New Storytelling Event, Reveal, Launches Thursday At The Monro

If you’ve got a story to tell, you’ve got a new place to tell it. Reveal: A Storytelling Event launches this Thursday, August 14 at 8:30pm at The Monro Pub, 481 5th Avenue, and anyone will be welcome to come share — or listen to — a story on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month.

The new series comes from Brooklyn native Desiree Taranto, who says she is “an aspiring writer first and foremost,” and also a dog walker and bartender who’s been running a monthly writing workshop for the past year. She decided to bring the storytelling events to South Slope after participating in a friend’s event at Rustik Tavern in Bed-Stuy, where she was a featured storyteller.

“Personally, I like to tell stories that are amusing,” she says. “I’ve dealt with a lot in my short life and writing is what helped me through it. My writing tends to be a bit dark, so when it came time for me to tell a story out loud, I realized I didn’t want it to be anything like my writing. I didn’t want to bum out a bar full of people.”

Work got in the way of her telling more stories there, but when her schedule freed up, she realized she was interested in hosting her own series, and reached out to a friend who just started working at The Monro.

“I went to visit her and thought it was a great space that didn’t seem to get too crowded,” she says. “My friend asked if I’d be interested in hosting a storytelling event there and if so she’d pitch it to her bosses. I said yes, so she did, and they loved the idea.”

She says the bar is just the comfortable, community-minded space for such an event.

“The Monro is very welcoming, but also a place that you can feel you can hide,” she explains. “What I mean is, there are not too many random people to make you feel uncomfortable. The lighting is perfect for someone who wants to tell a story but may be a little shy.”

Though she doesn’t live in the neighborhood, she’s glad to help encourage people to come and check out a great local space.

“I have a lot of friends who host events, and when I mentioned this event to them they were both surprised and elated that there was now something to go to South Slope for,” she says. “Also, as for storytelling in general, most events I find tend to take place in Manhattan. Brooklyn is the new hot spot, and I love taking advantage of that.”

As for what you’ll hear, or what you can share, Desiree says it’s very open.

“I do enjoy other stories that make me laugh, but I have experienced some emotional stories and had enjoyed them as well,” she says. “Basically, whatever the person is prepared and willing to share with a crowd tends to be pretty amazing.”

If you decide to tell a story of your own, she says that in her experience, the best stories are ones told with confidence.

“If you go up there, ready to tell your story, you tend to put life into it,” she says. “I understand some people would rather read off something they wrote, and that’s totally ok. I just think there’s something about the unscripted story that makes it more enjoyable.”

For a lot of people, standing up in front of a group of strangers and sharing a personal tale may a bit intimidating, but Desiree says you should jump on in.

“My advice for those who are a bit nervous to tell a story is: Just do it,” she says. “I still get nervous, and I do a lot of things that put me in the spotlight. Personally, I feel as if those nerves never go away. Ever speak to a comedian? They are usually awkward and a bit shy. When it comes to doing things of this nature, there’s no thinking, you just have to go for it. Also, a couple of drinks do help!”

If you’d like to take the plunge at this week’s event or one of the upcoming ones, you can sign up in advance by emailing revealastory@gmail.com, or you can just show up and take a shot. This first event is open to any kind of story, limited to about 10 minutes long so they can get as many people in as possible, but ones in the future may have a theme.

Don’t have a story to tell? Don’t let that stop you from checking out the events.

“I highly encourage people to come by to just listen,” she says. “I have a lot of friends who write but are afraid to get up in front of people, so they enjoy watching others do it. I also have friends who love listening to stories while having a drink. The more ears, the better.”

Photo via The Monro Pub