The Bear presents
in collaboration with Pfefferberg Haus 13, Moving-Speaker.com, KCRW Berlin & Goethe-Institut Washington
BAD MISTAKES
make GOOD STORIES
JUNE 19, 2020; 8 PM CEST
“So many roads. So many detours. So many choices. So many mistakes.”
― Sarah Jessica Parker
For the end of season 5 the Favorite Storytellers of the season perform “live” on stage at the Pfefferwerk Haus 13 in Berlin, Gemany – we invite you to join us from around the world via Zoom.
Grab a drink, a snack, or a blanket and join us for an evening of true, stories, told live from Berlin. For this international audience, stories will be told in English.
"Incredibly inspiring, moving, funny, delightful evening."
– Khushi Pasquale, storyteller
Join us and celebrate our 50th show of “True Stories, Erzähltes Leben” live in Berlin
Photo credit: Felix Limmer
Friday, June 19th
in Your Home via Zoom
7:45pm Virtual doors open
8:00pm Stories begin (CEST)
Instead of ticket fees we kindly ask you for a voluntary donation.
(suggested donation: 9€)
Show host: Dyane Neiman
Music: Illay Chester
BONUS:
Premiere of "The Bear Song": composer Cassis B. Staudt;
Eve of the Champs is made possible by the generous performances of our storytellers, our team of volunteers, and with our partners: Pfefferwerk Stadtkultur, Moving-Speaker.com, KCRW Berlin, and Goethe-Institut, Washington, D.C.
“Bad Mistakes Make Good Stories” marks the kickoff of “Fehler” – the Goethe-Institut's yearlong celebration of mistakes and their innovative power. This online compilation features perspectives from Germany, Canada, the US and India. Coming July 2020 to goethe.de/mistakes
Evening of the champs Season 5
THE STORYTELLERS
Allia (A.E.) Sadeghipour
"When I was a little girl, a spirit followed me to Las Vegas. Running alongside the moving truck, it's legs twisting into wings, it howled, 'Write damn you!'"
I am, first and foremost, have and will always be, a teacher. Born in Ohio, my parents moved to my father’s home country of Iran where Farsi became my mother tongue. A few years later, we moved back to the United States and eventually settled in the suburban ranch town of Temecula. Surrounded by untamed deserts, Christian conservatism, and intense boredom, I dove into creative mediums developing my passion for writing and learning. As English is my second language, my struggles in school fueled me to become a teacher in my most difficult subject: English. My pursuance of my teaching career made me many things: resilient, adventurous, passionate, an educator, an advocate, a philosopher, and, most importantly, a storyteller. Teachers do more than lecture at podiums, they invest in people through lessons, and some of the best lessons are taught through stories. Stories are the harbingers of truth and connect communities. Stories unite people through empathy, understanding, and humor. Stories are life’s lessons and I will never stop telling them, because I am a teacher and that’s my job.
I am doodling Iranian-American with a Surrealist outlook. I co-parent the Women Writing Berlin Lab (WWBL), co-founded the Berlin Diaspora Society, and teach workshops for GLADT, WWBL, and the Feminist Film Week. I won the Sherry Debrowski Prize for Best Feminist Multi-Genre Fiction writer in 2009. Since then, my work has been featured in: The Bear: October's Favorite Storyteller (2018), KCRW's "Holiday Storytelling Special" (2018), The V Series Poetry Anthology (2019), Berlin Untelevised (2019), Coven: Lymph (2019), Venus: Revolution (2019), What's Afghan Punk Rock Anyway?! (2019), The Ghosts of Berlin: Der Geister von Berlin (2019), Literarische Diverse (2019), Asymptote Journal (2020) and much more.
Welcome to her strange little world: www.awerfjil.com. Instagram @A. E. Sadeghipour
Allia’s Story “Xhog shodee? Learning to Accept Well-Roundedness”
Allia on stage at The Bear; Photo courtesy of Martin Bering
Allia on stage at The Bear; Photo courtesy of Francesca Ferrauto.
Nelson Farber
Nelson on stage at The Bear; photo courtesy of: Martin Bering.
Nelson Farber is a die-hard New Yorker who now calls Berlin home. After spending many years in law, he decided to pursue a creative career in film and television, in which he works as a writer, director, producer, television journalist and actor. His work regularly appears on Germany's top science and culture television slots, including Aspekte/Zdf, Kulturseit/3sat and Nano/3sat. Nelson, together with his wife and creative partner Christine Daum-Farber, were nominated for the prestigious LiteraVision 2014 award for best German television piece about a work of literature, for their Aspekte segment on Nicholson Baker's 'House of Holes.'
Nelson is a co-founder of 'Directors Collective' in New York City – an ongoing collaborative exchange between filmmakers that includes workshops with directors and actors. His film 'Final Position' recently was shown at the 2020 edition of The Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, and he is also pleased to be premiering his medium length narrative 'Song of Solomon.'
He loves telling stories at 'The Bear' and is delighted to participate in this special event..
Nelson’s story: "Show Me the Way"
Fabienne Lang
Growing up in vibrant Hong Kong to Scottish and Mauritian parents, diversity and internationalism have always been a part of Fabienne's life. Since before she could walk or talk, Fabienne was lucky enough to travel extensively, mostly across luscious Asia but also further afield to Europe, Africa, and to North and South America. Travelling and movement are in her blood. Throughout her travels, you could always find Fabienne with a book, a pen and a notepad, doodling away her thoughts onto paper or enraptured in a fictitious tale.
As of 2018, Fabienne decided to combine her passions for travelling and writing and became a freelance journalist in her most recent abode, Berlin. It delights her to bring the world to her readers. Alongside words and international discoveries, languages are an integral part of Fabienne's life. As a native English and French speaker with fluent Spanish, conversational Mandarin, Swedish and German, she also translates and tutors.
Nothing beats being able to intimately communicate and create a link with people from all around the globe.
This is precisely what she aims to create through her various approaches of storytelling.
Fabienne’s story: "Baa Baa Black Bear"
Fabienne on stage at The Bear; Photo courtesy of Martin Bering.
Fabienne Lang; Photo private.
James Harper
James has been telling stories since he was a small boy in Sydney, Australia and now creates Filter Stories, an award-nominated documentary podcast that reveals the untold stories hidden in our cups of coffee.
When Corona isn’t running rampant, James travels to coffee producing countries and helps others tell their stories, shining a light on the darker corner of our coffee supply chain.
But, for the Bear Storytelling evening, for once he will be telling a very personal story about himself, a story that has nothing to do with coffee."
You can listen to his podcast Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries: the untold stories hidden in your cup of coffee here
James’ story: “Heartbreak on the Mekong”
Denise on stage at The Bear, Maschinenhaus im Kulturbrauerei; Photo: Felix Limmer.
Denise Banks-Grasedyck
has a BA in Management and Technology, as well as an MBA. She is still wondering why. After two decades in the corporate world, Denise shifted her focus to her passion for helping people develop into their full potential. As an executive coach, trainer and speaker she is committed to being a servant leader.
Intuitive + Analytical + Observative + Critical + (sometimes) Poetic = a storyteller who studies life and delivers impactful messages in short bursts of fleeting clarity. Note: Mathematical is in no way part of the equation, which is why Denise is closer to a modern day natural philosopher than a scientist.
Denise believes in God, science, and the power of words. She is a lover of justice, equity, people and oat milk latte – not necessarily in that order.
She has a theory …
Denise’s story: "Is It My Turn?"
Raj Kumar
Raj’s story: "Just breathe and chant"
Raj on stage at The Bear; Photo courtesy of Francesca Farrauto.
Renko Pauwels
Renko on stage at The Bear; photo courtesy of Francesca Ferrauto
Renko is a Berlin-based Belgian working in the software industry by day and a communication aficionado by, well, the other part of the day I guess?
He has been on the stage from TEDx to the circus. He is an award-winning speaker, past president of public speaking club "Mercury Toastmasters" and founder of social speakers, an organization focused on helping leaders in non-profit and charity activate their communities through public speaking - https://www.social-speakers.com.
He sees himself as a speaker, a host and an enabler.
But his stories at The Bear most often show him as a bit of an idiot.
Renko’s story: " Swimming upstream in stagnant water"
Annie Voigt
I asked myself “What is a bio“ and found the following answer tucked between the recesses of my brain: “That thing people read when they’re bored during the intermission, or possibly even while the actual performance of the Event-They-Were-Given-Flyer-With-Said-Bio-To is still going on.” In keeping with this long-winded definition, and it’s resultant absurdity of existence, one shouldn’t assume that I would attempt to indulge your bored-state of mind with some info-tainment regarding my life. I couldn’t be bothered, really.
So I asked my friends to do it.
“Blissfully nuts!” ~ Denis A., who I met during a neuroscience workshop. I introduced myself by managing to sneak in “I went on a bike ride from Berlin to the Nordkapp” into the second sentence I said to him. How? I made him ask me about my last holiday, and he took the bait like a frigging pro. He then proceeded to google “north cup”. We’re dating now.
“A comprehensive companion I would recommend to anyone interested in openness, kindness, curiosity and tenacity.” ~ Mario V., who I met on a fellow climbing/bouldering buddy’s flat party. When we were asked why we were acting so chummy together, we proceeded to make up an Entirely Fake Life Story, where we had met in Johannesburg, South Africa when we were just kids, meeting up in dark alleys to skate together. In a very non-fake way, he’s now one of my closest friends. True News.
“Fast-paced, thrilling and superbly refreshing!” ~ Felix K., who, every time we meet up for coffee (my not-so-secret addiction) during lab work breaks, or post-lab hours, will say “There is no way you’ve got another crazy story to tell this time, less than a week has passed since we’ve last spoken!” and let’s put it this way, I’ve always managed to prove him wrong. He’s definitely one of the best discoveries I made during my time studying diabetes in Australia.
Comic Artist for @BotsAndBrainz and Travel Writer as @TheBotBeyondTheBrainz on Instagram. Check it out, in case you're still bored, and the intermission/my performance hasn't ended yet."
Annie’s story: "What If"
Annie on stage at The Bear; Photo: Felix Limmer
Annie on stage at The Bear; Photo: Felix Limmer
Mike Trupiano
Mike on stage at The Bear; Photo courtesy of Martin Bering.
I hail from the USA Heartland and have performed comedy improvisation and standup in Chicago and New York City. Besides being a storyteller, I'm an actor, film narrator & dubber and audiobook creator. I coach those who want to make their presentations funnier.
My performer website: www.crewunited.com
And I absolutely love the new Bear theme song.
Mike’s story: “Scratch”
Galuh Rohmah
Galuh is originally from Indonesia and has been enjoying her discovery of first world problems in Berlin since she arrived 5 years ago.
The Bear is the first storytelling stage where she performed, but she tells interesting stories on a daily basis to her old cat Shisha when she is not traveling. She shared stories from young people on Instagram @tellmeaboutproject and surely by now you would have realised that she is not good at writing about herself.
Galuh’s Story: “When I Grow Up”
Galuh Rohmah; private photo.
Friederike Galland
Multi-time European Rhetoric Champion, Vice European Champion, former member of the Berlin House of Representatives, passionate communication trainer and coach for over 20 years.
When I am not busy with seminars, giving speeches or coaching, I get involved with Toastmasters International, cooking, reading, meeting friends or working in the garden.
https://topgunspeaking.com/
Friederike’s Story: “Oh My!”
Friederike Galland
Music at The Bear
Illay on stage at The Bear; Photos: Felix Limmer.
Illay Chester
Originally from Tel Aviv, she has been based in Berlin since 2013. Her multi- cultural upbringing by a Libyan-Jewish mother and an Australian-German father helped shape her appreciation for a variety of music. After discovering her love of the cello as child, she continued to experiment with her musical style, incorporating different genres and an ever-widening range of instruments.
ILLAY's energetic personality and innovative style has led to her supporting German singer-songwriter Astrid North and forming and touring with the electroacoustic trio MOJOY. ILLAY also composes music for dance performances and film soundtracks, including the award-winning Israeli documentary Winding.
https://www.illaymusic.com
Cassis B Staudt
Composer Cassis B has studied music at the Hamburg State University and at the Juilliard University in New York City (film music/orchestration).
Working for director Jim Jarmusch brought her to New York City. She won a Golden Palm at the Cannes International Film Festival for being one of the producers of the Iggy Pop and Tom Waits segment ‘Coffee and Cigarettes’.
Cassis’ band b-blush featuring the esteemed drummer David Cossin (YoYo Ma/Bang on a Can Allstars), performed for over 10 years in New York featuring Cassis' song compositions. In 2004 one of her ideas lead to the Oscar nominated film ‘Ferry Tales’ with a specially composed theme song by Cassis.
For the feature ‘About A Girl’, film music composer Cassis founded an eponymous band with the legendary bass player Herbie Flowers (‘Walk on the Wild Side’/David Bowie) who hired her for eight years to teach songwriting at his Rock Shop (music workshops in England), along with other musicians like Chris Spedding (Roxy Music).
Cassis portrait; Photo Sandra Buschow / sanstories.com
Cassis’ DJ project ‘scratch ‘N sniff’ was presented in Bangalore at the conference ‘Doors East’. With her own band as well as a band member of Michael Gira’s ‘The Angels of Light’ Cassis toured extensively Europe, Northern America and Mexico.
Three years ago Cassis composed her first orchestral filmmusic symphony which premiered in Berlin.
"Dare to live. Cassis is always on the move like the beats that dance in her midi-accordion, bonbon-pop with a slide taste of sweet-salty licorice..."
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Cassis on stage at The Bear with Alexander Dorenberg, from her band Beauty And The Bs.
The Bear Team
Dyane Neiman
Founder & director of The Bear. true stories. erzaehltes leben; Eve of the Champs show host.
Dyane is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has become the most German-like American you’ll ever meet. The former theater director and choreographer once told stories with moving bodies, now she creates with moving words.
By day, Dyane works as a speaker coach with her business Moving Speaker. And every third Friday evening, – she hosts, charms, persuades and twist sarms so that Berliners will take the stage and share their stories.
“I believe stories help us find meaning out of this chaos called life.”
Say hello: dyane@thebear-storytelling.de
Dyane on stage at The Bear: Photo courtesy of Martin Bering.
Hanna Martus
Chief Shepherd at The Bear steering strategy and design.
As a trained designer Hanna is sort of a visual storyteller. Focusing on where design and healthcare meet, she is passionate about improving patient experiences with her company BEWUSST-SIGN.
“Stories make us feel connected and understood in unexpected ways. They make us take time to really listen and be open for empathy – values that we’re often missing as a society right now.”
Say hello: hanna@thebear-storytelling.de
Hanna behind the stage at The Bear.
Michael Rost
Chief Wizard at The Bear; also Story Coach, Videographer, Problem-Solver.
Michael is a native of Bremen, who fell in love with Berlin and its stories a long time ago. He turned his passion into a profession, and when he is not on stage at The Bear, he is making stones talk as he fascinates people about Berlin in his tour guide business Berlin Erkundungen.
Say hello: michael@thebear-storytelling.de
Michael on stage at The Bear.
MARTIN BERING
Favorite Storyteller and Eve of the Champs photographer.
Martiin on stage at The Bear; Photo: Felix LImmer.
The Bear’s Partners for Eve of the Champs 2020
Eve of the Champs is made possible by the generous performances of our storytellers, our team of volunteers, and with our partners: Pfefferwerk Stadtkultur, Moving-Speaker.com, KCRW Berlin, and Goethe-Institut, Washington, D.C.
