Manecdotes - 2023

The show at The Colony Theatre in Burbank on June 11th

was a great success and the reviews are TOP NOTCH!

I really enjoy going to Storyteller events. Usually there are a few stand-out performers. But in Manecdotes, every single story and performer could be the headliner!

What a wonderful evening! Manecdotes shared stories about fatherhood from so many different perspectives and all of them thoughtful, relevant, and memorable.

It's great to have a nice evening out and enjoy a show. It's even better when you find yourself talking with friends a few days later about the show and the ideas that were shared. This is the experience I had with Manecdotes! I wish it was a TV show so that I could share it with more friends!

It all starts with story. Certainly all of art, arguably all human experience. We are informed entertained and enriched in listening to true tales. Live storytelling, particularly Suzanne Weerts' productions, are near and dear to me. I have performed in them as well as come as an audience member. As always, I delighted in the flow of one story to another, the interludes, the reach and range of stories. My hip son loved it too. How about that?!

Another outstanding JAM Creative event! Each story was beautifully shared through masterful storytelling, intricate details drawing the audience in at every twist and turn. Each story painted a vivid picture of the complexities of fatherhood.

Together, we raised over $4000 to support Family Service Agency of Burbank AND we raised awareness for the importance of MENtal Healthcare in the lives of men. Check our some of our press below and click on the name by the television screen for links to their stories!

Musical Guests BISHOP

Meet the Cast

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Charles Carney

is a writer and father, formerly father and writer, prior to that writer and son. He is a Glendale, CA native who has written cartoons for Bugs Bunny and Tom & Jerry, a catalog for the ACME Company, and a coffee table book for the movie Space Jam, among other things. He has a Zelig-like reputation among his friends for being in the presence of an unimaginable number of famous people without ever achieving any notoriety for himself. Burbank was his home and workplace for 30 years before moving to Camarillo. Get a load of his writing at charlescarney.blogspot.com.

Rafeal Clements

has worked a lot of jobs since 1985. He has shared stories at Ensemble Studio Theater Los Angeles’ TRUE STORY and at Story Salon. Rafeal has performed regionally with the Alley Theater in Houston, Yale Repertory Theater, Hartford Stage Company, Indiana Repertory Theater, Portland Stage Company, Berkshire Theater Festival, Playmakers Repertory Company, The Clarence Brown Company, Playhouse on the Green, and the Carpetbag Theater. New York Theater: Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival, New Federal Theater, Target Margin, Circle Rep Company, HERE, Prospect Theater Company, The Hotel Savant, Ensemble Studio Theater East, Lark Play Development Center. Los Angeles Theater: Sacred Fools, Company of Angels, City Garage, Independent Shakespeare Company. Film and TV credits: “Law and Order”, "As the World Turns”, “Another World”, “New York News”, “Bandwagon”, “Fireflies”, “The Heartland Series.” Rafeal is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and the Yale School of Drama.

Zahra Dowlatabadi

is a writer and producer. She has worked on shorts, TV series and theatrical features as well as documentaries. Her most recent credit is an animated feature for Netflix entitled “My Father’s Dragon” which took her to the renowned animation studio, Cartoon Saloon located in Kilkenny, Ireland. She is the co-writer of the book Producing Animation (now in its third edition) which serves as an industry reference guide to professionals and students alike. At age four, Dowlatabadi shared her bucket list with her family; 1) have a daughter, 2) go to university & 3) get married. All goals have been met but not necessarily in the same order.

Cathy Dreyfuss

was born in New York, raised in Los Angeles, and has lived on Venice Beach for the last 45 years. She started out as a pianist, cartoonist and hippie traveler, then became an attorney and social justice activist, dabbling in singing, salsa and zydeco dancing in her spare time. She represented indigent defendants and immigrants in criminal courts from 1984 to 2022, when she decided to leave lawyering for a more creative life. She has been writing personal stories for several years and is currently working on a memoir about her travels in the 1970’s.

Paul Edwards

wrote, directed and produced, the feature film “Street Poet”, a love story set in the world of slam poetry. Edwards also has written multiple television episodes of 21 Jump Street, Baywatch Nights, Fall Guy, Knight Rider and Quincy. As a producer and director working under a grant from The National Endowment for the Arts and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Edwards became a Video Artist in Residence for public television in North Carolina. While working in the public television arena, Edwards produced and directed numerous documentaries including “In The Grand Manner: Gina Bachauer”, “Harker’s Island Boat Builders” and “Autumn Leaves, A Mountain Culture Festival.”
Edwards received his MA in Communications from the University of the North Carolina and a BA in History from the University of North Carolina. As the founding director of the UNC Hollywood Internship Program, Edwards recently left the program after serving 25 years and helping 450+ students get started in their film industry careers.

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Sean Ewert

has told his stories in Chicago and Los Angeles at such shows as The Moth (storySLAM winner "Nostalgia" Los Angeles 2021), USA Today Storytellers Project, JAM Creative Stories, This Much Is True, Story Club Chicago (winner audience favorite), and Story Salon. Recently, his stories have been published in two book anthologies, Rings of Kindness and Storytellers’ True Stories About Love Vol. 2.
Sean works during the day at the Spondylitis Association of America, helping those living with the disease share their stories about being a pain warrior. Sean lives with his partner John and rescue dog, Pilot.

Joe Smith

has been an actor and writer for 30 years (not constantly - this includes eating and sleeping). Originally from Worcester, MA where his parents ran a theatre, he spent his 20’s in Boston, the next 20 years in LA, and now resides in Palm Springs with his wife Amy, 3 cats, 1 dog, and a big grapefruit tree. He has a niece, 5 nephews, and other lovely young people he cares about in his life. He has pitched you things in commercials - if he looks familiar, that may be why. He enjoys trying new foods, and does not know any karate.

Frank Traynor

is originally from Argentina. Winner of the Bellflower Search for the Greatest Storyteller competition. Frank has been part of many local shows like Risk, Story Smash (and the Story Worthy Podcast) and recently took his stories across the world to Argentina. He is the producer of "It's Funny Now" a comedic storytelling show at The Crow in Santa Monica and a four-time Moth champion.

Suzanne Weerts

Born in Charleston, SC, formed in Raleigh, NC and reborn in Southern California, Suzanne’s nonfiction essays can be found in The Sun and Good Old Days magazines, and in the recent anthologies The Pandemic Midlife Crisis: GenX Women on the Brink and Rings of Kindness. Suzanne shares stories on stages across Southern California and directs and produces her own storytelling shows for local charities. This is the first time she has been in one of her own shows. Which gives her yet another excuse to put off finishing her memoir based on her childhood in the south in the 1970s.

And Our Musical Guests - BISHOP

BISHOP is a musical trio of sisters, Ivy and Fiona Bishop, and their dad, John Bishop. They've been playing Folk/Americana music together since the girls could talk, and continue to gig out and record frequently. They are excited about the release of their new album this Summer, which will be available on all streaming platforms. Please find them on Instagram @bishop_theband for information on upcoming

shows and albums.