WHAT KINDS OF STORIES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR, GENERALLY?

When thinking about the theme of any show, think about common uses of the theme word. The story doesn’t necessarily have to be about the first use of the word that comes to mind. In general, though, we are more interested in literal uses of the theme word than metaphorical uses.

While we’re here talking, there are 2 kinds of stories we tend to get: an event-based story or a timeline-based story. Event-based stories can often be summed up with a sentence like “This is about the time when…” while timeline-based stories are like “My entire life has been about…” or “For the last 10 years, it seems I’m always…”. Not to say that one type is better than another, but we would sooner have an evening full of 5 event-based stories than we would 5 timeline-based stories. Take that for what it’s worth.

Regardless, share your story. You never know, and we also try to remember good stories for possible future use, so we want to hear whatever you’ve got to share!

Do i have to sign up?

When we do have a Pitch Night, we try to keep the event in the 90-minutes-to-2-hours range because we can only fit so many stories into one evening. To guarantee your spot in the lineup, see the event details (it may be different from event to event). People can also sign up at the beginning of the evening (or when/if the mood strikes, during the event). Those folks may have to wait until the end or latter half of the night or, depending on timing, may not be able to get up at all.

What if i can't make it?

Participating at Pitch Night is NOT the only way to submit a story for consideration at one of our shows, but it is the first way. There is a risk of there being fewer spaces left to fill in the show for those stories which are pitched afterward and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to hear everyone's pitches, who need to pitch afterward, but we always recommend submitting. We love to hear stories and (as mentioned above) sometimes a story submitted for one show might find a home in another show down the road!

How long should my story bE?

We will be enforcing a 6 minute limit for stories pitched at Pitch Night. We will provide some indicator when 5 minutes comes and tellers will be cut off at 6 minutes.

There are different approaches a storyteller might take, given the time constraint: (a) tell a 6 minute version of the story; or (b) tell as much of the story as you can in 6 minutes until you are cut off. Either way, we are interested in hearing a story, rather than hearing about a story, so tell us a story!

After the event, all tellers will be contacted with information about how to share more of their story (i.e., the tellers will have a chance to share whatever they think we should know when we’re deliberating about which stories to use in the show).

Stories chosen for the show will be developed into 10-12 minute stories. 

what happens if you choose my story?

Storytellers chosen for the show will be expected to participate in up to 4 rehearsals (about 1 hour each) during which time they will work with members of our Story Team to shape their story and get it to the right length (and commit it to memory). The storytellers will be expected to do their "homework" in preparation for each rehearsal. The night before the show is a group rehearsal... and then, of course, there's the show. There are a few other details that will be shared along the way, but as far as time-commitments, it's not too intense!

what happens if you don't choose my story?

One of the main reasons we are hosting Pitch Nights is so that we can give more people more opportunities to tell stories in front of more people, and thereby further spreading the word that stories have the power to bring people together! If your story is not chosen, you’ll still have gotten to share it with the audience at Pitch Night, which is truly a special gift.

ALSO - keep in mind that telling a story at Pitch Night and in our main-stage shows, are only two of the ways True Theatre helps people share their stories! We are now exploring ways to help more people share their stories. Throughout the years, we have always wished we could share the stories of more than just the 20-or-so people who appear on “our stage” each season. NOW we are exploring all sorts of different avenues to do that, so stay tuned and, by all means, keep telling your stories!