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Interview With Podcaster And Storyteller Shannon Cason
December 6, 2016
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Shannon Cason is a host, MainStage storyteller and GrandSlam champion with The Moth. He is a regular on NPR's Snap Judgment; awarded their Best Performance of 2013. Shannon has appeared on countless podcasts and storytelling stages, including TEDx, RISK!, Third Coast Festival, Podcast Movement, and an upcoming television pilot.
He also hosts his own storytelling podcast, Shannon Cason's Homemade Stories, which partnered with WBEZ Chicago for the 2014-2015 season. Recently, Shannon and WBEZ released a one-hour public radio special titled, "The Struggle is Real," which has aired on stations around the country. I asked him a few questions about podcasting...
1. Describe your Homemade Stories podcast.
Homemade Stories Podcast is a storytelling podcast mostly about one storyteller. If you like storytelling podcasts, you usually listen to about 3 or so people tell stories on the podcasts you love, and that's it. It's over. However, on Homemade Stories Podcast I go deeper into my life, my stories, and my storytelling.
2. How did you get involved in storytelling?
I simply bought an iPhone. I didn't know storytelling was a thing until I bought my first iPhone in 2008. That's when I started listening to podcasts like Marc Maron's WTF Podcast, Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast, and The New Yorker Fiction.
After listening I thought I could do the same thing with my own stories. I was writing a lot more after being laid-off from a job and started my own podcast at the end of 2009 - reading my writings into the microphone.
Soon after starting the podcast I was invited to a Moth storytelling show in Chicago. I won the first StorySlam I participated in, and won their top honor in the GrandSlam. Then I started sharing more personal stories on my podcast along with my fiction and commentary.
3. Describe your writing process.
It depends. Every now and again I get a story delivered to me by some unseen force. The story is just right there for me to write. It was delivered to my mind, and now I just have to take the time to type it out and revise it. This happens rarely.
On more regular occasions, I just sit down and look at the blank screen, then go play on the Internet, like most writers. Or clean the house. Anything to not write. But when I do finally sit down to write, I have to have a deadline. Some force to help me stay focused.
I also have to be decisive. A story can go a number of different ways or be told from a number of different perspectives. It can have various intents - be funny, sad, or whatever. I make decisions on what I want the story to do, and I write it like that.
I think of music a lot. I want the story to have a certain rhythm, mood, and feel. I want it to be fun to read or listen to on the second or third go around as well. I want people to want to re-read or re-listen, just like a song.
4. You teach storytelling workshops. What advice do you have for people looking to dive into the world of storytelling?
Be unique. And the best way to be unique is be yourself. Don't be a carbon copy of what's popular now or what you think will be entertaining to the audience. We are all unique. If you can be honest about who you are, then the most unique story is going to come out.
I fall in love with storytelling that has personality. And if that personality is authentic. We can all tell if someone is faking eventually. I'm not saying acts or false personas aren't or can't be entertaining. I'm just more attracted to blatantly honest storytelling. Even at the risk of over-exposing. I love to see that train wreck of vulnerability happen. It's refreshing because everything can be so calculated and careful. I want to see what and who you really are. I try to express myself that way in my storytelling.
5. How does live storytelling shape your podcasting? Are there things that you can do with live storytelling that you can't do in the podcast or vice versa? Which techniques carry over and which don't?
Live storytelling is different than storytelling on paper or alone at home. The presence of an audience makes everything immediate. Jokes work or don't work right away. You feel the pressure to entertain in front of an audience.
I am trying to challenge this more and more as I work in front of audiences. I know I have to be compelling for the audience, but I've been working on being more patient with my approach. Not to rush the interaction. Let it happen over the course of my presentation, instead of rushing them to respond.
If I'm telling stories on paper or at home alone with my microphone, there's no rush. I'm not trying to do anything in particular. I just want the listener to take the journey with me. There's a discomfort in front of an audience that I can't deny. I don't want them to feel awkward. I don't care as much about that when I'm not in front of them. So I'm working to bring what I do at home more in front of audiences. I'm patient with myself to get there.
6. You're involved with public radio, including programs like The Moth and Snap Judgement. How did you get involved with radio?
I made my stories available, and made my live storytelling available as well to different organizations and radio programs. Then I came through when called.
I remember the first time I performed with Snap Judgment. I told them that I do live storytelling on stage and offered to be involved if ever needed. They asked if I was available for one of their live shows in Michigan. One of the producers slipped and said that I was being added as a replacement for a storyteller who was unable to perform for scheduling reasons. From that bit of information, I felt as though I had to prove myself.
So when showtime came, I was probably the most inexperienced stage performer of the whole show, but at the end of the show my story was rewarded Storyteller of the Year. All the stories were great, but I put the pressure on myself that if I was given the shot I was going to slam dunk it, and I did. I believe you have to come through with your best of your best when given an opportunity. That's a Detroit thing - you only get one shot sometimes like Eminem says.
7. Explain how you're monetizing your podcast.
Podcasting isn't lucrative. It just isn't, even on the high levels. Not compared to television, movies, and even radio. I am honored to have a long time sponsor in Lagunitas Brewing, but I also have been getting invited to do more and more public speaking engagements, which can be rewarding if you can keep a consistent speaking schedule.
I've also been awarded grants and two successful Kickstarter campaigns. It's a grind to squeeze a living out of storytelling. I'm lucky to stay consistent with speaking engagements, to have supportive audiences, and opportunities to advance the storytelling entertainment niche.
8. Tell us about your upcoming television pilot.
Still in early development. So my mouth is shut for now. I'm thankful people love good storytelling in all formats.
All photos by Jonathan Gibby.
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