hopefloats a night of storytelling

WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2021 • 7 PM Co-produced by Cara Foran and Pierce McManus Perfect Liars Club: A storytelling show with a side of shrewd

Organ prelude Tom Sheehan, Washington National Cathedral

Welcome & Introductions Michelle Dibblee, Washington National Cathedral

Opening Cara Foran, Perfect Liars Club

Storytellers

Closing Cara Foran, Perfect Liars Club

Organ postlude Tom Sheehan, Washington National Cathedral

STORYTELLERS (in order of appearance) Vijai Nathan is an Indian-American comedian and Edie Ching is the former lower school librarian at St. storyteller making people laugh across America and Albans and an active member of the American Library internationally. Vijai’s stories have been featured on Association where she has served on the Notable NPR’s “Snap Judgment” and “Invisibilia” Live. She’s a Children’s Books, Newbery, and Caldecott committees contributing writer for The Washington Post Magazine’s and will soon serve on the Coretta Scott King award Date Lab. committee. She volunteers at the Cathedral as a lay eucharistic minister and a healing minister. Adam Ruben is a writer, comedian, and molecular biologist. He is the author of two books: Surviving Ritija Rice Gupta is a veteran storyteller and three- Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School and time recipient of the DC Commission on Arts and Pinball Wizards: Jackpots, Drains, and the Cult of the Humanities Artists’ Fellowship. She has performed on Silver Ball. He currently hosts “What on Earth?” and the Moth Mainstage, appeared on NPR, gone viral on “Ancient Unexplained Files” on the Science Channel Upworthy, and written sketch comedy for Second City and is a writer for “Elinor Wonders Why” on PBS Kids. in Chicago. Pre-pandemic, she created and produced Learn more at adamruben.net. a popular storytelling show in four cities around the country. Ritija works as a leadership and storytelling consultant for large organizations. Ronald Young, Jr., host of Pushkin Industries Kasie Hunt is NBC’s Capitol Hill Correspondent and Solvable podcast, is an audio producer and storyteller. the host of “Way Too Early with Kasie Hunt,” weekday He is the Senior Producer and Owner of ohitsBigRon mornings at 5am ET on MSNBC. She is a graduate of studios and a frequent contributor to NPR’s Pop Culture the George Washington University’s Elliott School of Happy Hour and WAMU’s 1A. As associate producer of International Affairs and holds a master’s degree from the Seizing Freedom podcast, Ronald was excited to St John’s College, Cambridge. Kasie is a member of the have the opportunity to tell the untold stories of black National Cathedral congregation. folks who used their agency to take their freedom. David Mayer Smith is a video producer who helps Cody Pomeranz is a speechwriter from Cincinnati. nonprofits and sustainable businesses tell their stories The youngest of six kids, he spends his free time doing to the world. He’s developed the rude habit of telling stand-up comedy and cheering on—or crying over—his stories to anyone who will listen whether they like it or beloved Cincinnati Bengals. not. He is currently putting some of those stories into a show called This Is Not A Documentary, premiering this Originally from Richmond, VA, Chelsea Shorte fall in Philadelphia. discovered comedy as a way to stave off the boredom of being a beautiful twenty-something. Since first taking the stage as a stand up, they have flourished and further applied their creative drive to storytelling, podcasting, sketch writing, acting, and drag performance. See and listen to some of their work at chelseashorte.com and soundcloud.com/chikachels.

Tonight’s event is co-produced and directed by Cara Foran and Pierce McManus of Perfect Liars Club: A storytelling show with a side of shrewd.

Launched in 2013, Perfect Liars Club quickly became one of the city’s hottest storytelling shows with its simple but unique premise: Four people tell four original stories. All are captivating, but only three are true. Listen. Laugh. Interrogate. Vote. Can you spot the liar? The stories are hilarious—but the interrogation is even better: you never know what questions will be asked or what evidence will be demanded of our storytelling suspects by the audience in its determined quest to spot the liar.

In addition to their monthly show at The Bier Baron Tavern & DC Comedy Loft, Perfect Liars Club has appeared at the Capital Fringe Festival, the Black Cat, Wooly Mammoth Theater, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company, and has begun producing one-off storytelling shows at performance spaces across the greater Washington, DC area.

Besides co-producing and hosting Perfect Liars Club, Pierce McManus is a Washington, D.C. based Cara Foran has won a Moth GrandSlam; staged a storyteller, emcee, and digital marketing professional. solo show at Capital Fringe; and performed stories Pierce co-hosts and produces Perfect Liars Club, a and hosted shows with Story District and the Moth monthly storytelling show with a twist. He has also at the Lincoln Theater, 9:30 Club, Black Cat, and had the pleasure of performing with The Moth, Story more. Cara has worked in strategic marketing and District, and Story Collider, on such illustrious stages communications for over 20 years at both nonprofits as the Lincoln Theatre and the 9:30 Club. When and Fortune 50 companies. By profession and by he’s not telling stories, Pierce helps mission-driven passion, she knows how to tell a good story and how organizations craft digital outreach campaigns that to help you tell one too—about yourself or your brand. deliver results. Learn more at piercemcmanus.com. Learn more at caraforan.com.

3101 wisconsin ave., nw • washington, dc 20016-5098 • 202.537.6200 cathedral.org • @wncathedral