Long Story Short Guidelines

Welcome to Long Story Short! We’re stoked you’re here. We’ve got just a few guidelines around these parts:

If you’re an audience member:

Your job is pretty simple— sit around the proverbial campfire and enjoy. Please don’t heckle, though. If you want to talk real bad, then this happens to be the show for you! Just throw your name in the box, wait quietly, and get on up there when it’s your turn, tiger.

Additionally, we ask that you be generally mindful of the space and people around you, refraining from the use of flash photography and/or strongly scented items as we do have community members who are sensitive to such things. Thank you!

If you’re a performer:

Your job is also pretty simple! When you arrive, please write your name down on the designated pieces of paper and toss it into our mystical treasure chest (an old, broken, VERY squeaky cash box at the front of the room). When it’s time to begin, our host will begin pulling out names AT RANDOM, inviting you to the stage to tell your story.

Some things we expect from your stories

  • They should be related to the monthly theme. If they’re not, then what the hell else do we have to hold onto in this chaotic world? There are RULES DAMMIT! Themes can be found on our website so you can think about it before you get there.

  • No repeat stories! The whole point of this show is to give people a chance to flex their improv muscles, not deliver an overly-rehearsed piece.

  • No reading off a piece of paper! See above.

  • Please keep your stories under 5 minutes. If you’re looking to deliver an epic monologue, we’d encourage you to submit to our other storytelling show, VAMP, where people are encouraged to do just that. (Then we can link to VAMP stuff)

  • So Say We All’s mission is to unite humanity through radically inclusive storytelling, so don’t be racist, sexist, or xenophobic. If you wind up saying something on the microphone that hits people as such, you should expect that someone will want to talk to you about it. This isn’t to say we’re in the business of policing peoples’ language, but we are in the business of helping people use storytelling as a tool to unite, not divide. If you become a serial offender of such transgressions, we will ask you to stop showing up and work that stuff out with your therapist.  

Alright! Easy enough, yeah? Now let’s hear those stories!