Speak Up on Saturday night was a special night for us.
It was our 122nd Speak Up show, dating back to 2013. In some ways, these shows have become old hat for us.
Elysha hosts the show. Brilliantly.
I tell a story.
Four or five or six storytellers join me in telling stories, too.
Our audience is a glorious collection of friends, acquaintances, storytellers, and mostly strangers who have come to see storytelling or fallen in love with storytelling. We’ve made many friends through our Speak Up audience, and we’ve also found many new storytellers in the process.
Saturday night was wonderful in all of these regards.
I told a story about teaching — the same story I told to win a Moth StorySLAM in San Francisco last month.
My friend, David Golder, finally returned to the Speak Up stage with a story of religion and regret.
Three storytellers, brand new to Speak Up, also took the stage:
Kaia Pazdersky told an incredible story about how donning a mascot costume changed her life.
Tesia Nicoli — all the way from Pennsylvania — told a story about learning to break the rules to make her dreams come true.
Alison Overholt told a harrowing story about a home invasion that made her who she is today.
Our sold-out audience loved every minute of it.
I also improvised a story for the audience based on an audience prompt, to give them a taste of what “Matt and Jeni are Unprepared” is about and hopefully encourage them to tell stories, too.
I had the chance to spend time with friends, former students and their parents, my former primary care doctor, fellow storytellers, colleagues, and new acquaintances.
But what made Saturday night special was my son, Charlie, who, for the first time in his life, performed live. He played his acoustic guitar and sang before the show, during intermission, and after the show.
The first song he sang live was “Take It Easy” by the Eagles, which struck me as very fitting. He later told me he was nervous about the first song, but then felt comfortable playing for the rest of the night.
His set list included:
“Yer So Bad”
“Wagon Wheel”
“Moon in Oklahoma”
“Harvest Moon”
“East Side of Sorrow”
“Should Have Been a Cowboy”
“Ring of Fire”
“Free Falling”
“All the Time”
Charlie played and sang so well. He did what I told storytellers, keynote speakers, and every other performer to do:
Go for it.
Don’t hold back.
Be yourself.
Leave nothing behind.
In the words of my friend, David:
“Many people sing from their throat, but Charlie sang from his chest and heart.”
He didn’t hold back one bit.
He went for it.
He sang his heart out.
He was fantastic.
I loved the stories and the energy and the audience on Saturday night, but for me, Charlie shone above all else.
I’ll never forget it.
