Each Raconteur Denver evening features three curated speakers followed by the open-mic style stories of audience members. Check out some of our featured storytellers below.
Season 3 - 2018
Story Date: September 4, 2018
Location: Invisible City
Topic: Fight or Flight
Kevin Carlin is a former stand-up comedian from Buffalo, New York. He started telling Moth stories in New York City before moving to Denver, where he now lives with his wife and kids, and works as a court stenographer. He has been hosting the Denver Moth Story SLAMs for several years, and loves telling and hearing stories.
Story Date: September 4, 2018
Location: Invisible City
Topic: Fight or Flight
Shelsea Ochoa is person who cares a lot about our planet, art that helps us understand who we are, and the raw beauty of authentic connection that can only be experienced in the present moment. She has been so lucky to travel the world working in education and community organizing, as well as performing. In Denver, you can find her at the planetarium in the Denver Museum of Nature and Science exploring the vastness of the universe, or at any local improv theater making all of her dreams come true, or maybe in a park on her bicycle. If you see her, give her a hug and say something honest to her. She would like that very much.
Story Date: September 4, 2018
Location: Invisible City
Topic: Fight or Flight
Bio coming soon.
Story Date: March 6, 2018
Location: The Whittier Pub
Topic: As Luck Would Have It
Adam Agee’s fiddle music is alive, dynamically fluid, and colorful. Raised in the mountains of Santa Cruz, California and Boulder, Colorado, Adam came first to Ireland in 2004, basing himself in Ennis, County Clare, where he discovered a new home. Through opportunities in America and Ireland, he has had the chance to study with many of today’s living tradition-bearers. His exposure to diverse influences makes Adam’s music deeply American, while his pursuit of sound has led him to focused expression through the Irish tradition. Within the rapidly developing culture of traditional music, suffused and enriched by a global exchange of ideas, Adam’s fiddle playing is grounded in a personal, aesthetic quest. He has been teaching and performing for 15 years.
Story Date: May 8, 2018
Location: Denver Bicycle Cafe Beer hall
Topic: Pick Your Poison
Kat Atwell is a writer, speaker, and performer. Further, she is a Gen-Xer, a weird mom to a kickass 10yo kid, and an unapologetic extrovert. Also, big fan of being open about brain conditions. 1 in 4 of us. You're not alone.
Story Date: July 10, 2018
Location: 14er Brewing Company
Topic: Mama Always Said
Kathryn Avedon is just a gal looking to make other people laugh. Although she's not professionally trained in doing so, she takes great pride in her ability to jump in front of a crowd and tell absurd stories. Kathryn finds humor through all the highs and lows in her wild life and always encourages people to try to keep up!
Besides her love for storytelling, Kathryn works at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory during the week and 14er Brewing on the weekends. But don't worry, working 7 days a week doesn't stop her from traveling and exploring all that that this world has to offer!
Future ambitions include but are not limited to: becoming Mayor of Denver, owning a food truck called Quesadilla Queen, and becoming a dog mom.
Story Date: March 6, 2018
Location: The Whittier Pub
Topic: As Luck Would Have It
Amber Blais is the creator of Raconteur Denver. More information on her can be found on the about page!
Story Date: March 6, 2018
Location: The Whittier Pub
Topic: As Luck Would Have It
RL Cole is a musician and performer.
Story Date: July 10, 2018
Location: 14er Brewing Company
Topic: Mama Always Said
Paul is a mover, connecter, leader and currently the director of Evolvyst, an information product dedicated to helping people realize their potential. After growing up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, he traveled for seven years working for a student leadership organization called Up with People, connecting communities and building bridges of understanding across cultures around the world. As a lover of history and the power of narrative, he appreciates the value of a good story.
He now resides in Denver where he is an avid outdoorsmen, adventurer, and mover and seeks to further the mission of community building and helping people reach their fullest potential.
Story Date: January 16, 2018
Location: Ratio Beerworks
Topic: Let's Get Physical
Ever since growing up fighting with her older brothers, Meghan Dougherty has liked to hit. She fulfills that need as a roller derby player, skating with the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls since
2007. Over the past 11 years Meghan, who skates under the moniker Undertaker’s Daughter, has thrived around the hard-hitting game and the strength and toughness of her team. These diverse women inspired Meghan to share that roller derby sass through a fun and empowering girl power book series for tween girls called Dorothy’s Derby Chronicles, with Rise of the Undead Redhead and Woe of Jade Doe published in 2014 and 2015. When not skating or wrestling with her dog or kids, Meghan runs her own company as a marketing communications expert and consultant and is finishing her third book.
Story Date: March 23, 2018
Location: The MCA
Topic: The Unseen Journey
Eric Robert Dallimore currently lives and works in Denver, Colorado as a fine artist and as the Founder + Artistic Director of Leon Gallery. Under his leadership, Leon Gallery has enjoyed a period of unprecedented success, initiating pioneering partnerships with artists, collectors, and cultural institutions. Eric received his BFA from Louisiana State University in 2004 and studied Economics at the University of Wales, Swansea in 2000.
Life as a practicing artist has also been very rewarding, from solo exhibitions to public art sculptures, Eric continues to engage audiences with his driven works of art. Mr. Dallimore’s work has been shown in galleries and museums including Leon, McNichols Building, Cherry Creek Arts Festival, The Buell Theater, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, The Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, and The New Orleans Museum of Art, Back to the Picture San Francisco. His public art sculptures have been showcased across Colorado and Louisiana. In 2014, Eric was honored with the Mastermind Award for Visual Arts from Westword Magazine. Works of art created by Eric have been featured in publications such as Sculpture Magazine, 5280 Magazine, The Westword, Denver Post, The Times Picayune, The Advocate, and also an expose for his Burnt Negative Series in Time Magazine.
As an arts educator at Think 360 Arts since 2009, Eric has worked with over 45 schools across Denver to bring photography, printmaking, ceramics, woodworking, installation, and foundry lessons to over 1,000 K-12 students. In Fall 2015, Eric became the adjunct professor of Professional Practices at RMCAD, a senior level course designed to teach aspiring graduates how to create a sustainable business from their art practice. Eric has also mentored teens at Leon through First Lady Mary Louise Lee’s Bringing Back the Arts Foundation, as well as mentoring interns from CU’s Experiential Learning Center and the Pioneer Career Network at the University of Denver.
In addition to working as an artist, teacher, curator, and small business owner, Eric Robert Dallimore is also an advisory committee member for the Washington D.C. based non-profit group U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, where he promotes and supports a smart power approach of elevating development and diplomacy abroad.
Story Date: May 8, 2018
Location: Denver Bicycle Cafe Beer hall
Topic: Pick Your Poison
Beth was born and raised in Golden, Colorado in a family that always emphasized how important it is to find the humor in every situation, no matter how tough, awkward, or embarrassing it might be. Beth loves to travel, meet people and share stories. She has enjoyed playing in the Colorado backcountry throughout her life, a place where she learned how to laugh at the absurdity of miserable situations, and appreciate going with the flow.
Beth studied Environmental Science at the University of Denver, and loves being a steward to the outdoors via her variety of jobs and hobbies. She is going on to embrace her creative side by pursuing a master’s degree in Environmental Filmmaking, in order to tell the incredible stories of the natural world.
Story Date: March 23, 2018
Location: The MCA
Topic: The Unseen Journey
Esther Hernandez was born in San Antonio, Texas and attended the University of Colorado at Denver. She has worked as an urban farmer and gardener and currently works with at risk teens. Her involvement in the local music scene for many years led to dabbling in public social experiments. Those social experiments eventually blossomed into a full time art practice as a performance and multidisciplinary artist. She is currently a Redline resident and has shown and performed in galleries and venues around Denver. Her work ranges from socially engaged commentary to very personal, interactive and performance based installation. She explores love, connection, social norms, ritual and play in hopes that confrontation, self-examination and intimacy can be analyzed.
Story Date: July 10, 2018
Location: 14er Brewing Company
Topic: Mama Always Said
Like you, Parker Owens is curious and inquisitive when it comes to human behavior. With nearly a decade of expertise in branding, media strategy, and organizational messaging, Parker has successfully promoted over 600 events in his career, including concerts, community events, social functions, and fundraisers in the West.
Parker joined the Colorado Symphony team in 2013 and has helped lead the organization’s audience development initiatives, brand communications, market research, pricing, promotions, and customer service management. Currently, Parker oversees the organization’s ticket sales budget and contributes to the Symphony’s strategic planning, product evolution, and marketplace implementation. He works to grow contributed income by increasing paid attendance, which has resulted in a $1.1 million revenue contribution— part of a gift from Colorado’s Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), based on the Colorado Symphony’s Tier II designation (2017).
A driven and meticulous marketing and sales strategist, Parker's skill set includes traditional, digital, guerrilla, and social event marketing; audience development and user experience management; public relations strategy and brand strategy; promotional campaign execution; subscription campaign marketing; eCommerce, mCommerce, and UX web enhancement; strategic partnering and promotions; contract negotiation; staff management and training; budgeting; data analysis; board relations; and organizational planning.
Parker is a graduate of the University of South Dakota, with a Bachelor of Art degree in Contemporary Media and Journalism. He lives in Denver with his husband, Ryan, and their two papillons.
Story Date: January 16, 2018
Location: Ratio Beerworks
Topic: Let's Get Physical
Staza Stone does stuff. Swinging stuff, spiny stuff, stilt stuff, sparkle stuff... all the stuffs. She is a multi- faceted performer based out of Denver, CO. Being in the circus game for only 4, and at a mile high, she is still finding her voice. She is an aerialist, stilt walker, hula hooper, fire dancer, and clown. Coming from a musical theater background, Staza loves vaudeville and variety. She wants to use circus as a tool to unlock the imagination through story-telling. She graduated from Frequent Flyers Productions aerial dance program in 2014. Currently Staza can be found performing all over the country and teaching locally in Denver at MOTH Contemporary Circus Center as well as Denver Dance. She is also known for her short but notorious career as a shopping cart drifter in Tokyo.
Story Date: January 16, 2018
Location: Ratio Beerworks
Topic: Let's Get Physical
A California native, Nayomi began her formal training at age 9 when she moved to Georgia with her family. She trained with Atlanta Festival Ballet under Nicolas Pacana and Gregory Aaron as well as Atlanta Ballet’s Centre for Dance Education. She began her professional career with the Atlanta Ballet. During her time with the Atlanta Ballet, Nayomi performed roles such as Marya in Atlanta Ballet’s Nutcracker, Christopher Wheeldon’s Rush, James Kudelka’s Four Seasons. After leaving the Atlanta Ballet Nayomi danced with Winston Salem Festival Ballet and New York Theatre Ballet. She is currently a dancer with Wonderbound in Denver, Colorado. She would like to thank her parents, six siblings, and amazing friends for all of their love.
Story Date: March 23, 2018
Location: The MCA
Topic: The Unseen Journey
Tom Varani is a Denver artist, innovator and explorer.
Story Date: May 8, 2018
Location: Denver Bicycle Cafe Beer hall
Topic: Pick Your Poison
Johanna Walker is a solo performing artist, keynote speaker, corporate trainer, and workshop facilitator (aka the fear-blasting, storytelling maven for entrepreneurs and people with a mission) She has presented for corporations, non-profits, start-ups and community organizations on topics including how to turn public speaking fear into world-changing power and how to tell more powerful stories that invite your audiences to lean in and say Tell Me More.
She is the co-founder and co-host of Boulder’s popular bi-monthly story slam series, Truth Be Told, where people from the audience come to the stage and tell (in under 5 minutes) true stories about their lives. She is the founder of Women Who Speak, a transformational speaker coaching program for female leaders, and leads an ongoing practice and play group for new and seasoned speakers called The Speaker’s Playground.
In addition to her work as a speaker and coach, Johanna has written and performed solo theater pieces that she’s toured throughout the US and Canada.
She lives in Boulder, Colorado, where she grows and eats food from her garden, rides her bike all over town, and loves to dance any time the music starts playing.
Season 2 - 2017
Story Date: May 9, 2017
Location: The Lobby
Topic: Spectacular Failures
Just as a gift is unexpected, but can bring joy and delight, the same can be said about Gifty. Gifty was born in raised outside of Washington D.C and is a city girl at heart. She spent a year of undergrad in Paris, and completed her studies at New York University with a psychology degree. She has had many jobs, her favorite being a middle school science teacher. Now She works at Denver Health and is working on prerequisites for pharmacy school. Most of Gifty's free time is spent doing aerial with the best people around especially with the acclaimed founder of Raconteur Denver. All of the time you can catch Gifty laughing, or scaring people with her sneeze.
Story Date: July 11, 2017
Location: Rare Tempo
Topic: Tales from the Tour
Stephen Brackett was born and raised in Denver, Colorado where he regularly interfaces between the music/arts, grassroots movements, and education sectors. As a member of Flobots, he is also a co-founder of the NOENEMIES project, which works within communities to explore the power of protest music, and Youth On Record, a Denver organization that today hosts a state-of-the-art Youth Media Studio and serves at-risk youths with music programs, for-credit classes, and more. Stephen finds bliss in tricksterism, giant toppling, spitting hot fire and clawhammer banjo. He is constantly provoked by Ephesians 6:12.
Story Date: November 7, 2017
Location: BookBar
Topic: Lost and/or Found
Donna Bryson has aspired to be a journalist ever since she stopped wanting to be a circus tight rope walker. She grew up in California, attended university in Illinois, reported from and lived in South Africa, India, Egypt and the UK and now is a freelance journalist based in Denver. She published It's a Black White Thing, a nonfiction book about race relations among young South Africans, in 2014 and is now working on a second nonfiction book, about the reintegration of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans into civilian life.
Story Date: July 11, 2017
Location: Rare Tempo
Topic: Tales from the Tour
Before moving to Denver three years ago, Michael spent 30+ years in Los Angeles, working in front of and behind the camera; as well as in the executive suites of the studios and production companies as a story analyst. He has coached writers and worked with directors preparing their screenplays for production, and currently is a member of the faculty at the Lighthouse Writers Workshops in Denver, where he focuses his teaching on "story development" and screenwriting.
His company Genius Media is based in Denver and develops content across platforms and genres, with three projects under active development, including an independent feature; I Remember You with Bruce Davison and Virginia Madsen attached to star. He is currently developing a Colorado based crime series.
Story Date: November 7, 2017
Location: BookBar
Topic: Lost and/or Found
Jo Ali Chehouri is an instigator, consultant and global changemaker. He spends his time and energy prodding individuals and organizations to "get to the human" in today's tech-driven daily life.
He cut his chops helping Lisbon's first two hostels win fancy awards, worked a winning presidential campaign and spent three years as an international management consultant going toe-to-toe with top-brass at organizations like NASA, Google and L'Oréal.
These days he spends his time back in Denver, going on long walks and coffee talks with people he cares about.
If you've got a great grandpa story, you should tell him - he's been reflecting a lot on how to revive great traditions and tales we just don't take time to celebrate today.
Reach out to him on Linkedin. Or even better, ask him for his phone number - unless it's too old fashion for you :)
Story Date: March 7, 2017
Location: Spangalang Brewery
Topic: Nicknames
A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Dawn Fay is Producing Director of Wonderbound. She received her professional dance training at North Carolina School of the Arts, began her career at Ballet Oklahoma and went on to dance with Miami City Ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders and Ballet Memphis. In 2005, Dawn became a founding member of Trey McIntyre Project, dancing at festivals around the country including The Vail International Dance Festival and Jacob’s Pillow. As Producing Director at Wonderbound, Dawn works closely with Artistic Director Garrett Ammon on the development and creation of his new works and facilitates the collaborations with Wonderbound’s plethora of multi-genre artists.
Story Date: September 12, 2017
Location: Beryl's Beer Room
Topic: Pets
Brendan Gann is often hanging out in the clouds, zoning out, or just flat out on the wrong tracks but when he’s on top of it (rare), he completely crushes it. All kidding aside, he has been known to tell a
mean story by pulling from real life experiences traveling, partying, class clowning, rock staring, and your general everyday tomfoolery. He is an engineering consultant by day, an entrepreneur by evening, and a who-knows- what by night (mystery and intrigue).
Story Date: July 11, 2017
Location: Rare Tempo
Topic: Tales from the Tour
Kevin is a self taught multi-instrumentalist, producer, songwriter and a lifelong explorer of sound and words. He spent most his 20's touring the the Deep South with a reckless string band and absorbed many of the American folk traditions born there. He is a founding member of Chimney Choir and also records music under the name Pineross. Most of his studies are now spent in the realm of electronics and sampling where he believes the possibilities of music are more endless than ever. When not performing or teaching, you can usually find Kevin in a hammock somewhere off of 285 searching for Yetis.
Story Date: March 7, 2017
Location: Spangalang Brewery
Topic: Nicknames
Gwen Lassen is obsessed with tiny things, growing things, and wondering about things. Her Mom tried to remind her that it was rude to stare at people while she was growing up but she's politely declined to follow that guidance. She likes to watch people and make up stories about them in her head, probably like she's doing to you right now. She doesn't do anything of importance in the circles you run in, unless you also eat seitan wings and drink beer, which then means that she's your hero between the hours of 2pm and 6pm on most weekdays.
Story Date: September 12, 2017
Location: Beryl's Beer Room
Topic: Pets
Jamie Laurie grew up in Denver, attended East High School, and graduated from Brown University in 2000 with a degree in Africana studies. In addition to his career with Flobots, he is a frequent public speaker, a solo performer, and a co-creator of the NOENEMIES project. Laurie is also co-founder and former Board chair of Flobots.org (now Youth On Record). He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Project Worthmore, an organization dedicated to empowering refugees, and is also a regular attendee of a Spanish/English conversation exchange & Karaoke night he helped start. Laurie lives in Capitol Hill with a 3 pound Chihuahua named Cheeto.
Story Date: March 7, 2017
Location: Spangalang Brewery
Topic: Nicknames
Nathan Lund is a Denver comedian who has travelled all over the country and is a favorite at Denver’s Comedy Works. Nathan was featured on the TV show "Flophouse" on the Viceland network and the BBC2 show "Horizon". He was a part of Funny or Die's Oddball Comedy Fest, Crom Comedy Festival, Savage Henry Fest, and the High Plains Comedy Festival. His weekly showcase Too Much Fun! has been lauded by the Denver Post.
Story Date: January 10, 2017
Location: The Ubi Sub Ubi Room
Topic: Arrested
L. Glenise Pike is Founder of Telling Kindred, a diversity and inclusion consulting company specializing in culturally inclusive and socially responsible brand management and content development. She believes that we all share in the responsibility to create the culturally diverse and socially inclusive communities we long for. Her passion is helping entrepreneurs, creatives and storytellers channel their unique talents and skills to become a part of sustainable progress. When she's not working on Telling Kindred, she can be found in the mountains with her husband, antique shopping at estate sales, or singing YouTube karaoke at the top of her lungs when no one is listening.
Story Date: November 7, 2017
Location: BookBar
Topic: Lost and/or Found
Cosmic artist, mama hen and free spirited adventurer, Andrea Pliner is used to telling fantastical stories through her found object sculptural artwork. She is excited to be stepping onto the Raconteur stage to share even more stories of things lost and things found and how they had a profound impact on who she is as a person.
Story Date: May 9, 2017
Location: The Lobby
Topic: Spectacular Failures
Erica Prather is a freelance-writer, aspiring-curmudgeon, film-maker, rage-cooker, desert rat. She has worked various positions in conservation and science education in Australia, South Korea, Iceland and Alaska. She originally hails from Wichita, Kansas.
Story Date: May 9, 2017
Location: The Lobby
Topic: Spectacular Failures
Jessica Robblee is a co-writer, co-director, and performer for Buntport Theater for All Ages. She has performed in Drowning Girls (Arvada Center Black Box); All the Way, Lord of the Butterflies, Drag Machine (Denver Center for the Performing Arts); After the Revolution, Homebody Kabul, Rabbit Hole (Curious Theatre); Dust (Wonderbound-Curious Theatre); This (Boulder Ensemble Theatre); Gidion's Knot (Sis Tryst Productions); 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche (Square Product Theatre); Siren Song, Duck Duck Dupe, Trunks: a live comic book, Yesterado, Unbeweaveable, Eating Words (Buntport Theater for All Ages), and The Odyssey: A Walking Tour (Buntport Theater). This summer she will be in Sex with Strangers at Theatre Aspen and The Tempest with No Holds Bard.
Story Date: January 10, 2017
Location: The Ubi Sub Ubi Room
Topic: Arrested
David’s musical journey began with teenage basement albums and wound through classical piano studies, jazz studies, traditional Irish music, life as a street musician, Gypsy Swing in Galway, The Prague Fringe Festival, extensive touring in Europe and in a bio-diesel van in the US, and creative children’s theater. He is inspired by interdisciplinary collaboration, which has been a principal focus in his work as a pianist, guitarist, vocalist, arranger and composer in Chimney Choir.
Story Date: January 10, 2017
Location: The Ubi Sub Ubi Room
Topic: Arrested
Brenton Weyi explores the human experience through the power of words and performance. He is a lecturer, essayist, award-winning poet, and polymath. He has traveled to over 55 countries engaging communities in the beauty and potency of their untold stories. He has been featured in The LA Times, Huffington Post, and many other sources.
Story Date: September 12, 2017
Location: Beryl's Beer Room
Topic: Pets
Andy cruises the highways on his Moto Guzzi photographing decaying and dying American towns. And roadside crosses. He's constantly making the wrong decisions and then spending most of his time trying to extricate himself with the least amount of trouble.
He is obstinate, rebellious and oppositional. Especially when jam bands are anywhere within a 100 mile radius. When he's not doing photography, he plays records on KGNU in Boulder, CO.
He was part of the San Francisco punk scene from 1981 through 89, working at the Chatterbox, DNA Lounge, Paradise Lounge, Wolfgangs and other Bill Graham venues He also worked at KUSF and KQAKradio. -- Apparently he can’t keep a job. --
He lives in Boulder with his family.
SEASON 1 - 2016
Story Date: May 10, 2016
Location: Dive Inn
Topic: First Adventure
From an early age, Pete has always enjoyed telling stories and making others laugh. He may even be good at it. When not airing dirty family laundry in front of an audience, Pete can be found playing in the mountains or exploring different city neighborhoods. Pete works as a Realtor in Denver and lives in the Five Points neighborhood with his partner and animals.
Story Date: September 14, 2016
Location: The Preservery
Topic: First Adulting
John Cotter's Under the Small Lights, was published by Miami University Press and his essays have appeared in The Smart Set, Electric Literature, Bookforum, Sculpture, and Poetry. He lives in Denver and teach writing at both Lighthouse Writer's Workshop and at Fort Lyon, a residential center for recovering addicts on the eastern Colorado plains.
Story Date: January 12, 2016
Location: Denver Bicycle Cafe
Topic: Firsts
Kris Drickey has always loved to sing and play. She is mainly self-taught through inspired emulation. She has studied classical violin as well as American folk & blues fiddle and songwriting. Her enchantment with music took her into coffee shop open mics, late night recording frenzies, guitar lessons, and campfire sing-alongs before Chimney Choir burst to life. Her role in the band right now is centered in voice, violin, and collaborative writing.
Story Date: July 12, 2016
Location: Carbon Beverage Cafe
Topic: First Inebriation
Brian is the author of The Constitution (Black Ocean, 2014). His writing has appeared in Boston Review, Verse Daily, Denver Quarterly, jubilat& The Volta. He was selected as a 2014 New American Poet by the Poetry Society of America. He's was born and raised in Massachusetts and currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Denver.
Story Date: November 3, 2016
Location: Leon Gallery
Topic: First Denver Anything
Morgan Hartley is a serial joker, climber, and poor decision maker who decided to stop wandering two years back and came to Denver. He is best known for riding his bike from Paris to Shanghai, trying to hit on Martha Stewart at a Christmas party in New York, and that one time in high school he drank a coconut through his nose.
Story Date: September 14, 2016
Location: The Preservery
Topic: First Adulting
Michael Henry is a poet, memoirist, clumsy guitarist, avid mountain biker, and father of two tall daughters. He lives in Thornton, Colorado, and grew up in Buffalo, New York. Over the years he’s worked as a water meter reader, pizza delivery guy, dishwasher, and painter’s helper. He currently serves as Executive Director of Lighthouse Writers Workshop, the largest literary arts center in the Rocky Mountain west.
Story Date: September 14, 2016
Location: The Preservery
Topic: First Adulting
Buzzy Jackson is an author, critic, and Carhenge enthusiast whose most recent book is The Inspirational Atheist: Wise Words on the Wonder and Meaning of Life. She has also written about genealogy and music and publishes a biweekly newsletter called Continuous Small Treats. She lives in Boulder, but try not to hold that against her.
Story Date: July 12, 2016
Location: Carbon Beverage Cafe
Topic: First Inebriation
Timmi has been a staple in Denver comedy since 2009. She runs a kickass showcase in a punk rock bookstore (Mutiny Information Cafe—a High Plains venue) called Epilogue Comedy, and a nice dinner-and-drinks-kind-of-showcase in the side room of a Tequila bar called El Charrito. In addition to having been on every show Denver has to offer, she also runs what is widely considered to be Denver's favorite open mic. She's worked very hard on becoming an original and thought-provoking funny-human, which has paid off in spots on shows such as The Grawlix, Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction, Seven Minutes in Purgatory, and the last two years of the High Plains Comedy Fest.
Story Date: November 3, 2016
Location: Leoon
Topic: First Denver Anything
As a working family photojournalist, keynote speaker and well respected educator in the photography industry, the majority of Kirsten’s time is spent traveling throughout the US and worldwide for work, so any time spent at home in Colorado is precious and savored. She has appeared on Creative Live, Craftsy, in the Huffington Post and passed out on various couches during much of her 20s. In her spare time Kirsten can be found accosting her 6 month old daughter with kisses, retrieving the ball she’s thrown for her dog Mingus and kicking her husband’s ass in Scrabble.
Story Date: March 8, 2016
Location: Fort Greene
Topic: First Muse
Jovan is the Poet Laureate of Aurora, Colorado and a National Poetry Slam Champion.
As member of the Denver SlamNUBA national slam poetry team, he has had many highlights including winning the 2 Denver city slam championships and qualifying for 3 international finals stages. Mays has been published by The Pilgrimage, Button Poetry and Write About Now. He is the former slam master for the highly decorated poetry organization SlamNUBA, author of 4 chap books and director of Your Writing Counts a youth poetry program throughout the Denver Metro that engages just over 200,000 students annually. A graduate of Chadron State College where he played football wrestled and earned a degree in Secondary History Education. Visit jovanmays.com for more info
Story Date: July 12, 2016
Location: Carbon Beverage Cafe
Topic: First Inebriation
Sam Pike is a storyteller and podcast host living in Denver, CO. A student of history, he recognizes that seemingly inconsequential events have the ability to shape our culture in profound ways. To better capture these moments, Sam lives and works amongst the subjects of his storytelling—Denver’s creative community. Using audio, video and written word he explores what fuels creative ambition, why people choose to be artists or entrepreneurs, and what can individual’s stories reveal about the larger culture of self-starters. He hopes his work will encourage others to live with greater creativity and a stronger sense of personal freedom.
Story Date: January 12, 2015
Location: Denver Bicycle Cafe
Topic: Firsts
Khadijah Queen was born in Michigan and raised in Los Angeles. She is the author of four books and four chapbooks, and her verse play Non-Sequitur won an award and was staged in New York City in December 2015, which is pretty awesome. She lives in Denver, works as an editor for a finance company and is raising a teenager.
Story Date: January 12, 2015
Location: Denver Bicycle Cafe
Topic: Firsts
Brian Smith is a renaissance man. A bartender, civil war historian, agave enthusiast, musician, and dog lover. Amazing storyteller to boot!
Story Date: Novembe 3, 2016
Location: Leon Gallery
Topic: First Denver Anything
Originally from South Dakota, Jack received his BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Northern Colorado, and has been acting professionally in the Denver area ever since. Favorite roles in Colorado include Treat in Orphans (Edge Theater), Mackson in Good Television (A&A Productions), Einstein in Picasso at the Lapin Agile, and Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate (Aurora Fox Theater). He is also very involved in children's theatre education and performance, currently appearing in Siren Songe: A Pirate Odyssey!, a monthly all-ages variety show at Buntport Theatre. In addition to live theatre, he stars in the sci-fi short film Phase Me Up, which and pulls triple-duty as a director/ producer/ actor in Weird Denver, a new web-series you can find on Youtube. Jack has also appeared in numerous television and radio commercials. He is represented by Radical Artists Agency.
Story Date: March 8, 2016
Location: Fort Greene
Topic: First Muse
River C Wharton writes stories about his life, sometimes draws naked figures trying to cope with their limiting existence, and often encourages friends to get back in touch with their muse.
Story Date: May 10, 2016
Location: Dive Inn
Topic: First Adventure
Anika started playing music at a young age. And when paired with growing up a punk in the 80’s, it’s easy to see how a performing in bands and finding ways to support that passion came naturally to her. While forming and playing in bands such as the Hectics, the Superbees, and Hemi Cuda, Anika used bartending as her flexible yet dependable enabler. Her years with the infamous band Hemi Cuda lead to world tours, adventures and opening for bands like the White Stripes and Gwar. From her days behind the bar over 20 years ago at the PS Lounge on E Colfax (where a star bearing her name still hangs on the wall today), to managing the notorious 15th St. Tavern venue (where many soon to be famous acts debuted in Denver) to writing the opening cocktail programs at Root Down and Linger and her current job with the world’s largest liquor company, she’s a pioneer in music and cocktails in Colorado. And yes, that Fine Art degree looks great on the mantle next to her award from The Colorado Bartenders’ Guild for Best Dirty Joke Teller (3 years-in-a-row). Can she buy you a drink?
Story Date: March 8, 2016
Location: Fort Greene
Topic: First Muse
Joe Lennon has lived in Georgia, Texas, Missouri, Czech Republic, China, and Colorado. He teaches writing to teenagers and and small children, and he has a 1997 Toyota Camry named Eleanor.
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