Just a few days before our first Speak Up Storytelling show of 2023!
SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2023 at 7:00 PM at the Connecticut Historical Society Museum and Library
Great stories!
Complimentary wine, beer, soft drinks, and food.
Best deal in town!
We hope you’ll join us for a fantastic evening of storytelling:
“Fish Out of Water: Assimilating to New Surroundings”
Our cast features:
Bekah Wright, a recent transplant from Los Angeles to Chester, CT. Bekah carries the hybrid titles of journalist/screenwriter/novelist. As a travel journalist, she’s spanned the globe doing everything from fly-fishing to sheep herding. As her stories often reflect, there’s a reason she’s earned the nickname the accident-prone tourist.
Julia Mitchell is a southern transplant that finds telling stories about her family is cheaper and more productive than therapy. She recently competed in the Valley Voices Storytelling Championship in Northampton, MA.
Kathryn Gonnerman loves storytelling, creative writing, action movies, March Madness, hiking, paddle boarding, speaking world languages, cuddling her two pugs, and adventuring with her wonderful husband. She is a philanthropy professional at the Jewish Community Foundation (because giving is good for us and community is powerful), and an executive coach (because burnout stinks and work shouldn’t be a four-letter word). If you want to make her grumpy, ask her about gluten allergies; to see her smile ask about any of the above.
Esam Boraey is a passionate advocate for human rights and democratization in Egypt and the Middle East. As a doctoral candidate at the University of Connecticut (UConn), he studies and teaches international political economy. Esam is an immigrant who fled Egypt 10 years after participating in the 2011 revolution to escape prosecution and imprisonment. He now serves as the chair of the Human Rights Commission in West Hartford, where he has been actively working to promote equality and social justice.
Esam’s passion for politics and social justice led him to work in multiple congressional and presidential campaigns, including Bernie Sanders in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, before moving to Connecticut in 2017 to work for the state senate and run political campaigns. Through his work, Esam has been able to share his story and educate decision-makers on the current political situation in Egypt and the region while advocating for meaningful change.
When he’s not advocating for human rights, Esam enjoys playing tennis and taking long walks. He is a true inspiration to those around him and a fierce advocate for justice and equality.
Matthew Dicks is an award-winning elementary school teacher and the internationally bestselling author of six novels and two books of nonfiction, including Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, Storyworthy: Engage Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life Through the Power of Storytelling, and Someday Is Today: 22 Simple, Actionable Ways to Propel Your Creative Life. Matthew is a record 59-time Moth StorySLAM and 9-time Moth GrandSLAM champion and the founder and Artistic Director of Speak Up, a Hartford-based storytelling organization. In addition to performing, he teaches storytelling and communication strategies to corporations, nonprofits, religious institutions, attorneys, universities, hospitals, public schools, advertising agencies, and many more. His clients include Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce, Lego, Johnson & Johnson, Yale University, MIT, Case Western University, and the Mohawk Nation of Canada.
Matthew is also a wedding DJ, playwright, minister, stand-up comic, and Lord of Sealand. Matt loves ice cream cake, golf, tickling his children, staring at his wife, and not sleeping.
Hosted, of course, by Elysha Dicks.
