Ask Me Winter Slam on Dec. 19th

We're baaa-aaaack.

Cammi Climaco and I are bringing you another open-mic story slam on Wednesday, December 19th at Happy Ending Lounge in Chinatown.

No theme.
No admission.
No drink minimum.
No pants.

Okay, okay... PLEASE wear pants. But tops are optional.
Come tell your 6 minute story and have some drinks with us. We'll be bringing you a surprise special guest to be announced soon.

The deets:
Ask Me Winter Slam
Wednesday December 19th
7:30pm
Happy Ending Lounge

ASK ME on Facebook
ASK ME Winter Slam on Facebook

www.askmestories.com

Hosting The Moth 11/26 & 12/4

I'm honored and thrilled be hosting these upcoming Moth slams in NYC.
Come tell a 5 minute true story related to the night's theme. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll probably leave unable to operate a motor vehicle.

Monday 11/26
Theme: TRANSPLANT
7:30pm
Bitter End, West Village NYC

Tuesday 12/4
Theme: HOMEMADE
7:30pm
Location TBA

See you soon in the wild, weird, wonderful world of competitive storytelling!

Hosting Story League DC: The 90's on 11/28

I'm excited to be hosting the Story League's Story Contest in DC on Wednesday November 28th. The theme is beyond amazing and right up my alley- the 90's. So prepare for loads of Goth anecdotes and tales of teenage recreational drug use. You know... David Crabb-ish stories.

The details:
Wednesday November 28th at 9pm
Location: Busboys and Poets 14th/V, Washington DC
Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/284975

IMPORTANT: Seating cannot be guaranteed for any ticket holder after 9:10. Line forms approx. 8:30 and doors open at 8:45.

RULES: Our 3 expert judges will consider all story submissions before the contest begins and decide which stories they most wish to hear.

Tellers have a maximum 7 minutes to tell a true story set in the 1990s. 
At 6 minutes you will receive a signal that you only have 1 minute left.

The winner will be announced at the end of the night and will receive $100 cash as a prize. The audience will also select its favorite!

Submit your 100-word story synopsis here: http://www.storyleague.org/submit-your-story/ or fill out a card at the show.

Last Man Club at AXIS Theatre Oct. 4th-28th

I am proud and excited to be a part of the new production with Axis Theatre Company, "Last Man Club." The show runs from October 4-28 at AXIS in the West Village.

Click here for tickets and more information.

I'm hosting The Moth on Oct. 29th!

I am over the moon about hosting The MOTH: Haunted at the end of the month. I'll be hosting the Halloween-themed show "Haunted" on Monday October 29th at Bitter End in NYC's West Village. So come put your name in the hat for a chance to tell your five minute story of fright, fear, and ghosts!

What is The Moth?
Where is Bitter End?
Who the hell am I?

Ask Me: BROKE Oct. 24th at AXIS

Cammi Climaco and I are so excited to present the new edition of our live storytelling show ASK ME on Wednesday October 24th at Axis Theatre. The theme is BROKE. It'll be a low-rent, no-budget, technology-free show with live music by Reformed Whores.

Featuring stories by:
Ophira Eisenberg
John Flynn
Ted Travelstead
Julia Wiedeman

Great stories. Live music. Insane raffles. And poverty.
So much poverty...
We can't wait to see you for ASK ME: BROKE. Think of it as our recession special.

See you Wednesday October 24th at Axis Theatre at 8pm!
Remember, ASK ME is BYOB. So pack the moonshine in your bag!

What is ASK ME?
Where is AXIS?
Who are these PEOPLE?

Guest Monologist at ASSSSCAT 3000

I am psyched to be the guest monologist at this Sunday's ASSSSCAT 3000 at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. (Sunday, Oct. 7th) I will be doing the 9:30 show.

Who knows who'll be on deck? I'm just as excited as you to find out. I've wanted to do improv guest monology for a long time. It's a similar but different challenge than hosting and I couldn't be more thrilled to be doing it for ASSSSCAT 3000 at UCB, the place I first learned comedy and improv years ago. Hope to see you there!

More info here:
http://newyork.ucbtheatre.com/shows/view/12

Ask Me Stories Summer Slam

Cammi and I are super excited about our first Ask Me Stories Slam. Last month's show was our 2 year anniversary and it was amazing. We had amazing performers, a ridiculous raffle, and surprise cake shaped like a giant number 2, and a sold-out house.

This month we're letting you take the stage as we invite audience members to put their name in the hat, bag or bowl (vessel as-of-yet undetermined) and possibly be selected to tell a story. The time limit is 6 minutes. At 7 minutes I will come out and sweep you offstage a la Showtime at the Apollo. That will be weird and make everyone uncomfortable, so time your tale! 

We will be presenting a featured performer, the incredible, Moth GrandSlam-winning Erin Barker of Story Collider. So come check out the slam Thursday August 30th at 7pm at Le Poisson Rouge. 

There is NO THEME and the show is FREE!!!

More info at:

http://askmestories.com

http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/artist/5593

https://www.facebook.com/events/249508318502890/?ref=ts

New Storytelling Class at The PIT

I'm pleased to announce a new storytelling class I'll be teaching at The PIT this September. The incredible Michelle Walson and I will be teaching a brand new Level 2 course for performers & writers with experience. Each class meets once a week over 8 weeks and performs in a class show for friends & family at The PIT.

Intermediate class description:
Intermediate Storytelling builds on the topics and skills covered in the introductory class to take students further as writer-performers.  Our goal is to help you discover your unique voice as a storyteller and transform your stories from mere anecdotes to performance pieces that tap into universal themes.  We will spend the majority of class time listening to and critiquing student stories.  We’ll also analyze sample stories from seasoned performers to see different storytelling strategies in action. The class will culminate in a class show for friends and family.
Register HERE

More information on both classes can be found HERE

I'm Hosting The Moth at Bell House August 6!

This just in from the truly-amazing-news department- I've been asked to host the legendary Moth StorySlam Wednesday, August 6th at The Bell House in Brooklyn. I cannot express how honored, thrilled, and truly freaking terrified I am to do this. And, as if it isn't enough pressure to be taking the mic at the mother of all storytelling slams, I'm filling in for resident badass Peter Aguero. And those are some big shoes to fill. Literally! The guy's like 9 feet tall or something. So expect to look downright Lilliputian on the massive Bell House stage.

The theme is "Sunny." And if you've seen, heard, or read my tales of high school drug parties and X-rated Goth escapades, you know this theme is an AMAZING fit for my sensibilities.

Seriously.

Tickets go fast at the door for 8 bucks a pop. In order to ensure entry, soon you'll be able to buy advance tickets HERE for 16 dollars.

I hope you can make it out. This is some high-falutin' hostery right here. I think I'm going to keep a Cuss jar onstage just to keep myself in line. At one dollar per profanity, this gig is gonna put me in the poor house.

Hope to see you there!

More info HERE

Ask Me: PARTY! Our 2-year Askiversary Show

We are so excited to present an amazing line-up for our big anniversary show!

Sara Benincasa, Comedian, author of Agorafabulous
Britt Genelin, Actress, storyteller
Dave Hill, Comedian, author of Tasteful Nudes
Adam Wade, Storyteller, Moth GrandSLAM winner, host of Tales from the Cosmos and The Adam Wade from NH Show
Aaron Wolfe, Storyteller, Moth GrandSLAM winner
with a special performance from pianist, Jack Perry

These stories are gonna blow your face off when you're not lost in a Cirque de Soliel haze of high-wire artists and midget contortionists! (Okay, not really. But there might be a juggler and some card tricks.)

David is going to take hand-fulls of pill at this party! (Okay, they're all probiotics, but still... his stomach is gonna be NUTS!)
Cammi is so psyched that she's agreed to wear panties! FINALLY! You can look at her dead-on without the fear that she's going to "show her world to you" like that tramp in the Dave Matthews song!
Jack Perry will be tickling the ivories for a big musical number! He is so pumped that he's gonna... well, he's just gonna look even MORE handsome than usual. (Seriously, he's also agreed to wear panties.)

Guys, we're TWO YEARS OLD!!! Come eat cake with us! And to prep your palette, check out our all-new Ask Me podcast on ITunes HERE.

Ask Me: PARTY! Our 2-year Askiversary Show
Wednesday August 1st

Doors at 7:45 pm
Show at 8:00 pm

Axis Theatre
1 Sheridan Square
NYC

*FREE
BYOB (as usual. Seriously. BRING YOUR OWN BOOZE!)

More info at www.askmestories.com

"Bad Kid" in the San Antonio Current

 
The San Antonio Current has run an article in their new issue about my storytelling and solo show, "Bad Kid." It's a sassy piece entitled "David Crabb dishes queer Saytown goth to the rest of the world." Get a load of that gay-with-a-capital-G bidness!

Many thanks to journalist Gregg Barrios, who let me blather on for about half an hour about how deeply I love The Smiths when all he probably wanted to know was what my show was about. Talking to him about the good old days in SA was great- getting high at The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Northwest Theatre, making out on the dirty sofas suspended from the ceiling at Changez, breaking into the grounds of the McNay Museum on acid. What an unsullied youth! And what a nice article.


So hang on San Antonio. I might be a few steps closer to performing my solo show "Bad Kid" in the actual place it happened. It would certainly be a rush to talk about drag queens fist-fighting at the Alamo in a theatre NEAR the Alamo! 

"Shhhh... you can almost hear them voguing."

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

My advanced storytelling class at The Story Studio

I'm so excited to be teaching an advanced class at The Story Studio.

This class will meet on Mondays and Thursdays 7-10pm starting on Monday July 9th, with seven sessions followed by a class show for friends and family during the eighth and final session on Thursday, August 2nd. Class sessions will meet at CAP 21, 18 West 18th Street, 5th Floor, room 507, NYC. The class show will take place at 3 of Cups downstairs lounge at 83 1st Avenue, NYC.

The Story Studio’s 4-week storytelling workshop provides students who have some previous storytelling experience with an encouraging, constructive environment in which to develop new pieces for the stage and receive feedback from their instructor and peers. Exercises in class focus on complex story structuring, mining your life for content, developing the character of “you,” using your voice and body to inhabit characters, and developing concise and meaningful endings. Each student will leave this class with at least 3 fully-developed stories.

This class is open to students with some storytelling experience. Sign up with a friend, and once you’ve both registered, email jc@thestorystudio.org with your friend’s name and receive a 15% rebate on the cost of the course.

SIGN UP HERE

My new class at Story Studio

*June 2-Day Storytelling with Characters Workshop at The Story Studio.

Bring the people in your stories to life! In addition to focusing on storytelling basics, this class will also guide students through exercises designed to help them vividly portray the characters in their stories. You’ll learn to fully utilize the power of your body & voice to create cinematic scenes & vividly portray the characters in their stories.

Day 1: Saturday June 2, 10am-2pm
Day 2: Sunday June 3, 12-2pm

Day 1 consists of exercises that will help you bring characters in your stories to life. Day 2 is when students will perform their stories in class and receive in-depth feedback from their instructor and classmates.

Sign up HERE.

Ask Me: Porno

Ask Me returns Wednesday April 4th for an amazing show with a great line-up! Join us at 8pm at Axis Theatre in the West Village for the dirtiest, funniest stories youve heard in a while. The line-up includes:

DAVID BALUTANSKI, David has performed stand-up in 41 states & recently on the Martha Stewart Show while making Manhattan clam chowder with Martha.

JEFFERSON, Host of Bare! Stories of Sex, Desire and Romance, and sex blogger, onelifetaketwo.com.

ADAM NEWMAN, One of Comedy Central's Comics to Watch! Hear Adam on his critically acclaimed debut stand-up CD, Not For Horses.

BOB POWERS, Bob Powers is a staff writer for someecards.com, author of "Happy Cruelty Day" and producer of Steamboat. Read his stuff at girlsarepretty.com.

THE REFORMED WHORES, Marie Cecile Anderson and Katy Frame have been lassoing hearts throughout NYC at UCB, The PIT, and Carolines on Broadway. www.reformedwhores.com

DANA ROSSI, Writer, storyteller and host of Soundtrack Series, recently featured in the New York Times and included in the book, Madonna and Me.

See you there!

Intro to Storytelling at The PIT

My new storytelling class at The PIT begins on April 30th. I couldn't be more excited to be co-teaching with the incredible Michelle Walson, an amazing writer, director, and storyteller.

*Intro to Storytelling at The P.I.T.
with David Crabb & Michelle Walson
Mondays 7pm-10pm
April 30-June 25

In this class, you’ll learn how to transform your real-life experiences into unforgettable performance pieces. The class will operate workshop style, with the majority of class time devoted to sharing and critiquing stories. Each student will develop at least 2 stories and perform one in a class show at The PIT for family and friends.

Michelle and I have worked together since 2010, teaching storytelling to beginners, seasoned writers and performers, and corporate professionals. Michelle approaches storytelling as a writer/director, with a focus on story structure, while I approach it as a writer/performer, with a focus on character work and physicality. Together, we’ve designed a multifaceted intro program for storytellers with different goals in mind.

SIGN UP HERE

Bad Kid is a New York Times Critics Pick!

New York Times has selected "Bad Kid" as one of their Critics Picks and ran the review in today's issue! Check out the article online with the picture above of me making the exact same face I made when I found out!

New York Times "Bad Kid" review

Hooray for Bad Kid!!!

The reviews are rolling in...

"Bad Kid" is getting some great reviews for it's 2012 run at Axis Theatre.

Flavorpill calls the show "highly entertaining."

"Behind the many laughs, a poignancy creeps in through Crabb's affectionate portrayals of the fellow outcasts who became his essential support system."
-Flavorpill

Curtain Up loved the show too and says you'll "jump in for the joyride."

"Crabb’s words simply pop in a magical way when he performs them. If reading his script is the equivalent of driving in a Camaro, then watching him perform it is like speeding down the Autobahn in a Lamborghini."
-Curtain Up

More to come y'all. Hang on to your Ankhs for a wild ride!!!

Black by popular demand!!!

Break out your cloves and pull out your Siouxsie and The Banshees records! My one-person show "Bad Kid" is back by popular demand on February 17th at Axis Theatre. We're painting our nails black as we speak. RELEASE THE RAVENS!

Show info HERE.

Ask Me: Dark Things

To quote Carol Ann in the miserable sequel to 1982's superior "Poltergeist"...
They're baaa-aaaaackkkk...

ASK ME returns to Axis Theatre with a night of Gothy, witchy, scary and ultimately hilarious stories on Wednesday, January 18th at 8pm. Cammi Climaco and I couldn't be more excited about this group of drug-addled, Doc Marten-wearing, hyper-depressive and pyro-maniacal performers...
Erin Barker
Bridget O'Neill
Juliet Hope Wayne
and special appearances by Edgar Oliver!

So shoot your absinthe, put on your dog collars and throw your cloves in your military-issue satchel. We'll see you next week for big, dark, spooky fun!

Axis can be hard to find, so check this out.
10$ suggested donation
BYOB (You being drunk makes out job easier. So go nuts!)
Doors close by 8:15 at the LATEST! No late entries.

More info HERE.

My storytelling class at The PIT!

I am honored and beyond excited to be teaching a storytelling class at The PIT starting next month. It's called "Storytelling: Tell and Show." Although I love the one-on-one relationship of directing and coaching, I'm really excited for this opportunity to be working with a group on their stories.
I plan on being a stern task-master and regularly humming The Police's "Don't Stand So Close To Me" under my breath.

From The PIT site:
This is a class for storytellers with experience who are looking to incorporate more theatricality into their performance. If you’re looking to inhabit your characters and expand your physicality behind the mic, this is the class for you. In addition to fine-tuning your writing and story structure, you’ll learn to fully harness the power of your body and voice to create scenes, build tension, and transform into characters. If your crazy Aunt Gilda is better seen and heard than described, this class can show you how to become her. Class time is devoted to students sharing and critiquing each other’s work. Each student will develop at least three stories and perform one of them in a class show at The PIT for family and friends.

To find out more about the class and sign up, go HERE.