More than entertainment

Lance shifted from talking about how much he enjoyed Carapace and how it got him interested in other, similar events, to this statement: “you see the impact that it has on a lot of people.” This implies that Carapace is not just entertaining (not that entertainment is a small concern). It does something to/for people.  

Lance asserted that people were especially interested in true stories:

All of us are interested in

people's stories.

And I read a while ago that

human beings in general

love stories.

Even when we are asleep, our brains are making up stories

to entertain us.

And the truth is always

more interesting than anything that you can

create.

The true stories that people have are always more entertaining.

This is part of the reason Carapace encourages true personal stories. They are entertaining. However, he once again shifted to talking about something beyond entertainment.

We really wanted people to share

these stories that meant something

to them.

If it was just about entertainment, people would be sharing stories that meant something to the audience. But Lance said they wanted to encourage people to tell stories that meant something to them.

Connecting with the connection of face to face communication, Lance jumped to the connections built by the content of the stories.

And tell these stories,

and all of a sudden you realize

damn, I'm not as crazy as I thought I was

when you start hearing some of the stories people share.

Sometimes (often, I think) individuals believe some phenomenon of life they are experiencing is happening only to them. Through these stories, they learn that others also experience these things. My thought is that this would make people feel less alone. Lance said they realize they are not crazy.

Lance asserted that true stories are therapeutic.

There’s something

very therapeutic about

sharing stories

especially the true ones.

Whether you actually

share a story or not

just the act of being there

in the audience

I think is very therapeutic.

He made a connection with comedy, saying that people love comedians who talk about “the things that are going on in their lives.” The comedians talk about these things in a funny way, but people also laugh because

in the back of your mind you're going

oh my God, thank God

I'm not as bizarre [laughs]

I'm not as insane as bizarre

as I thought I was

all of this is fairly normal.

People are realizing that they are not alone or strange in their life experiences and that makes them feel good. Carapace achieves the same thing as comedy:

You start hearing some of these stories and all of a sudden you go,

oh my god I'm not as weird as I thought I was.

[laughter]

Or,

holy shit that happened to somebody else.

The storytelling would then go beyond therapy, to people having actual face to face conversations, specifically because of the “me too” characteristic of the stories. Audience members would want to talk to storytellers about similar things that had happened to them.

And it wasn't that uncommon,

it was a regular thing where

after Carapace had ended

you'd still have people hanging around for a good 30, 45 minutes

an hour or more

and they break off into their own small little groups and

oh your story was amazing

let me tell you what happened to me

I had something very similar happen.

And we saw that every single night

was people hanging around

long after the event had ended

to finish up a story

or to tell one particular storyteller their experience

something that they had happen to them.

Randy talked about a public place, a bar, being a safe space because people don’t have to engage. They don’t have to talk back. They can even walk away if they want to. People want the opportunity to hear about others without having to say anything in return. But the “me too” of many of these stories seems to be pivotal. It moves people from listeners to speakers. They choose to engage in a conversation, giving of themselves as well as taking in the story. This is one way interpersonal relationships begin to form, moving people from anonymous observers, to individuals who engage with the community (even if they don’t tell stories on stage). In fact, Lance said that these discussions led to a “sense of community” and a “common bond.”

In discussing why people tell stories at Carapace they don’t tell anywhere else. Lance said

Some of the really

emotional stories like that

you have to get that out of your system.

I mean,

therapeutically you have to get rid of that emotional baggage.

Again, the storytelling is therapy and aids in a kind of release. As if the story has to be shared in order for the teller to let it go.