Featuring 11 local storytellers willing to share heartfelt tales from their lives, Claremont’s Unheard LA was an event meant to bring the LA community together, entertain, and encourage the audience that they, too, have stories worth sharing.
The event was held in Garrison Theatre at Pomona College, and started at 5:30 p.m. Previous shows have been held in other locations such as Little Tokyo.
The show was kicked off by KPCC’s own host, Bruce Lemon, who hyped up the crowd. In his own words, Unheard LA is about exploring stories that are untold and amplifying the voices of real people within the community.
Before the first storyteller, Lemon asked the audience to introduce themselves to the people sitting around them and share where they came from and why they came to that night’s show.
The stories shared at Unheard LA touched on a variety of topics, ranging from tales of exciting college getaways to poems about the power of words.
One of the featured speakers included Claremont’s own David Allen, who according to Lemon had been called the “most underappreciated storyteller.”
Allen’s story was a lighthearted love letter to his city, describing the humor in the people within it.
“This is a city that loves to celebrate itself,” he explained. “You have to be here for multiple generations to be ‘from Claremont.’”
Many of the stories shared left the audience laughing and applauding.
David Tanebaum of Claremont stated he had a great time, and that the show “makes you think about your own stories.”
Tanebaum had listened to KPCC radio before, but rode his bike to the event in order to watch Unheard LA live for the first time.
Ned Clafin of Hollywood agreed that the show was really fun and had a good variety of speakers.
“I like the amount of honesty,” he clarified.
The audience was welcomed to a mixer after the show, offering many different refreshments, a photo booth, and a chance to further introduce themselves to new people.
The show is actively looking for all storytellers, whether they be professionals or speaking for the first time.
If interested, instructions to share stories are included on KPCC’s website, scpr.org.
For those who feel they’re not ready to share yet, KPCC also offers workshops to practice storytelling and public speaking tips.
Unheard LA is an ongoing series of events, and will be held at more locations such as Torrance and Northride.
