Art from Ashes Magazine has had the pleasure of seeing LA-based comedian and storyteller Frank Traynor tell many hilarious and meaningful stories all over Long Beach! We had a chance to catch up with him for the Spring issue of the Art from Ashes Magazine (published May 2024) themed Bloom where You Are.
Learning more about the storytelling community from Frank was an absolute blast.
Below are some of the questions we got to ask him along with details about his show: It’s Funny Now
Frank’s show, It’s Funny Now, is turning 2 years old!
Q: What is the storytelling audience like?
A: I feel that a lot of the times, the crowd at storytelling shows involve a lot of the storytellers from the community … a lot of storytellers go support other storytellers, which is something you don’t see so much in comedy. A lot of the audience at storytelling is other storytellers supporting the cause. But then you have these people that just enjoy hearing real stories. And a lot of times they come to you saying, ‘I want to do this sometime.’
It’s interesting to me that we can be so attracted to hearing strangers tell you their real stories … and I think it’s fascinating. Its always a great way to meet people and to know people, of course, and a great way to get to know yourself and the things you relate to in those stories by those strangers.
For sure, it’s a group of peculiar people that are fantastic always, and so supportive, too.
— Frank Trainer, LA Storyteller
Q: What is the benefit to the community to have storytelling spaces?
A: Whatever happens to you, happens to more people. And that’s why other peoples stories resonate with us, because we all find ourselves in those stories. We like seeing ourselves in other people’s stories. And that’s why giving communities opportunities to share their stories unifies those communities and those people … It’s why we’re doing this, it’s to connect — to laugh with you, cry with you, all those feelings that come with storytelling, and I love that.