlam), Harmon Leon (The Observer), and David Lawson (RISK).
Come and celebrate NYC storytelling!
Comedy History 101 is a proud sponsor of TaleFest
Wed, July 10th
7pm: Happy Hour Story Hour: Top Shelf Stories
Top Shelf Stories is a celebration of the best and most dedicated storytellers that come to Manhattan's longest running weekly storytelling open mic, Happy Hour Story Hour. The stellar, Danny Artese, takes over hosting duties as creator and host, Julia Whitehouse, is about to give birth again.
Dana Brodsky Noel Dineen Srilatha Rajimani Andrew McGill Pamela Barsky Jason Evans Hosted by Danny Artese Produced by Julia Whitehouse
8:30 Odd Rocks Story Hour with Rob Paravonian
Songwriters tell stories with their songs and the stories behind their songs. Comedian, musician, and writer Rob Paravonian hosts a showcase of multitalented performers who will use music to bring their stories to life.
Featuring Lauren Maul, Cynthia Kaplan, Matt DeCaro, and more!
Thurs, July 11th
7pm: No Name
As part of their 25th Anniversary celebration, No Name proudly brings to TaleFest a 1-night-only revival of Michele Carlo's classic storytelling show, "It Came From NY!" Co-hosted by Ms. Carlo & No Name founder, Eric Vetter, it boasts an all-star lineup featuring one performer from each of the 5 boroughs.
Stories from borough natives:
BRONX : MICHELE CARLO
BROOKLYN: CAROLE MONTGOMERY
MANHATTAN: THOMAS PRYOR
QUEENS: SANDI MARX
STATEN ISLAND: ALEXIS SOTTILE
Music provided by: COURTNEY HILL
Click Here for Tickets
8:30 Tale: NYC’s Finest Storytelling
Before there was TaleFest…there was TALE! For 6 years running, TALE has been bringing the finest in NYC storytelling
No hokey gimmicks. No dumb themes. No bad Tinder date stories – TALE simply delivers the best that NYC storytelling has to offer.
Harmon Leon (This American Life, The Observer) Michael Small (MSNBC.com) Anders Lee (Edinburgh Festival) Ivy Eisenberg (The Tank) Paul Dickinson (Junker Dreams) Meg Pickarski (The PIT)
Fri, July 12th
7pm: Kweendom:
Join us for a night of storytelling that's sure to make Mike Pence uncomfortable. It's not just gay, it's GAAAAAYYYYY. Gay like The B-52s are gay. Gay like Hocus Pocus is gay. Gay like Pee-Wee’s Playhouse is gay. Come for the laughs, stay for the fresh faces in your Grindr grid. KWEENDOM, a TimeOut NY and New York Times Critics’ Pick, is a monthly stand-up and storytelling showcase featuring a diverse lineup of all LGBTQ performers.
Our special all-storytelling TaleFest installment features performances from: Kevin Gilligan (Never Have I Ever) Lynae DePriest (FlameCon). Kelli Trapnell (Wildcard) Hosted by Bobby Hankinson (Sirius XM, Awkward Sex and the City)
8:30 The Muff: A Parody Show Of The Moth
It’s time to parody The Moth! The Moth is NYC’s longest running storytelling show that people either love or hate. Now, raconteur, Harmon Leon Leon (This American Life, TALE, Observer) brings you:
The Muff: A Parody Show of The Moth
The Muff satirizes all the elements you see at a typical Moth show. Come see the fake drama! The scoring! The drunken judges! The celebrity name-dropping host! And of course, the bucket – where all names will be picked. Who will be the winner at The Muff?
Sat July 13th
4pm Big Irv's Pet Detec Agency
Big Irv's Pet Detect Agency is proud to bring you the world’s only storytelling show dedicated entirely to pets. We've collected five of the best storytellers the tri-state area has to offer and they'll all be here to share their very favorite pet tails with you.
Whether we’re talking about dogs, cats, rabbits or something more exotic, you’re paw-sitive to leave with a smile on your face. Host: Adam Selbst
Click Here for Tickets
5:30 The Books: Harmon Leon & Paul Dickinson
Double book release event from acclaimed authors: Harmon Leon and Paul Dickinson with stories from Tribespotting: Undercover (Cult)ure Stories and Junker Dreams: An Automotive Memoir.
Harmon Leon: Tribespotting: Undercover (Cult)ure Stories
Legendary infiltrator Harmon Leon (This American Life, Observer) dives directly into the eye of the tribal storm. Join Harmon on a multimedia journey into infiltrating such oddities of American life as a Christian teen purity ring ceremony, a staring cult, and the misogyny of Trump America.
“Tribespotting is eye-opening to say the least.” –David Litt, author of NY Times bestseller Thanks, Obama
“Harmon Leon takes us inside some fairly troubled American Dreams.” –Anthony Haden-Guest, author of The Last Party
Paul Dickinson: Junker Dreams: An Automotive Memoir
Paul Dickinson is Minnesota’s premier punk poet, frontman of Frances Gumm, co-founder of Dead Media, and former proprietor of the Speedboat Gallery — a St. Paul art space with a literally underground music venue where Green Day once played for $100.
He certainly puts the “auto” into his new autobiography, Junker Dreams.
Paul D. Dickinson's new book is Junker Dreams, An Automotive Memoir. He has appeared in the films "Tired Moonlight" and "The Lake Street Detective".
7pm Las Quince
Are you ready for a nonstop storytelling parranda? Las Quince is a showcase highlighting six of NYC's best Latinx performers as they share the hilarious stories of their most unforgettable nights!
Featuring performances from Trina Alper (Crystal Lake Comedy), Jimmy Hoffman (Comedy at The Buren), Lizzie Martinez (Savage!), Gabe Pacheco (Eat, Pray, Judge), Sokio (New Latin Wave) and Lee Valentin (Unusual Culprits).
Hosted by comedian Zilla Vodnas (Boston Women In Comedy Festival).
8:30: 3 Storytellers 3: Adam Wade, Michele Carlo, & David Lawson
3 Storytellers 3: Adam Wade, Michele Carlo, & David Lawson Three of NYC’s top storytellers do excerpts from their solo shows Featuring: Adam Wade (HBO’s Girls, Inside Amy Schumer) Michele Carlo (PBS’ Stories from the Stage) David Lawson (TALE)
Adam Wade's Everyday Heroes
Adam Wade (20-time Moth StorySlam winner / HBO Girls / PBS Stories from the Stage / New Yorker Magazine) spins takes that spotlight people from his life that are everyday heroes. Busdrivers, Barbers, Deli Guys, Bartenders, this one's for you!
Michele Carlo Fish Out Of Agua
Michele grew up as a double-outlier: a redheaded, freckle-faced Puerto Rican raised in an Italian/Irish Bronx neighborhood; too “white” for some of her family and a mystery to nearly everyone else. The personal stories of the search for her true identity interweave with traditional Puerto Rican folktales and unfold like a runaway #6 train, only with humor, heart, and hope—for an unforgettable—and truly modern American narrative.
Michele Carlo has told stories across the U.S., including Joe’s Pub, RISK’s live shows and podcast, and the MOTH’s MainStage in NYC, on NPR and on PBS's "Stories from the Stage." She is the author of the NYC-set memoir Fish Out of Agua, which is also a podcast currently airing on Radio Free Brooklyn. www.michelecarlo.com
David Lawson: Nazis and Me
Hate groups have always been a part of my life, from witnessing vandalism and bomb threats as a child to being trolled by Incels and Pepe the Frog worshipers as an adult. Nazis and Me is a one-man show about my run-ins with hate set in a time where hateful Americans feel a strong sense of comfort: Right now.
For over a decade David has performed one-man shows all over New York City and across the country. He’s performed on the popular storytelling shows Kevin Allison's RISK!, Mortified, Mara Wilson's What Are You Afraid Of? and have hosted The Astoria Bookshop Storytelling Show for the past five years.
Sunday July 14th
4pm: Love Hurts Podcast Live
Love Hurts is a podcast hosted by Bryan Berlin that celebrates the messiness of relationships, whether with family, friends, partners, faith, or passions. Each episode features a new guest sharing stories they normally don't share with anyone in a public conversation about their struggle with love.
In this special live episode, Bryan brings the podcast to the stage for a night of stories of tough love. Storytellers will share their own personal love hurts stories with the audience before Bryan sits down with a featured guest to take a deep dive into their story and work to laugh away the tears!