Novato woman gives platform to storytellers
Novato woman creates online platform to connect, entertain
Claire Hennessy has always found a way to tell stories. Whether penning them in an unpublished memoir about reconnecting with her first boyfriend from boarding school 30 years later and moving from England to Marin to be with him, or telling them onstage or on her comedic podcast, the Bonkers Brit, she’s never been afraid to get personal.
When the pandemic hit, putting the arts world on hold, storytellers like Hennessy felt the loss of community and connection. It’s an absence that inspired Six Feet Apart Productions, the online storytelling show of professional storytellers and first-timers alike, coproduced by Hennessy and Regina Stoops.
Since they started, they’ve put on more than 30 shows of storytelling, poetry, comedy and music, which are archived on YouTube, that reflect on everything from racial injustice to love to traditional tales, and has raised money for organizations like Feeding America and National Black Justice Coalition.
Their next show, on the theme of “hope,” is at 6 p.m. April 14. For more information and to register, go to sfapshows.com.
Q How did you meet your co-producer?
A Through storytelling. A friend of ours, Mary Carouba, and Regina have known each other for about 20 years. At the start of the pandemic, Mary said, ‘Why don’t we start a storytelling show?’ So the three of us started it and once we did, Mary wanted to do other things, so Regina and I continued on. I thought it was a great idea. A little bit nervewracking because I hadn’t done something like this before, but I thought, ‘Why not?’
Q What has this time been like for you?
A Amazing. It’s like an underground network no one knows about, this huge community of storytellers that are largely unknown by the general public that are hugely talented. Because of the pandemic, I got to know all of these different storytellers all over the world, and I now feel really part of the community. They should be more wellknown and that’s part of my mission.
Q What got you into storytelling?
A I had always been funny and liked to make my friends laugh. I thought to myself, ‘I am going to get up there and be a stand-up comedian,’ but in the British way, which is slightly different than the American way. But when I looked into it more, I decided I don’t want to be a comedian because that’s incredibly hard and difficult over here. What I realized is what I like to do is tell stories, and tell funny stories, so that’s when I got into storytelling. The best thing is that when you go to shows no one is expecting you to be funny like they do at a comedy show and they are pleasantly surprised when you can make them laugh.
Q Your storytelling work is inspired by your life and family.
A It is. I did a 20-minute show all about having sex with my husband, how my body image was bad and how we communicated verbally for a long time because were long distance. I do tell embarrassing stories about my personal life in public. Luckily, my husband is so uninhibited he doesn’t mind at all.
Q What stories have you shared during the pandemic? A A story I told recently at the Women’s Storytelling Festival was all about dieting and how I have always been on diets and then I got diabetes and how I cured myself of it through diet and how that changed me. Another one was about weird British food.
Q You’ve put on many shows. Which ones stand out?
A The Bil Lepp one was fantastic for me, because he’s been my hero. I had gone to see him pre-pandemic and asked if he’d come do this. And then we did some Black Lives Matter ones. When George Floyd happened and the protests, we stopped. I said, I couldn’t do a fluffy, fun show when all of this was going on, so we had a Black Lives Matter special and some amazing storytellers on. That was really moving.
Q Why is this work important for people to hear or participate in?
A Anybody can get up on stage and do it; we all have stories to tell. It’s fascinating to get little clips of someone’s life. You meet different types of people from all walks of life. It’s magical, it takes you to another place. Storytelling is the quickest way to make a connection with someone else, it’s amazing what it can do.