For the first time, our four NYTI storytellers participated in this Queens community event about a month before the show. All the participants generated and shared personal stories inspired by the life and music of Astoria legend Tony Bennett from the Greater Astoria Historical Society archives.
Watch these highlights and contact kjfitzsimmons@gmail.com if you want a unique team-building event for your school, company, or organization in 2025.
What an unforgettable No, YOU Tell It! “Hell Gate” show!! Thank you to everyone for such an amazing evening of Hell Gate Bridge history, storytelling, art, poetry, and music.
Special thank you to: ~Our storytellers, Alicia, Jackie, Mia, and Ashley, for sharing such beautiful stories and giving incredible performances. ~Everyone who came out to see the show! ~Grove 34 for the space to have such a special evening. ~Ashley, for creating your Hell Gate-inspired art and music to inspire us all. ~Greater Astoria Historical Society for teaching us so much about the history of Hell Gate and our neighborhoods. ~Bob Singleton for his poetry and insights into the history of Astoria. ~Natalia ‘Saw Lady’ Paruz for her special, beautiful *birthday* performance. ~Brooklyn Book Festival for including us as a Bookend Event once again. ~Flushing Town Hall, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, New York Foundation for the Arts, and New York State Council on the Arts for making this possible. ~Our amazing creative team, Erika, Kelly Jean, Chenda, and Tim, for everything to make this possible.
Stay tuned for more photos and clips from the show and to hear what we’re up to next season.
I’m excited to announce that No, YOU Tell It! is a 2024 Queens Arts Fund recipient!
This project-based grant will enable us to bring NYTI “Left My Heart” in partnership with the Greater Astoria Historical Society to Grove 34 in Astoria on June 5 and a second show in September.
My mother and I have spent hours making ornaments, coloring holiday pictures, and decorating gingerbread people during her two weeks in the rehabilitation center. But does that mother-daughter time count if she doesn’t remember it?
My essay “A Holiday Stroke” captures a small part of my mother’s stroke and our December together. Blessed to have spent this difficult time with my family.
You can access it through my friend link HERE if you aren’t a Medium member.
As a former AP Program Information writer for the College Board, Kelly Jean now leads college essay writing workshops across the country with the purpose of teaching students how to extend their story in the reader’s mind through a college essay.
Last week, I had the honor of visiting Model Laboratory School in Kentucky to lead a three-day college essay writing workshop for the seniors and juniors to help them find and focus their personal stories.
We even had a No, YOU Tell It!-style story swap on the final day, where they read each other’s drafts out loud and gave group feedback to inform their revisions. Here are some student takeaways about their stories and the experience of writing personal narratives:
I used to think college essays had to be about trauma, but now I know it can be about small moments, too.
I used to think failure was a bad thing, but now I know it makes you who you are.
I used to think I couldn’t support my friends when they needed it, but now I know there is more than one way to express compassion.
I used to think that playing music was a passion only serving myself, but now I know that it is a gift that can be shared with anyone who is willing to listen.
I used to think that I had it all planned out, but now I know that I can’t prepare for everything.
