Storytelling sweeps the District

The impolite truth revealed itself in a small room full of strangers seeking a good laugh.

Liz Richardson stood on stage before them, bathed in the spotlight. In less than seven minutes, she spilled a true story on the theme “unsolved mysteries” — just one act in the District’s emerging storytelling scene.

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The mystery: Had she imagined a childhood memory that her father once rented the wrong version of “Cinderella” — an adult version — that she and a sibling watched for five minutes before her father realized his mistake?

“In my mom’s version of events, we saw nothing,” Richardson said before an audience of about 70. “I needed to know I wasn’t making this up.”

By day, the Columbia Heights resident has a very serious job at a think tank. On this evening at Busboys & Poets in the U Street corridor, she simply had a story to tell. For the first time. In front of an audience.

“I love listening to live storytelling and wanted to try it out for myself,’’ Richardson said. “And I’m new to town, so I’m looking for people who like it as much as I do.’’

It used to be that the only place to hear a live storytelling performance was at monthly events sponsored by SpeakeasyDC, which has hosted them across the city since 1997. Now, hardly a week goes by without a storytelling event in the region.

Here and across the country, people are taking to the stage to reveal stories about themselves and their families. Most cite the same reason: In these days of reality TV confessionals and online status updates, a generation has grown comfortable with the idea of publicly laying souls bare.

This is true even in the District, where such gregarious spirits as Richardson can feel inhibited by the sanctity of their business cards. As the region continues to transform with an influx of young people, live storytelling is a prime pursuit for those searching for an emerging creative class.

“In D.C., we have a lot of people who want the city to be seen as a place that offers more than politics,’’ said Natalie Illum, a 35-year-old travel agent for the federal government who was at last month’s event at Busboys & Poets.

“A lot of people are in jobs at nonprofits or with the government and just can’t express themselves,” Illum said. “Now there are places that we can.”

SM Shrake organized the event as a part of a new storytelling organization, Story League. The stories ranged from comedic to somber to sexual, sometimes mixing all three.

“Storytelling is the world’s second-oldest profession,’’ Shrake said. “But it’s making a comeback now because we’ve become more narcissistic and confessional and we love to hear about other people.”

Shrake said he started the group to broaden the region’s pool of storytellers. In Story League, anyone can get on stage after providing a 100-word advance summary about the topic. Other area groups include Fan-Freaking-Tastic, which requires that stories be funny, and Better Said Than Done, a group recently formed in Northern Virginia.

“We’re for the people who want to go out and do fun stuff but don’t want to drive to D.C.,’’ said Jessica Piscitelli, who founded Better Said Than Done. “We’re growing with each event, and with each event, fewer people are asking, ‘What’s storyelling?’ ”