THE bEAR presents
Eve of the Champs
Special Edition of your Favorite Storytellers from the last 12 Shows
Storytellers:
Almut Tiba-Ehlers, Ben McGuire, Ciarán Duffy, Hilary Hafner, Izzy Ahrbeck, Lavinia Knop, Louise Bernard, Mike Trupiano, Sherzod Gafar, Skyler Braeden Fox, Sylvia Schöningh-Taylor, Tiffany Stahl, Tanveer Ahmed
Show hosts: Wendy Husser, Dyane Neiman
Music: Illay Chester, Alexander Dorenberg
Light Design: Ingo Reinhardt
Friday, June 23, 2023
7:00 pm stories begin ⎮9:45 pm stories end
Theater-im-Delphi - Gustav-Adolf-Str. 2; 13086 Berlin-Weissensee
Even in our fast-paced, high-tech world, we still long for stories that touch and connect us.
Since 2015, THE bEAR has been helping to fulfill this need in Berlin, hosting a monthly evening reduced to the essentials: a bare stage, a microphone, and one person burning with a story to share. These personal stories, told without notes, are mostly in English, sometimes in German, and always true. As per bEAR tradition, the audience votes for their Favorite storyteller every month. These winning storytellers are normally presented in an annual event, due to the pandemic - we’re catching up with an XXL version in 2023!
This XXL edition is an extra large program of Xtraordinary Xpressions of Life:
13 tellers each have 7 minutes maximum to explore the topic of “Refuge”, sometimes in the most unexpected ways. This diverse cast of protagonists ranging from 20 - 70-something years old, from 7 different countries, attest to the startling varieties and travails of human experience.
THE bEAR’s artistic director Dyane Neiman is joined by the entertaining Wendy Husser to moderate the evening; Cellist Illay Chester and guitarist Alexander Dorenberg weave the stories into a musical whole.
THE IDEA: The Bear. True Stories. Erzähltes Leben.
Not convinced by the advice “Germans will never tell personal stories”, the American choreographer Dyane Neiman began presenting monthly open stage shows for true, personal stories in 2015. Inspired by the popularity of live storytelling events in English-speaking countries, she created a gathering place for story lovers and including new Berliners, who may not speak German yet. THE bEAR has grown into a registered charity with the mission to make our communities more compassionate, one story at a time.
THE bEAR now celebrating its 77th show, has produced over 800 stories to regularly sold-out audiences - a telling sign that the ancient art of the raconteur is alive and well in Berlin.
Audiences at THE bEAR arrive as strangers, and leave somehow connected by our shared threads of love, loss, fear and kindness. Join us!
“An incredibly inspiring, moving, funny, delightful evening.” Khushi Pasquale, storyteller
Tickets: 20 € general admission; 15 € discounted
The Eve of the Champs is made possible by the enthusiasm of our storytellers, our team of volunteers and with our partners: Moving-Speaker.com, Theater-im-Delphi, Galerie Cafe Emma T., Berlin Erleben Youtube Channel, and a grant “Cultural Bridge” from Fonds Soziokultur.
