The Connection

Fairfax storyteller and founder of a Northern Virginia storytelling company, Better Said Than Done, Jessica Piscitelli Robinson, will be featured at this year’s 46th National Storytelling Festival as an Exchange Place teller, a showcase of the country’s best up-and-coming talent. A beloved tradition since 1973, the Festival hosts the nation’s top storytellers and draws 11,000 visitors from across the country to celebrate the ancient art of storytelling in Tennessee’s oldest town, Jonesborough. The festival runs from Oct. 5 – 7, 2018.

Piscitelli Robinson’s storytelling journey began when, in 2007, she stepped on stage at a SpeakeasyDC show to tell the first version of the very story she’ll be performing at the National Storytelling Festival. Over the past 11 years, the story about her trying to get PADI certified has evolved, as her style as a performer and writer has changed, but it remains a true, personal story.

“Despite having performed at some really amazing venues for some fantastic storytelling organizations, I have to admit that I literally yelled so loud when I got the news I’d be performing at the National Storytelling Festival, that I made my 2-year-old cry. After assuring him that mommy was happy, not mad, I enjoyed re-reading the email in which the International Storytelling Center told me I was one of six storytellers from across the country selected to perform at Exchange Place. It feels like being nominated for an Oscar, only all six of us have already won!”

After several years of heading into DC to perform in storytelling shows, Piscitelli Robinson started Better Said Than Done in 2011 to bring the art of true, personal storytelling to Northern Virginia audiences and storytellers. Over the years, Better Said Than Done has expanded to producing two regular storytelling shows a month – one in Reston and one in Fairfax - and leading storytelling workshops for individuals and organizations.

Upcoming local events for Better Said Than Done include:

• Words, Words, Words: stories about language, interpretation and meaning -- Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018, 7 p.m., The Auld Shebeen (Downstairs), 3971 Chain Bridge Rd., Fairfax. Free Admission as part of George Mason University’s Fall for the Book Festival

With storytellers Nick Baskerville, Jessica Robinson, Jack Scheer, Allison Stevens, Mary Supley, and Sufian Zhemukhov

• Spotlight on You: Half Day Storytelling Workshop, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018, 2 – 6 p.m., The Insight Shop, 114 Courthouse Rd. SW, Vienna, $85, Register at: insightshopva.com

Led by Jessica Robinson

• The Monster Under the Bed: Storytelling at the Lake, Wednesday, Oct.17, 7 p.m., Lake Anne Coffee House, 1612 Washington Plaza N, Reston, Free.

• 5th Annual Night at the Improv – Improvisational Storytelling, Oct. 20, 7 p.m., downstairs at The Auld Shebeen, 3971 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Virginia 22030, $15 per person

For more information on upcoming shows, performers, or workshops, visit www.bettersaidthandone.com.