taboos
I used to be mortified when my mom would share some very personal information with strangers in elevators. “Oh, that reminds me of the time I got high in college and had an out-of-body experience.”
Mortified.
Then I started this blog and began telling strangers some very personal information every week. And it felt good. When I wrote about my father last June, though, it felt more than good. My father was not only gay, he also committed suicide. I’d been trained by society to not talk about that stuff. I thought people would think I was weird or even cursed. So, I held it in since my teenage years.
When I finally let it all out with a tribute to my pops on Fathers’ Day, I felt such a strong relief and release. Plus, so many people wrote to me telling me that my words had helped and comforted them!
My friend Corey Podell, a fellow LA comedian, had also been telling some pretty taboo stories around town. We met in Groundlings, an improv school, when we both wrote a story about accidentally being shit on by men in bed. We figured it was time to do something about our new taboo-telling freedom.
We started Taboo Tales, which is a storytelling show in LA. We invite about eight storytellers per show to unleash their most taboo tale on the 100-person audience. It’s a fun time, and it feels good. The best part is, we’re in talks to publish a book! A Taboo Tales anthology! So, anyone from anywhere can submit a good taboo story. In fact, I encourage you to send one in! It really does feel good.
Check out TabooTalesTheShow.com to get a feel for the show and see how you can be a part of it.