No, YOU Tell It!

This special show was inspired by the Queens Name Explorer, an interactive digital map developed by Queens Memory that illuminates the historical significance behind the people’s names that grace public spaces across the borough. Story partners Francisco Delgado and Ari Figueroa. Photo credit: Sachyn Mital. Give a listen as our second set of storytellers step into the map to explore “My Place” in Queens. Special thanks to the Greater Astoria Historical Society for their assistance in creating the generative “My Place in Queens” workshop, where these stories first began. Stories Take a Walk With Me, by Ari Figueroa, performed by Francisco Delgado, and directed by KJ Fitzsimmons Ashes and Stars, by Francisco Delgado, performed by Ari Figueroa, and directed by KJ Fitzsimmons Bios Francisco Delgado is a CHamoru writer of fiction, poetry, and literary scholarship on contemporary Native American and Indigenous literatures. His novella, On Remembering My Friends, My First Job, and My Second-Favorite Weezer CD, won the 2024 Clay Reynold’s Novella Prize and is published with Texas Review Press. Other recent work is featured in Mānoa and Poets of Queens, vol. 2. He teaches at BMCC (CUNY) and lives in Forest Hills with his wife and their son. Carnie, librarian, drag queen, and teacher—these are just some of the faces Ari Figueroa has worn. But throughout their life, whether growing up in Massachusetts or evolving in New York, they have always been a writer. Everything they make, including poetry, short stories, & plays, is with the intent of connection. Ari is currently working on their first fantasy-humor novel and is always looking for more opportunities to create. They’d like to thank their fiancée Aria and their bestie Jesse, who have both been incredibly supportive but also invaluable sounding boards for Ari’s work. Thank you to Kelly Jean and No, YOU Tell It! for this new chance to share their stories. *** This project is supported by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Flushing Town Hall. This organization is funded in part by the Howard Gilman Foundation administered by Flushing Town Hall.

Give a listen to the second half of our first-ever student matinee, performed at the beautiful Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space on March 13, 2025. Listen to Part 1 here. The fantastic Najah Imani Muhammad hosted the show for a theater full of high school juniors from Global Learning Collaborative and Talent Unlimited High School to help inspire the personal stories they want to tell in their college application essays. Story partners Carl M. Banks and Nicole Greevy embodied the low and high notes of each other’s musical true tales, captivating our student audience with both story and song. Thank you to NYSCA-A.R.T./New York Creative Opportunity Fund (A Statewide Theatre Regrant Program) for helping us make our first-ever student matinee a reality. Here’s to what we hope is the first of many! Photo credit: Russ Rowland Podcast narrated by Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons. Stories “Carl’s Lucky Dollar,” by Carl M. Banks, performed by Nicole Greevy, and directed by KJ Fitzsimmons. “Of Axes and Tree Surgeons,” by Nicole Greevy, performed by Carl M. Banks, and directed by KJ Fitzsimmons. Bios Carl M. Banks is a troubadour and musical nomad. Born in the heartland of Saint Louis, Missouri, he found his rhythm in the bustling streets of New York City, now calling Astoria, Queens, his home. Traversing the country as a touring singer-songwriter, his lyrics and melodies echo the highs and lows of the American landscape while his stories touch on personal and profound narratives. He has been featured on The Moth Radio Hour and WFUV’s local artist spotlight, “New York Slice.” Carl is also an ultra-marathon runner and co-creator of Queens-based “Bridge and a Slice Half Marathon” and “HotDog Eater 50 kilometer.” Nicole Greevy is a playwright and actor and is thrilled to be returning to No, YOU Tell It! You can read one of her previous pieces, “Nerd: The Next Generation,” in the No, YOU Tell It! Ten-Year Anthology. She is a New York State Council of the Arts 2025 grant recipient for playwriting. If you love her dulcet tones today, you can hear her as Sheriff Rowland, and many others, on the award-winning fiction podcast Uncanny County, where she contributes as both performer and writer.

It is fitting that this heartfelt story swap, inspired by the life and music of Astoria legend Tony Bennett, includes our first live musical performance. Give a listen as story coach Tim Lindner gets to know a little bit more about our two storytellers before they step into each other true tales in the second half of our “Left My Heart” show performed at Grove 34 on June 5, 2024. Full program here. Content notice: These stories are true, traded with open hearts, and this half of the show contains a depiction of suicide. If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. You can learn more about suicide from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at afsp.org. Carl M. Banks and Zach Rothman-Hicks Read about how engaging with Tony Bennet’s music and history from the Greater Astoria Historical Society archives inspired the storyteller’s modern-day true tales. The ART HEART portraits will be on display during the show, along with other surprises. Stories HEAD, HEART, and SAN FRAN, by Zach Rothman-Hicks, performed by Carl M. Banks THE HOUSE WHERE NOBODY LIVES, by Carl M. Banks, performed by Zach Rothman-Hicks Storyteller Bios Zach Rothman-Hicks is an educator and multimedia conceptual artist who creates interactive performances and projects intended to spark reflection, dialogue, and action. He has been a New York City Public School teacher since September 2009 and an Adjunct Lecturer at Hunter College since 2012 and Queens College since 2022. In April 2020, while a student in the PIMA MFA Program at Brooklyn College, he initiated Gabbing with Gays, a project that explored Emotional Intimacy in the LGBTQIA+ community. This project inspired future interactive art pieces, which were presented at the Staten Island Museum, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, the Newhouse Center, Alice Austen House, Easton Mountain, Queens Public Library, Hunters Point Park Conservancy, Chashama, Culture Lab, and the 14th Street Y. Carl M. Banks is a troubadour and musical nomad. Born in the heartland of Saint Louis, Missouri, he found his rhythm in the bustling streets of New York City, now calling Astoria, Queens, his home. Traversing the country as a touring singer-songwriter, his lyrics and melodies echo the highs and lows of the American landscape while his stories touch on personal and profound narratives. He has been featured on The Moth Radio Hour and on WFUV’s local artist spotlight, “New York Slice.” Carl is also an ultra-marathon runner and co-creator of Queens-based “Bridge and a Slice Half Marathon” and “HotDog Eater 50 kilometer.”

After the main arch was completed, a writer for the New York Tribune said: Perhaps never in human history has a mechanical triumph of such magnitude been launched with so little fanfare. In the second half of our Hell Gate show, founding member and story director Erika Iverson interviews the authors before their story partners take the stage so that we can learn more about them and the inspiration for their true tales, the history of the Hell Gate Bridge from the Greater Astoria Historical Society archives. Listen to Part 1 here. Story Partners Alicia Lieu and A. King McCarty Featured Stories THE BRIDGE TO THE BRIDGE, by Alicia Lieu, performed by A. King McCarty, and directed by KJ Fitzsimmons UNDER THE HELL GATE, by A. King McCarty, performed by Alicia Lieu, and directed by Erika Iverson Bios Alicia Lieu, Jackson Heights/Elmhurst based composer/conductor hails from San Jose, California. As a composer, she has been awarded grants from QCA and City Artist Corps. She is the creator of Dance-it-Yourself Nutcracker and co-founder of nonprofits Composers Collective, Pitches Brew, and New York Conducting Institute. She spent two years living abroad in Shanghai, China, before moving to NYC and conducting has taken her to Russia, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic. She earned her B.A. in Music Composition from UC Santa Barbara, M.M. in Composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and M.M. in Orchestral Conducting from UT El Paso. A. King McCarty (Ashley King) is an artist, writer, actor, musician and founder of Artstoria New York with her husband and fellow creator, Graham McCarty. She is a two-time recipient of the Queens Community Art Grant and an Art Hotel resident artist. She lives near the Hell Gate Bridge with her husband, son and lots of plants and comic books. Visit her on Instagram at @artstoriany and @akingmccarty *** THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2024 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT The Greater Astoria Historical Society is the place to learn and celebrate Long Island City and its neighborhoods. Learn more at astorialic.org. This project is supported by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Flushing Town Hall. No, YOU Tell It! “Hell Gate” is made possible (in part) with public funds from the Queens Arts Fund, a re-grant program supported by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts.

Kicking off part 2 of our “Fly By” show, host Ellie Dvorkin Dunn shares some fun facts about teenage pilot Elinor Smith before we hear the second set of true tales inspired by the story of “The Flying Flapper” from the archives of the Greater Astoria Historical Society. No, YOU Tell It! “Fly By” was on September 28, 2023, at Grove 34 in Astoria. Podcast introduction by Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons and features: Like Me or Not by Ben Katzner, performed by Briana McDonald, directed by Erika Iverson Macarons by Briana McDonald, performed by Ben Katzner, directed by Erika Iverson Story partners Ben Katzner and Briana McDonald at Grove 34 in Astoria. Want a copy of Ben or Briana’s middle-grade books? Grab your copy and share it with the young readers in your life. The Secrets of Stone Creek and more by Briana McDonald Hello My Name is Poop by Ben Katzner Donate here to support No, YOU Tell It!, and we’ll send you an electronic copy of Annie Shi’s zine, “The Flying Flapper,” that we gave out to the audience at the show so you can learn more about Elinor Smith and her historic 1928 flight under not one but four East River bridges – Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg … and Queensboro!   SPECIAL THANKS No, YOU Tell It! “Fly By” was an OFFICIAL 2023 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT. The Greater Astoria Historical Society is the place to learn and celebrate Long Island City and its neighborhoods. Learn more at astorialic.org. This project is supported by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Flushing Town Hall. This project is made possible (in part) with public funds from the Queens Arts Fund, a re-grant program supported by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts.  

Did you know that two 16-foot-tall stainless-steel statues once stood atop the Astoria Pool locker rooms? Or that thousands of visitors to the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens signed a book that was included in the Westinghouse Time Capsule designed to endure for 5,000 years? Learn more about the storytellers and the Queens history from the archives of The Greater Astoria Historical Society that inspired this story swap from the second half of our “Here & Gone” show hosted by Ellie Dvorkin Dunn. My Book About Water by Olena Jennings, performed by Rosalie Chandler *Peace Through Understanding by Rosalie Chandler, performed by Olena Jennings *As Ellie noted during the show, we want to let you know that the latter story contains themes related to sexual assault. Left to right: Story partners Olena Jennings, Rosalie Chander, and host Ellie Dvorkin Dunn. Photo: Sachyn Mital Stories directed by Erika Iverson. Plus, a special shoutout to Broadway Silk in Astoria! Congratulations to Olena for receiving a Pushcart Prize for her translation with Oksana Lutsyshyna of Kateryna Kalytko’s collection Nobody Knows Us Here, and We Don’t Know Anyone from Lost Horse Press. Learn more about the Queens history highlights below. The narratives were written by storyteller Rosalie Chandler with special insights from Bob Singleton of The Greater Astoria Historical Society. Westinghouse Time Capsule North Beach Astoria Pool Sentinels The First Photocopy These four highlights also inspired the Queens “Here & Gone” artwork by Yelena Tylkina. ** Special thanks to Rosalie Chandler, Bob Singleton, and Ava Vitali for helping us create these Queens “Here & Gone” highlights. The Greater Astoria Historical Society is the place to learn and celebrate Long Island City and its neighborhoods. Learn more at astorialic.org. This project is supported by funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, Statewide Community Regrants Program (formerly the Decentralization program) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and administered by Flushing Town Hall. This project is made possible (in part) with public funds from the Queens Arts Fund, a re-grant program supported by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by New York Foundation for the Arts.

Celebrating 10 years of No, YOU Tell It!, the second half of our “Punch Up” show starts with the story of a waitress getting a visit from a former co-worker who looks happier and healthier than seems possible. Trying to match her glow-up, she seeks out the same Shaman but finds the visit … less than inspiring. Enjoy “Shaman Says,” Written by Jenn Wehrung and performed by Aida Zilelian. You can also WATCH the full show live-streamed from Culture Lab, LIC. Or, watch “Punch Up,” and other past shows on the NYTI YouTube channel. Switching it up, our final story also starts in a bar, where an old frenemy creeps back into every corner of the narrator’s life, causing her to reflect on why some friends are better left in the past. “One Final Lesson” was written by Aida Zilelian and performed by Jenn Wehrung. Top left: Jenn Wehrung; Top right: Story partners Aida Zilelian and Jenn Wehrung; Bottom left: Ellie Dvorkin Dunn and Jenn Wehrun; Bottom right: Aida Zilelian This story swap was directed by our wonderful guest host for the evening, Ellie Dvorkin Dunn. Returning as a Bookend Event for the Brooklyn Book Festival, our “Punch Up” show also celebrated the release of the No, YOU Tell It! Ten-Year Anthology from Palm Circle Press. Here’s how to check out ALL THE THINGS: Click here for the full “Punch Up” Program. Follow @noyoutellit on Insta for upcoming fun. Don’t forget to check out Ellie’s fabulous podcast Circling the Drain, to have fun learning about all things perimenopause. (Who knew?)

In anticipation of our forthcoming ten-year anthology from Palm Circle Press, we are flashing back to 2014 when we participated in The Brick’s Comic Book Theater Festival in Brooklyn. For this show, we tried something new. Usually, we give our storytellers a theme to inspire their true tales. This time, we only provided the theme “Legacy” to comic artist Sha-Née Williams and asked her to interpret it into a visual prompt. Then we gave this image to our storytellers without the word “Legacy” or any further context. After they completed their first drafts, Sha-Née joined our story meetings and drew unique illustrations for each of their true tales. In spite of the fact that we didn’t share the theme, our storytellers ended up thinking about the personal legacies we leave behind. Give a listen to the results and don’t forget to follow us on Insta @noyoutellit to check out more of Sha-Née’s “Legacy” artwork Top left: Sha-Née Williams and Nicole Greevy with “Nerd: The Next Generation” artwork. Bottom left: Sha-Née’s “Legacy” image. Bottom right: E. James Ford with “League of Absence” artwork by Sha-Née Williams.   Stories were performed live on June 8th, 2014 at The Brick: “League of Absence” written by E. James Ford and performed by Nicole Greevy. “Nerd: The Next Generation” written by Nicole Greevy and performed by E. James Ford.  

Our first story reminds us that a two-week middle school love is the equivalent of several lifetimes of adoration, and when our hero’s girlfriend slips him a break-up note, they all come crashing in. In celebration of 10 Years of No, YOU Tell It! enjoy this 2013 throwback swap of “You’ve Been Noted,” written by Justin Klose and performed by Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons. Click here to listen to the other half of the evening in Episode 30. Original Artwork by Allison Gazdik Our second story takes us on the road with Shakespeare & Company’s spring tour of Hamlet, where, backstage, Ophelia befriends the infamous skull prop to vent her frustrations, share her loneliness, and reveal her secret escapades. Switching it up here’s “Alas, Poor Bob!” written by Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons and performed by Justin Klose. You can also give “Alas, Poor Bob!” a read in Hypertext Magazine! Artist Allison Gazdik designed the original artwork for our “Noted” show, which was performed live at Jimmy’s No 43 on June 3rd, 2013, and here is what she had to say about the theme and how she devised this fantastic image: The idea behind this piece for the “noted” theme was one of lessons learned. The first image that came into my head was of someone in the rain, as some of our most valuable lessons come from painful experiences. The well-known quote people usually think of is “that which does not kill us makes us stronger” by Friedrich Nietzsche. I wanted to take a colorful and slightly humorous approach to the idea by depicting a gray Nietzsche under a rain of colors, a fitting blend of optimism and pessimism towards life’s lessons.

This Sunday, May 8th, marks the 10-year anniversary of No, YOU Tell It! Left to right: Erika Iverson, Jorge Cordova, Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons, Jeremy Holmes, and David Harrell. Photo credit: Jon Reznick Help us celebrate by giving a listen to this original set of four switched-up stories from Erika Iverson, Jorge Cordova, Jeremy Holmes, and David Harrell. Support 10 more years by sharing our series with a friend! Big thanks to Mike Dressel and Anton Kreisl for producing and engineering this podcast of our first show with music from Tiny Animals. Since May 2012, we’ve produced 46 shows, working with over 160 artists, and you can listen to hundreds of live story swaps on the No, YOU Tell It! podcast. Available on Audioboom and your favorite podcasting platform. This May, please help us raise $2,300 to support 10 more years and in celebration of our own Kelly Jean’s BIRTHDAY on the 23rd. Donate here! Plus, your donation is tax-deductible through our fiscal sponsor The Field.

When the healthcare system fails to provide information and resources on how to handle perimenopause, the narrator of our first tale takes matters into her own hands. Give a listen to No One Told Me written by Julia Granacki, performed by Hannah Leland, and directed by Marcos Stafne. Click here to give a listen to Julia’s perimenopause podcast Circling the Drain! Click here to watch a live stream of the show via YouTube. Story partners: Julia Granacki and Hannah Leland Switching it up, our second story takes us on a journey of exploring womanhood and femininity, with all of the tension of expectations, reality, and identity in between. Finally Arriving was written by Hannah Leland, performed by Julia Granacki, and directed by Marcos Stafne In celebration of Women’s History Month, the first in-person show of our 10-year anniversary season took place at Culture Lab, LIC, in Queens on March 7th, 2022.

The second half of our “Defiant” show drops us back into the peak of the pandemic, where our hero is taking Zoom calls and setting office policies from the solitude of his home. As he struggles to define what’s right and what’s wrong while navigating a breakup and suburban judgment, he finds someone he’s willing to break the rules for. Here is “Imaginary Rules” written by Marcos Stafne and performed by Moncho Alvarado. Top left: Moncho Alvarado, Top right: Marcos Stafne, Photo credit: Sachyn Mital Switching it up, we hear a heartbreaking series of letters to loved ones. Through imagery, history, and imagination, our second storyteller longs for answers and actions about the ongoing crisis and cruelty at the American borders. Listen, as Marcos Stafne reads “Dead Familia” written by Moncho Alvarado. For our “Defiant” show we were not only excited to be back as an OFFICIAL 2021 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL BOOKEND EVENT but to share these incredible stories in front of our first live audience in two years at a brilliant new venue, Culture Lab LIC! Thank you, thank you to the Brooklyn Book Festival, Lambda Literary, and City Artist Corps for helping to make No, YOU Tell It! part of New York City’s creative resurgence