Local & Live—Completely Safe

Who Are We?

We are your neighbors. Truly. Art is all around you, every day, just waiting to be made and witnessed, just as our neighborhoods and communities are there waiting to be noticed.

The performers of Neighborhood Stories live in the neighborhoods where they perform and are telling stories specific to lives lived in that neighborhood, making each episode of Neighborhood Stories truly local and utterly unique.

For the current episode’s performers, check out What’s Playing? or let yourself be surprised.

The Stories: What's Playing Now

Now Featuring:

Oakland

Handpuppet with red nose sticking out from under rounded hat faces off with woman with short hair, who is puckering her mouth

Mission

Neighborhood Stories exists to bring disparate members of local communities together for safe, live performance; introduce, illuminate, and build emotional investment in local cities and communities; and provide visibility, meaningful work, and income to performing artists while showcasing them as valued members of every neighborhood.

Neighborhood Stories events take place on the unceded lands of the Ohlone peoples and specifically seek to strongly highlight the history and presence of the Bay Area’s diverse cultures and lived experiences, reminding the public how pivotal that diversity has been to the powerful life-force of the Bay Area, how critical it is to maintain and foster, and how much we can learn from and celebrate each other. 

Erin Merritt
Erin Merritt
erinmerritt.com
Dani Bae
Dani Bae
danijbae.net
Sound designer Michael Kelly, a young man with bronze glasses and black hair, looks humorously frightened due to a mass of sound cables piled on top of his head
Michael Kelly
Instagram: spy_hapa

Veteran producer/director Erin Merritt started Neighborhood Stories to highlight the invaluable role artists play in every community to connect people to history, culture and community. Artists are the canaries in every coal mine, among the first to see and be harmed by any crisis, and yet among the most resilient, the first to find creative paths out of it and most willing and able to guide others out as well. Take a look at all the beautiful artists around you. Our life’s work is to bring us all deeper into communion with our world.


Dani Bae served as the first Technical Facilitator, designing the audience interface to get us started. Thank you for your service, Dani! This project wouldn’t have happened without you!

the camera-shy Steve Morrow, founder and CEO of Eclipse TV, is the Co-Producer for Episode 2: Mill Valley

Michael Kelly joins as Technical Facilitator/Sound Designer for Episodes 2 and 3.

 

“Motto”


In the dark times

Will there also be singing?

Yes, there will also be singing.

About the dark times.”

― Bertolt Brecht