Tomorrow Night @ Branded Saloon: "Old School" (feat. Robin Gelfenbien)

I'm pretty thrilled to have Robin Gelfenbien on my show tomorrow night. As you already know if you're subscribed to The Daze of Dingman, Robin was the first storytelling performer I saw on stage in New York. She was candid, clever, and cheerfully self-deprecating in the way that the best storytellers are - there were jokes, but only insofar as they underscored the main theme of her piece.

It was eye-opening, and among other things, it provided me some initial encouragement in freeing myself from simply reading my stories aloud from the page. Robin was one of the first performers I saw demonstrate a deft blend of stand-up comedy and narrative oratory - it's a powerful hybrid I've been working to emulate each time I get up.

Since that first evening I saw Robin's work, I've had the privilege of appearing on her Yum's the Word show a few times (alongside Joy Behar, among others), so I'm very pleased to be able to return the favor on tomorrow night's Dingmantics Live. If you're a storyteller, please come out and drop your name in the hat for the open mic portion of the evening. The theme is Old School. Performers whose names are selected will receive an 8-minute slot, plus a recording of your piece!

Hope to see you there.