- Good evening everyone.

- Can you hear me out there?

- So this is actually my first time of doing this.

- This is like better than HBO.

It's better than "Bridgerton."

This is where you get the juicy stuff about your neighbors.

(gentle music) - I'm the cohost of the Front Parlor series, which is a monthly storytelling open mic in Troy.

We come together to share true stories from our lives in less than five minutes without any notes.

So folks are familiar with the Moth.

It's in the same style as that and anyone can come and step in front of the mic and share a story.

Tonight's theme is New Beginnings.

So this was partially inspired by the workshop that we did with Rise, with refugees and immigrants who, you know, obviously have a very new, very big new beginning as they come here.

But we always say our themes are just a jumping off point.

You don't have to tell a story quite as grand as moving to a new country.

It can be as small as you want it to be and it can be anything that's inspired by this theme.

(crowd claps) - Hello, it's my first time at storytelling.

(crowd cheers) - People tell stories I think because we all have this urge to share from our lives and to be seen by our community.

Like one of the coolest things about what we do is that people who've never been in front of a mic before will like go up and just speak from their heart and everyone else in that room will just be totally captivated and they'll be ohh-ing and ahh-ing, or you know, sighing, or whatever reaction they have.

And it's really validating, I think, for the storytellers to have that experience of being validated by the people around them.

I've seen myself as a storyteller for a really long time.

My professional work as a journalist really is at the end of the day, storytelling in a different form.

So, you know, even since high school I was doing journalism on my school paper, you know, did that all through college and for my entire career.

So I think I started specifically in this open mic style storytelling, you know, kind of right toward the end of college when I encountered The Moth.

That's, you know, kind of the iconic storytelling organization.

I attended a couple events, and I was just really enchanted by it.

I felt like I already kind of had those skills from my work as a journalist, and ever since, I've just loved it and I kind of can't get enough of it.

I think storytelling has allowed me to actually understand myself in a different way.

The process of of crafting a story kind of forces you to reflect and be vulnerable and make sense of your experiences.

And so a lot of the pivotal moments of my life I have shared in Troy in front of a microphone, and it's really helped me make sense of all of it.

- Hi, I'm Claire.

I've been doing this for a little bit now and I'm getting a little more confident, especially with the big huge audience like this.

I'm a little nervous, but I'm doing okay.

(crowd cheers) Woo!

I recently had an ending, let's put it that way.

And some people know what my ending has been, just getting divorced after 42 years of marriage.

But I'm not looking that way.

I am looking forward, and I'm seeing my new beginning with the, you know, one door closing, another door opening.

(crowd cheers) - One of them that sticks out was from one of our regular storytellers who has, sort of like I have, used the open mic as a way to process an experience in her life.

She had gone through a divorce recently after being married for many decades.

And so at this most recent event, she told a story about adjusting to life on her own.

- I had to, at 63, learn how to live by myself, and I did not like it, and I still am struggling with it.

I don't like kind of going home to a quiet place, no lights on.

Sometimes I'll leave a light on, sometimes I won't.

I'm really kinda struggling, but I've only been out, I think it'll be a year in August that I moved into my own place.

So I'm just learning to have fun, you know, and not just think about being alone, you know, and things.

So there are a lot of advantages in that, you know, they don't rewash the dishes that are in your sink, okay?

They're just as dirty as when you left them.

The silverware isn't all lined up, you know, in the drawer, you know, because they looked at it and saw it and I didn't have it that way and then they did it, you know?

So you leave a mess, you know.

Or you make a mess, you leave a mess, that's gonna be there.

So that's kind of good because then I'm gonna do it the way I want it anyway, right?

- It's been so cool for all of us who come to Front Parlor to see her evolution and the way she's gained confidence, both in front of the mic and in her own life.

- And I just wanna know how long does it take to kind of really be comfortable with yourself in your own little place?

So that is my journey and that is my new beginning, learning how to love and live by myself.

Thank you.

(crowd cheers and claps) (bright music) - I've also given out fun little prompts on the table.

So we call these flash nonfiction.

Let's say the theme is New Beginnings.

We'll print out a question that says, when was the last time you did something new?

And we'll hand out these little pieces of paper that people can answer and then hand up to the front anonymously.

And then what we do is between each of the storytellers, I take one or two of those little cards, and I read them in front of the mic, and they're often like pretty funny or irreverent.

And it's a way for people to participate even if they're not willing to get up in front of the mic just yet.

When was the last time you tried something new?

About an hour ago, I had the cinnamon apple caramel crepe.

Wonderful.

Okay (event host laughs).

Happy for you.

- When was the last time you tried something new?

Last week my mom tried apologizing to me and I tried, I love the tried in these sentences, forgiving her.

I always tried to understand her and never do.

This is worth like continuing to try.

So I hope that you and your mom will both keep at it.

- To the middle aged mind, new things are unkind.

Oh, that's too bad.

When was the last time you tried something new?

Birdwatching, taking pictures of them too.

Hobby, feels like a new hobby, amazing.

So what we do at Front Parlor is a lot of fun, and I think that's the reason why most people come.

But storytelling also has a lot of power beyond that.

And there's actually a lot of science about this that talks about how storytelling engages our brain in a unique way and helps us retain information.

But ultimately, I think storytelling has this power to kind of bridge divides and even motivate people to change.

It's really hard to, you know, hate someone or kind of be against someone when they're like up there being vulnerable, sharing an experience from their life.

And I know I've experienced a lot of like shifts in thinking based on stories I've heard.

And I think storytelling has that power if we want to use it to build community or to even motivate changes or to create a better society.

Like we have to be connected to each other to do those things.

And I think storytelling has the power to do that.

- There's always gonna be another adventure around the bend and the new beginnings, you can't see them from where you are right now.

- If you're at all curious about Front Parlor, I'd really encourage you to stop by.

There's no pressure to tell a story, but I can guarantee, even as a member of the audience, you're gonna have a good time listening to stories.

The kind of range of humanity that we see at this event is so heartwarming.

I cry at almost every one of these.

People are just out here telling really moving and beautiful stories.

So at the very least come to experience that and who knows, you might surprise yourself halfway through the event.

Put your name on my list and get in front of the mic.

- Thank you.

(crowd claps)