I was worried that the theme for the last Odyssey Storytelling, “Sliced and Diced: the Surgery Show,” would scare people away. Lots of people are squeamish about hearing “organ recitals” – stories with gory details about medical procedures. I did not know who would be attracted to hear the stories and I really didn’t know who would be interested in telling.

I had quite a surprise at the rehearsal for the show. Associate Producer Adam Hostetter was curator and that means that he gathered the storytellers together either by responding to inquiries or by actively searching them out. The diversity of the stories was stunning and the tellers were equally sincere in telling some astonishing tales.

But it was “heavy” – so much so that I shed a tear or two through a few tellings. As founder of Odyssey and producer for the past 8 years, I am very protective of the audience and I want everyone to have a “good time.” After the rehearsal I confided to Adam and Associate Producer Sarah K. Smith that I felt I should put a warning label on the website, an “R” rating, as it were, to indicate adult themes that included violence and carnage. They were both appalled that I would do such a thing. They had much more confidence in the ability of the listeners to make their own decisions.

And they knew that audience members want to be moved; to have an authentic experience. That’s why the audience is there – even if it involves dealing with difficult subjects. In the past we have heard stories about cruelty and fear, hostility and acts of vengeance along side of stories of redemption, charity and love. So what was my problem?

Upon reflection I had to admit that I was the skittish one when it comes to “slicing and dicing” and I was projecting my fears on the audience. They, of course, rose to the occasion and were appropriately appreciative of the depth of feelings expressed.

Maybe my own subliminal feelings were at work when I created this poster for the event. Creepy, right?

My take-home lesson is to listen to my own words when I insert this disclaimer in the monthly program:

Storytelling is a way to make connections with diverse and different people that you may not meet in your everyday life.  Because people are telling stories from their lives they may be amazing, messy, enlightening, disturbing, profound and entertaining.  Our storytellers have guidelines but they are uncensored.

Odyssey Storytelling is wandering around Tucson looking for your stories.

Penelope Starr and Kirsten Larsen

A few months ago we (the board of StoryArts Group, which includes me) decided that 2nd Saturdays Downtown would be a great place to find storytellers. Our plan was mostly unformed but evolved with a little bit of luck and a bit of organizing.

First off was to ask Julie Ray if we could transform her Burrito Files Cart into the Story Cart. Julie had finished her project where she did a whimsical and interesting interview process with people in downtown Tucson. I knew the custom made cart was gathering dust in her yard so I asked if we could revive it and she was happy to see it get a new life.

Next up was paint and signage so no one would confuse us with an ice cream cart (but of course, some people still do). With a little help from the Tucson Pima Arts Council in the form of a GOS grant we were able to buy a portable PA system. We loaded it up, along with the digital camera, and we were good to go.

Penelope Starr and Adam Hostetter

In addition to 2nd Saturdays, we’ve taken the cart to Tucson Meet Yourself and here you can see Adam and me in front of the Tucson Children’s Museum. We hope to do more events in the future. Our objective is to find diverse tellers, young and old, to share their personal stories on a variety of themes.

People can be shy at first to talk in front of a camera and many people just walk on by but the ones that stop and talk with us are pretty amazing! We’ve heard about a New Year’s Eve escape on a boat from Cuba 20 years ago to a wife’s tragic death from cancer to college pranks.

Kids can be remarkable storytellers.  At the Children’s Museum for a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we were amazed by the insight and knowledge of one 7 year old girl and delighted when a 5 year old sang We Shall Overcome for us while her very proud father looked on.

You can see a few videos on our website from the Story Cart and from our regular monthly shows at the Club Congress. And keep checking back as we add more videos.

Odyssey Storytelling is a program of StoryArts Group, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit volunteer run arts organization.  We can use some help getting more videos online so please contact me if you have some experience and would like to be involved in story capturing.