The Stories that Surface - May

Doors Open 19:30 - Multilingual

Pay What You Want at the end of the night

Hello. This is Angela of The BCN Studio. I'm attempting to grow a monthly story sharing night at the Studio.

In the past, what I’ve loved most about storytelling nights is the simplicity and honesty of them: real people sharing real moments from their lives. There’s something incredibly validating and illuminating in hearing each other in that way.

I’m also inspired by the idea of a Stammtisch, a German practice, a regular gathering at a pub or someone's house on a particular night of the week or month, where you might not see everyone every time, but you know that whenever you show up, some familiar faces will be there. Over time, it becomes a kind of home base. I’d love for this night to grow into that: a monthly space where a sense of community naturally builds.

These first few nights of The Stories That Surface are about collective creation of the format for this event.

There will be light food for nibbling. Taking care of the tummy is an important part of taking care of each other.

So far, the format has worked like this:

• We chat around a big banquet table, with a plate of something yummy

• We begin by writing down a few words or phrases.

• Someone draws one prompt from a hat.

• We sit quietly until someone feels moved to share a story inspired by that word or phrase.

• We can interrupt, ask clarifying questions, help each other if language barriers pop up

• When the stories around that prompt feel complete, we move on to another.

We'll have a live piano player gently creating mood music.

The idea is to create a space where stories emerge organically, sometimes even stories we didn’t remember we had, big or small.

An important part of this space is that it's multilingual. We all speak different combinations of English, Spanish, Catalan, and other languages, and I’d love for everyone to feel free to express themselves in the language that feels most natural.

To make this work, we’ll need to co-create a simple system of support, perhaps pairing or grouping people who can help translate during the evening, so that stories can be shared and understood across languages. I have a hypothesis that we can solve this - let's see!

At the end of the evening you are asked to Pay What You Want with cash or card. 5€ would make me smile. 10€ would feel great.