Story Story Drive and Story Story Lie
Storytelling is the basis of humanity – it’s what brings us together, it’s the means by which we define ourselves and communicate with one another. Our memories our tales, our religions rooted in fables from thousands of years ago. Personally, we form bonds based on shared experiences which become stories in their own right.
Recently, our culture started dismissing stories and our culture has suffered for it. There’s a purity of storytelling that was lost, and humanity lost the ability to tell good stories from bad as we were force-fed opinions and legends that were empty things without meaning. More recently, people have begun to tell stories to one another again, taking themselves back from a culture that is as vapid as the stories that they produce.
In Vancouver, Jo Dworschak is championing the telling of stories and has even gamified the process.
Her first effort is called Story Story Drive, and is a weekly event at the Drive Coffee Bar on Commercial Drive. People gather to drink coffee, to hear and tell stories. It’s a good place for improv actors, comics, and actors of all stripes to test their skills in front of a live audience. It’s a spot to hear stories told by some of the best personalities that Vancouver has to offer, a mixed bag of comedy, tragedy, and drama – and not knowing what you’re going to get is part of the appeal. The Drive Coffee Bar also has a host of tasty treats on tap, including alcohol for those so inclined.
Story Story Drive happens every Wednesday starting at 7pm and going til 8pm. Admission is by donation.
The second show is the infamous Story Story Lie, a game wherein several comedians, actors, and other artists get up on stage to tell stories – but one of them is a filthy liar. The object of the game is to tell which of the people on stage is lying, and prizes include bragging rights, a good night out, and an experience to share with others. It’s a monthly show at the Rio Theater with some special showings elsewhere from time to time. The best place to keep track of the action is their FaceBook page, which you can find by clicking here.
This month, Story Story Lie takes place on Thursday, April 26, with doors opening at six and the show starting at seven. You can buy tickets for $12 at the door or for $10 by clicking here.
And speaking of the Rio…
We need the Rio. Shows like Story Story Lie would not exist without it.
There are some people that would like to demolish the Rio and replace it with Condos that no one can afford to live in, as Vancouver continues to struggle against a future where no one actually lives in the city anymore. Here is our hard line: the Rio Theater is, in many ways, a bridge between the future and the past of this city. It is everything good and great about Vancouver, representing the best aspects of the thriving creative community that would not exist without it.
And the Rio makes money. It is a solvent business, a place where people find their voices, their careers, their futures. It is a place of community and growth, and in many ways, it is the heart and soul of the Vancouver creative scene. They partner with other businesses and everyone is better for the Rio being here.
Some people that do not live in the city would like to demolish it to build a highrise that no one in that part of the city will be able to live in. They want to do to Commerical Drive what they did to Coal Harbour, turning a thriving neighborhood into a ghost town where no one lives, no one goes, an empty urban sprawl of nothing.
We need to fight back.
The people that own the land the Rio is built on have given us the means to do so, and we will fight tooth and nail to keep our home standing. We’re not alone in this – Kevin Smith, Ryan Reynolds, anyone and everyone that has lived in Vancouver understands the importance of the Rio. Kevin Smith is hosting two sold-out shows at the Rio where he plans to talk about how important this theater is.
Watch this and understand:
Can you help? #savetherio has an Indiegogo up now, which you can find by clicking here.
Help us help keep Vancouver vibrant, alive, and creative. Save the Rio. We can do this.