Hey Miyo. Do you tell stories?
Last month, I was at a comedy storytelling show called “The Antidote.” When the show was about to end, the host, Deanna Moffitt singled me out.
It was three months ago when I set my (virtual) foot on the show for the first time. I was there to listen to one of my favorite storytellers, Rick Hall. Because he’s in, the show must be good! So I went. And I was right. It was one of the highest caliber virtual shows I’ve attended. Luminous structure, alluring host, hilarious storytellers, and engaging audience. I fell in love at first visit. Usually, I look for an opportunity to participate, but for this one, the bar seemed too high for me to reach, so I didn’t even try. Still, I attended every week because there was so much to learn just by watching superb storytellers. I was happy to be just an observer.
So when Deanna asked me, “Hey Miyo. Do you tell stories?” I got caught off guard and, unable to speak, just nodded. Everything went quickly after that. A date was set. Other storytellers were booked. Everything was ready…except for myself. I wasn’t sure if my story and storytelling skills were good enough to be on the same stage with other eminent storytellers. But doubting myself wouldn’t help the situation, would it? So I picked one of my old stories and started editing. How can I make it funnier? How can I add more humor? On the day of the show, I was still editing. The story was almost complete; it just needed one more laugh — otherwise, my ending would fall flat. I couldn’t think of anything. The show was imminent. I needed to stop editing and get ready, but “almost complete” was not what I wanted. I kept editing. Nothing was working. The clock was ticking. When I was about to give up, 15 minutes before the show, I got something I could use.
Phew, that was close! After the show, Deanna invited me to be on a future show. I guess I did all right. Now, the rest will be history.
Even when we doubt ourselves, give it a try and do our best! Nothing is going to change if we don’t.
