So I did my live reading of The Body Snatcher at Geeky Teas yesterday, and I felt great about it.
At the beginning of the show, I asked the audience how many of them were subscribed to my podcast, and only four or five people raised their hands, out of about 60 people in the room. As a podcaster, I would love for that number to be, like, ten times that, but as a guy who wondered if anyone would show up to watch him read a Victorian horror story, I was thrilled.
I know that it’s a big ask to come see me read a story that’s over 150 years old, especially if you don’t know me as a reader and storyteller, so the fact that all these people showed up for me, well … that’s really cool.
I told them at the top of the show that I genuinely did not know how it was going to go, that they could be at the very beginning of something I do for a long time, or they could be at the opening night and closing performance of a very bad idea. Either way, I promised, it would be a memorable experience.
Friends, can I tell you how wonderfully surprising it was to feel the entire house connected to me and the story for the entire time? This is a dense story, the writing is challenging, and I knew I had a lot of work to do, to bring it to a contemporary audience in a way that was accessible while remaining true to the material. I was just overjoyed to feel the audience was with me the entire way, a lot of them connected enough to laugh at the very subtle, very dry humor that shows up briefly in the third act.
As a proof of concept, as an answer to the question, “Will an audience show up for me, and can I entertain that audience with a story?” This was an unmitigated success. I am definitely going to do this again, with a modern story from a contemporary writer.
While everything inside the house went well, I did have a complete technical failure on my stream to Patreon, and I still don’t know why. With about 20 minutes left in the reading, my laptop just went to sleep for no obvious reason, and it took the livestream down with it. I couldn’t exactly stop in the middle of the show to troubleshoot it, so if you were watching, I am so sorry it shit the bed. As a fun bonus for me, the local recording failed right alongside the remote recording, too.
So that sucked, and the next time I attempt to livestream something like this, I’m going to get someone else to handle all of it for me, so this doesn’t happen again.
Finally, on a very personal note, this entire experience was deeply meaningful to me. From the moment I had the idea to do a live show like this, all the way through doing the entire show, I never once doubted myself, felt like an imposter, heard Carrie’s mom screaming “they’re all gonna laugh at you!” or anything like that. I felt excited to get up in front of an audience, and entertain them for about an hour. I felt excited to do this thing that I sincerely and genuinely feel good about, this thing that I absolutely own as an artist, this thing that I have worked hard to master, that I believe I am pretty good at doing.
It’s always been a challenge for me to embrace the joy and or have any sense of deep satisfaction in my creative work, but all the work I’ve done to overcome and heal so much trauma seems to be working, and I have time and space to feel confident and secure in my creative self.
For maybe the first time, ever, I don’t feel like I need to make myself small, or beg for permission to make the art I care about, and if that feeling persists … well, I am so excited to let it fill my cup until it overflows with creative ideas. Maybe I’ll even find my own story to write in there, somewhere.
Hi, I’m Wil. I’m so happy that you’re here. This is my blog. I host It’s Storytime With Wil Wheaton. If you’d like to have my posts delivered directly to your inbox, here is the thingy:
Discover more from WIL WHEATON dot NET
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Bravo! (Standing slow clap) ๐
How exciting, that your live reading worked so well! I feel happy with you.warm regards from Germany, Birgit
The space you make with your creative self is where other people can find their creative selves, too. So glad youโre enjoying your work and canโt wait to see more of it! :))
So happy to hear it was a positive experience for you!!
I am so happy for you that you are making art you care about, and that you are enjoying making that art and that you finally feel secure enough in the skills you’ve honed over your career to feel good about it. <3
So glad your event was successful and that you’re encouraged to do another! Perhaps down the road you’ll take these on the road? Specifically AZ ๐ As a way-back listener to Radio Free Burrito I’ve always enjoyed your pods and now the readings on Storytime too. Thanks Wil!
I am so happy for you!! Both that it went well and that you feel confident and good and solid about doing something that brings you joy! That is one of the top 5 best possible things that can happen to a human being, and I’m so glad it happened to you after all the hard work you have done to get to the place that made it possible.
I have been out of the loop for so long that I didn’t realize you’d started podcasting again. I still routinely randomly quote RFB (mostly to myself, sometimes to my partner, Ted). Wil, your live reading will always draw and captivate a crowd. You have always been a captivating performer, especially when performing prose. I’m sorry I missed it yesterday.
I am so, SO stoked that “Prove to Everyone”/Carrie’s mom/whatever we call that voice in our head that lies to us but we sometimes listen to anyway didn’t show their face. You’ve worked so hard and deserve to be excited for your work. I’m always so excited for you.
I need to get back in the loop! Looking forward to the next one.
Cheers,
andie k
Wil…were you able to see the comments on the livestream? Nobody was pitching when it dropped out; most were worrying you’d be disappointed for us, and we were worried for you ๐ Looking forward to the next one!
Oh, that’s so sweet. Thanks for telling me that, I didn’t know.
I just read this after sending my message, and I can vouch that Libby is telling the truth, because actually, we were more worried about you than about hearing the end of the story! If I remember correctly, Libby said you were probably going to feel bad when you realized the Patreon stream cut out, but that you’d be able to power through the live reading because you’re a total pro. And I know she was right! Reading her comment actually calmed my anxiety down, haha. Anyway, I’ll tell you more about what happened in the message I sent you here earlier.
A hug, Wil! We love you!๐
๐หหณยทห ึดึถึธ โ๐ทอโ ึดึถึธหยทหณห๐ ึดึถึธ
I am sorry but I really do miss you as I enjoy interacting with you directly so can you please finally respond to me directly Wil?
Always rooting for you Wil!
I am so happy this turned out so well. Congratulations!
I am sorry as I do not mean to make you mad but is everything ok as I have not heard from you in a while and I miss hearing from you so I need to know if whether or not everything is ok Wil?
Excited to hear youโll be doing it again!
also, can confirm live storytelling is a TON of fun (says the elementary school librarian who does this multiple times a week!)
Such a charming and exciting celebration of live storytelling! Reading about how wonderful it felt to step into your creative power without a trace of self-doubt is just the best thing ever. Wonderful post Wil! ๐
Glad the event was so good ๐
Glad it went well (other than the recording). It sounds like the first step of a journey, and I’m excited for you for that.
Hi WIL!!
I’m so glad to know you felt comfortable and happy narrating. It’s a pity I got too confident and didn’t record the stream on my own like I did at the WheatConsโall I have left is the screenshot I posted on Threads, but I want you to know that those of us on Patreon really enjoyed the reading, and we were all so happy to see you that no one blamed you for the stream cutting out. On the contrary, we were all talking about how much we loved listening to you, and one person even said theyโd listen to you narrate the phone book! Haha.
We were also joking that you appreciate your Patreon subscribers so much that if you could, you’d literally come to our houses to narrate stories to us! Can you imagine? Us about to go to sleep, and you sitting right there reading us a book? That would be so cool!!
It’s a shame all of that was lost! You would have loved reading it, though I guess since we were chatting off-stream I don’t know if it would have recorded anyway, I don’t think so.
As for me, I was literally begging that you wouldn’t notice the stream cutting out until you finished narrating, because I didn’t want you to get nervous or anxious.
Now I’ll eagerly wait for the November 10th AMA!! And it’s great that it’ll be exclusive for Patreon folks! Because I like exclusivity… well, exclusivity with a few hundred other people who are in there too, hahahaha.
๐หหณยทห ึดึถึธ โ๐ทอโ ึดึถึธหยทหณห๐ ึดึถึธ
You might laugh, but I don’t remember if I sent this message or not, hahaha. I hope it doesn’t end up duplicated (I write them in the translator first and then send them)!
Hi WIL!!
I’m so glad to know you felt comfortable and happy narrating. It’s a pity I got too confident and didn’t record the stream on my own like I did at the WheatConsโall I have left is the screenshot I posted on Threads, but I want you to know that those of us on Patreon really enjoyed the reading, and we were all so happy to see you that no one blamed you for the stream cutting out. On the contrary, we were all talking about how much we loved listening to you, and one person even said theyโd listen to you narrate the phone book! Haha.
We were also joking that you appreciate your Patreon subscribers so much that if you could, you’d literally come to our houses to narrate stories to us! Can you imagine? Us about to go to sleep, and you sitting right there reading us a book? That would be so cool!!
It’s a shame all of that was lost! You would have loved reading it, though I guess since we were chatting off-stream I don’t know if it would have recorded anyway, I don’t think so.
As for me, I was literally begging that you wouldn’t notice the stream cutting out until you finished narrating, because I didn’t want you to get nervous or anxious.
Now I’ll eagerly wait for the November 10th AMA!! And it’s great that it’ll be exclusive for Patreon folks! Because I like exclusivity… well, exclusivity with a few hundred other people who are in there too, hahahaha.
๐หหณยทห ึดึถึธ โ๐ทอโ ึดึถึธหยทหณห๐ ึดึถึธ
I didn’t know you had a podcast. I love listening to Lavar read to me because I’m a Reading Rainbow kud/adult. I will add your podcast to my list.
Please come up the coast and do a reading in San Luis Obispo sometime! ๐คฉ