Frigid New York Presents The 8th Annual Gotham Storytelling Festival

This year's Gotham Storytelling Festival features Radio Free Brooklyn's Michele Carlo, friend-of-FRIGID Una Osato, and the incomparable Ophira Eisenberg of NPR's Ask Me Another. The festival is diverse in perspective and style, and we couldn't be more proud of our 2019 lineup.

PolySHAMory

Performed by Kate Robards

A new solo play about his and hers. And hers. And his. And sex. And love. And therapy. Kate has everything she's ever dreamed of. So does Kate's husband's girlfriend. With a poly-therapist and the sex-positive ethos of The Ethical Slut, she embarks on a riveting and wickedly funny sexcapade of exploration, self-discovery, and true love through a polyamorous relationship.

Tuesday, November 05, 2019 at 7 PM

To Free a Mockingbird

Performed by Grace Aki

To Free a Mockingbird is a raw mix of stand up comedy and traditional storytelling. Weaving together a story of her family's history of immigration to America and her parent's childhood, she combines humor and heartache. TFAM follows the story of Grace's upbringing, her move to New York City from a small town, and her journey back home.

Tuesday, November 05, 2019 at 8:30 PM

Exile on Fresh Pond Road

Performed by Bill Chambers

As his life falls apart around him, an apprehensive 32 year old packs the last decade of his life into boxes and flees Carroll Gardens for the most uninviting and remote-looking neighborhood on the subway map, to live out his days like a dollar store Jean des Esseintes.

Wednesday, November 06, 2019 at 7 PM

The 2020 Book Report

Performed by David Lawson

David Lawson is a fool standing alone onstage judging people who are seeking The White House. The only qualification he has? He's read their books. Join Lawson as he takes a deep dive into campaign books written by ten 2020 presidential contenders.

Friday, November 08, 2019 at 7 PM

Oops, I Did It Again!

Performed by Una Osato

"Oops I Did It Again!" join brASS: Brown RadicalAss Burlesque and their Friends for an evening of storytelling: embodied, full-bodied, disembodied -- bringing together some of NYC's funniest fiercest performers. Storytelling through words, sounds, and naked bodies, aka an evening of comedy, music and burlesque!

Friday, November 08, 2019 at 8:30 PM

Eat Thy Neighbor

Performed by David Rodwin

From cannibals in Papau New Guinea to Christians in Mississippi, David has been chased, interrogated and sometimes even welcomed to pray together in his search for a solution to the tribalism tearing our country apart.

Saturday, November 09, 2019 at 5 PM

Fish out of Agua

Performed by Michele Carlo

Michele Carlo grew up as a double-outlier: a redheaded, freckle-faced Puerto Rican in an Italian/Irish Bronx neighborhood who was too "white" for some of her family...and a mystery to nearly everyone else. By turns heartbreaking and humorous, the personal stories of her search for identity interweave with traditional Puerto Rican folktales and unfold like a runaway subway train-for a unique first-generation narrative.

Saturday, November 09, 2019 at 7 PM

Foreign

Performed by Vanessa Valerio

The wide world of storytelling. "Foreign" brings performers from all over the world to tell their stories about cultural clashing, coming to America and mingling in this American society as an immigrant. We want to talk about what being an immigrant in this atmosphere feels like.

Saturday, November 09, 2019 at 8:30 PM

90-minute Storytelling Master Class with Story Studio Instructor Cyndi Freeman

Performed by Cyndi Freeman

This is a short master class which covers the basics of storytelling for performance. It is perfect for dipping your toes into storytelling waters for the first time, or a quick brush up on your skills if you're a seasoned pro. The class consists of exercises that will help you identify and refine a story. Everyone will get to practice telling a story with a partner and a few volunteers will get the chance to perform their stories for the full group and receive in-depth feedback from their instructor and classmates.

Sunday, November 10, 2019 at 10 AM

SCARs

Performed by Ophira Eisenberg

NPR host, critically-acclaimed author, Moth celebrity, comedian and storyteller Ophira Eisenberg tells the harrowing and hilarious story of acquiring, surviving and living with the dozens of scars that cover her body. From putting her finger into a meat grinder at the age of four, to surviving a near fatal car crash, to the smallest, most frightening scar of all; life has marked Ophira to an extreme degree.

Scars stitches together the rawness, vulnerability, and immediacy of first person storytelling with added levels of audience interaction including a Scar competition, Interview portion, and 2 guest storytellers who add their perspective on their scars. When does a wound become a scar? How do you get rid of scars? When creams, plastic surgery and time fail to heal, what's left? Scars is the story of a woman who travels the path of wounded to warrior, and then back again.

Sunday, November 10, 2019 at 2 PM

FRIGID New York's continuing mission is to seek out new art, new artists, and new audiences. We do this by creating an accessible community of varied voices that value collaboration, resourcefulness, diversity, and innovation. We provide a home for independent theater artists, with a focus on voices that require amplification. We nurture their development, and we help to establish their careers by promoting their work to local, national, and international audiences.