A few years ago I was talked into taking a two day workshop with funny lady, coach and yogi, Beth Lapides and her husband, partner, producer, Greg Miller.  I had no idea what to expect since I’d never taken any kind of performance class before.  I learned so much including the fact that comedy is telling stories in an unexpected way.  And I had a good time too!

So when Greg asked me to help them bring Beth’s new show, “100% Happy 88% of the Time” and a one day workshop, “The Comedian’s Way” to Tucson, I jumped at the chance. You can catch the show and workshop at the Club Congress.  You can also see her hosting “The Other Network” at The Loft.  Here are the details:

Beth Lapides is a paradigm-shifting cultural visionary. She’s the creator and host of ‘Un-Cabaret’, the legendary alternative comedy show that created a revolution in personal storytelling – and led to the current wave of storytelling shows around the country including Tucson’s own Odyssey Storytelling.

She has appeared on NPR, Politically Incorrect and Sex and the City. She’s the author of “Did I Wake You”, a critically acclaimed book of haiku and writes a column called “My Other Car is a Yoga Mat” for LA Yoga Magazine.

Wed. & Thurs. June 16 & 17, 7:30 p.m. – Beth Lapides curates and hosts “The Other Network”, a festival of the best un-aired TV pilots ever made introduced by their creators, including Conan O’Brien, Ben Stiller and Judd Apatow, starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Amy Poehler, Ray Romano and more at The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd. Tickets $8.00 general; $7.00 Loft Cinema members. Double Feature Ticket (good for both nights):  $14.00 general; $12.00 Loft members at The Loft box-office, or call 520-795-0844.

Saturday, June 19, 7 p.m. – Beth Lapides performs her new solo show, “100% Happy 88% of the Time,” a turned-on tour-de-force that combines story, science and standup, multi-media, music and metaphysics at Club Congress, 311 E. Congress St. Tickets are $15 at the door, $10 in advance at http://bethlapides.com.

Sunday, June 20, 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. – Beth Lapides and husband/partner Greg Miller lead a special one-day intensive session of “The Comedian’s Way”, a workshop for writers, performers and other humans at Club Congress. $20 at the door, $15 in advance at http://bethlapides.com.

For more info contact Greg Miller 760-327-4656 greg@uncabaret.com

There are lots of opportunities for kids to tell their stories in Tucson.  Here are a few:

This is the 4^th year that Pima County Public Library presents the award-winning That’s My Take film project, where teens learn from professional filmmakers and work with mentors to write, direct and produce two-minute long cinematic adaptations of famous works of fiction.  Pan Left gave workshops to the participants and librarians in filmmaking for this project. This summer fifty teens were in the program and you can see eleven of the trailers and a short documentary about the project at The Loft on Saturday, September 12 at 10 a.m.

VOICES is now recruiting youth ages 14 to 21 to participate in their fall documentary arts programs. Youth can learn how to take photographs, write stories, and be on the radio.  For more information check out the VOICES website, or call 520-622-7458.

Kore Press is looking for young women or female-identified or trans individuals, ages 14-19 for the Grrls Literary Activism Workshop to be held Sept 9 – Dec 16. To apply now call 327-2127 or email lisa@korepress.org.

Girls Making Media teaches teenage women digital media skills as they produce media segments about issues affecting women and girls in their community. The skills learned are used by program participants to educate, inform and influence public opinion about issues they have identified as affecting women and that call for action for social change.  Beginners sessions start on October 10.  This project is a collaboration between the WomanKraft Digital Arts Studio, and the Pima County/Tucson Women’s Commission. For details about how you can participate, contact Quynn Elizabeth, earthtribetv@yahoo.com, 520-954-2004.

Pima Community College is offering Words Play: Creative Writing, a class taught by Elena Acoba for 8- to 12 year-olds, inspiring young wordsmiths to write creatively. Exercises will guide writing about real people and places and imaginary worlds. At the end of the course each child will have written at least five pieces of work.  The class takes place Saturdays, October 3-24 from 9 to 11 a.m. You can register at Pima for Kids program at Pima Community College.

“Stories That Soar! is a literacy and performing arts program which merges the talents of professional adult performers and children’s original stories to create innovative and insightful theatre productions for schools and community events.” Our programs appeal to a wide range of children, regardless of race, culture, gender, ability and socio-economic status. We believe everyone has wonderful stories to tell; we are here to help those stories be heard in the most creative ways possible.” To find out more visit their website.

There’s lots of buzz about the new movie Julie and Julia . Since food is only partly about nutrition or fuel, I was thinking about how many stories there are about food.  It’s a subject that is fraught with meaning, memories may be evoked, significant moments celebrated, resentments can be created, food fights might reign.

M.F.K. Fisher wrote “family dinners are more often than not an ordeal of nervous indigestion, preceded by hidden resentment and ennui and accompanied by psychosomatic jitters.”  But Virginia Woolf wrote “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”

I Goggled food stories to see what’s out there and came up with:

First stop was Karyn Zoldan’s blog To Market to Food Market, to see what was happening on the local scene.  I discovered that there are 4834 food blogs listed at the Foodie Blogroll website.  And I learned that Helen Graves at Food Stories appears to be a competitive blogger.

I had some food fun at Food Stories: Where do Crisps Come From. A pleasant woman’s voice tells you the aim of the game is to place the pictures in the right order to tell the story of crisps (potato chips) from beginning to end.  When you do it correctly she’ll praise you with a “well done”.  Very comforting.

At  Good. Food. Stories I read stories about eating, drinking, and most of all enjoying oneself immensely (and sometimes gluttonously) through food.  I found out the stories behind 10 famous food logos at  Neatorama.

I checked out the politics of food websites such as Cooking Up a Story.  Their goal is “to bring shared interest and enthusiasm for film stories and food together.”  They feature personal stories about people, food, and sustainable living “through documentary short stories, interviews, and cooking demonstrations providing information and inspiration about family farmers, agriculture and sustainability, food history, food culture, food science, and much, much more.”

I was warned to avoid tropical fruits unless I live in the tropic at Eat Low Carbon Diet.  Eating a single banana means about 8 pounds of carbon emissions for a four ounce serving or .30% of my year’s allowance.

Of course I had to visit Food, Inc, the website for the surprise hit at The Loft that tells the disgusting story of where our corporate food comes from.

It’s become very popular to write and tell food stories from many points of view.  I had a storytelling event a few years ago called Eat Your Vegetables: The Food Show and I found out that lots of people love to tell and hear stories related to food.  Maybe it’s time to serve up a second course.