Join us in the back patio of Smitty’s Bar in Washington DC for four true, personal stories about times we’ve found ourselves at a crossroads, guided by science.
Doors open at 6:30 pm and stories start at 7 pm.
Hosted by Maryam Zaringhalam and Shane M Hanlon
Stories By:
Saundra Bishop is a behavioral therapist, business owner, and mom of 4. Professionally she leads workshops, webinars, and presents at conferences on Trauma Informed Behavior Management. She was recently a Keynote speaker at Oregan ABA and will be the Keynote Speaker at Utah ABA. She can also been seen as a guest on several upcoming podcasts talking about her Trauma-Informed Behavior Management Handbook. She has been competing in Storytelling Competions for 4 years. Some highlights are that she has placed everytime she has told a story at Smut Slam, she came in second at a recent MOTH slam, and she is also a Story Collider Super Slam Winner!
She once hooked up with a dude on Tinder who asked her if she was lying about all the cool things she does* Saundra loves telling stories about travel adventures, her kids, and romantic follies. If you're lucky, you might hear one of her more risqué stories sometime!
*She was not
Jessica Robinson founded Better Said Than Done in 2011. In addition to performing with Better Said Than Done, Jessica has performed locally for Story District, Tales in the Village, The Grapevine, Perfect Liars Club and GMU’s Fall for the Book Festival. Jessica’s one woman show, “Tech Babies” – about technology, infertility, and prenatal complications – was first performed in 2015 at Stories in the Round. Jessica performed at the International Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN in 2018 and, in 2019, in the Susquehanna Folk Festival’s Liar’s Contest. In 2020, she appeared on PBS’ “Stories from the Stage,” and was a featured performer in the Women’s Storytelling Festival. Virtually, Jessica has performed for the Queens Theater, Artists Standing Strong Together (ASST), Six Feet Apart Productions, Stories for Healing, First Person Arts Festival, Mostly True Things, The Story Space, Bridgeport Pechakucha, at 2 National Storytelling Network (NSN) Conferences, and the Forest Storytelling Festival. She also shared stories on the Bonkers Brit, Ellementa Woman, Orchid Story, and Funny Parents Podcasts. In 2022, Jessica was a featured storyteller at the Stone Soup Festival, and the Washington Folk Festival, and was selected to be a featured storyteller for the 2023 Florida Storytelling Festival.
Adam Ruben is a writer, comedian, and molecular biologist. He has appeared on the Food Network, Netflix, the Travel Channel, the Weather Channel, and currently hosts "What on Earth?" and "Ancient Unexplained Files" on the Science Channel and "Inventions that Changed History" on Discovery Plus, as well as writing for the Emmy-nominated PBS Kids show "Elinor Wonders Why." Adam writes the monthly humor column "Experimental Error" in the AAAS journal Science Careers and is the author of two books: Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School (Random House, 2010) and Pinball Wizards: Jackpots, Drains, and the Cult of the Silver Ball (Chicago Review Press, 2017). Learn more at adamruben.net.
Sufian Zhemukhov is an award-winning author and performer. He received The JJ Reneaux Emerging Artist Award from the National Storytelling Network. Sufian’s solo shows have been featured off-Broadway and nationwide. NPR characterized his “Flirting Like an American" as "a show about romance, culture, and one immigrant's story” and "From Russia Without Love" as “an escapist James Bond parody." Sufian's stories are based on his personal experience as a first-generation immigrant and political analyst, which might be funnier than it sounds. His recent book won The Best Book Award from the International Studies Association.