BRATTLEBORO — Fresh from a three-year hiatus, Hatch Vermont presents its seventh Storytellers on a Mission, promising “an evening of humorous storytelling from some of the hottest entertainers in the business” to help raise much-needed cash for a great cause.
Hatch cofounder Tom Bodett, no stranger to a microphone, good deeds, and a fun time, told The Commons last week he's solidly behind co-host and nonprofit beneficiary Groundworks Collaborative, which provides ongoing support and services to families and individuals facing housing and food insecurities in the greater Brattleboro area.
The event runs Saturday, March 30, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the historic Latchis Theatre, 50 Main St. The evening-emceed by comedian and actor Jordan Carlos-stars Tara Clancy, Jon Glaser, Jodi Lennon, and Adam Burke.
The Hatch, launched in 2013 to produce entertaining storytelling events for the community, donates 100 percent of its proceeds to nonprofit organizations in Vermont. Storytellers on a Mission has raised more than $200,000 at the Latchis Theatre and at Burlington's Flynn Theatre, touching the lives of many Vermonters.
In its own words, “The Hatch produces live events with the goal of reaching minds and hearts while generating funds to support the social and cultural infrastructure of the greater Brattleboro area and Vermont. In short, The Hatch exists to raise money for good causes and to have fun doing it!”
Also in its own words is this website testimonial: “Hatch shows are the best ever. I want to give all my money to these great causes they support!” - Random passerby.
'It's all the more gratifying'
According to Bodett - author, voice actor, radio host, father of three, veteran Dummerston Selectboard member, and happy shill - “Part of the mission of The Hatch has always been to concentrate each event on one good organization” so that the money raised can work real magic.
“When you make an impact on a place like Groundworks, which in turn makes such an impact on people's daily lives, it's all the more gratifying,” Bodett told The Commons.
Asked why now - why this show, after three years without a Storytellers on a Mission - Bodett said, “Groundworks Collaborative is always an easy organization to get behind. Josh and his staff do an outstanding job managing an increasingly broad range of issues affecting people we see around town every day. And they are making a difference.”
(Josh is Josh Davis, executive director of Groundworks Collaborative, which in 2015 merged the venerable Brattleboro Area Drop-In Center and Morningside Shelter and promises “basic needs met with dignity.”)
Previous shows benefitted Latchis Arts, New England Youth Theatre, Vermont Parks Forever, and Winston Prouty Center for Childhood Development.
Of the Hatchers' decision to take a break, Bodett said, “We had a sense it was wearing a little thin. Just a little bit. Sponsors were a little harder to get, tickets a little harder to sell. It could have been a lot of things but we didn't want to risk spoiling a good thing.”
So is an eighth Storytellers in the cards?
“When we might do another is a mystery. We're all tending fires on several fronts and there doesn't seem to be enough time in the world right now,” he said.
One of those fronts, for Bodett, was opening the HatchSpace woodworking shop, school, and gallery next to Mocha Joe's new roasting facility on Frost Street.
He said of his partners, “Elizabeth Catlin is pursuing her lifelong love of spelunking, Rich Korson is translating the works of Robert Frost into Urdu, and Rita Ramirez has finished the third draft of a six-volume social treatise called WTF America? So, yes, we're busy. (Almost none of that is true.)”
But he's not ruling it out.
“We don't do this because we're selfless, good people-though I'd like to think we are. We do it because it's rewarding and fun. Raising money is never fun. I hate it. Everyone who has to do it hates it. We put on goofy shows and people get to laugh. There's not much to hate about that,” Bodett said.
Thrilled to be here
The fact of a seventh storytelling outing means the world to Josh Davis and those who benefit from Groundworks Collaborative. Davis told The Commons his organization is particularly grateful that The Hatch has drawn a powerhouse lineup to help its Morningside Shelter component, in particular, mark 40 years of service.
“The Storytellers on a Mission events have brought incredibly talented people to Brattleboro and we're so honored to benefit from what promises to be a great show and a very impactful evening for Groundworks,” Davis said.
He added, “It's a double-edged sword: It's such a cool event but I wish there wasn't a need for our services. There are a lot of people this is going to help. We're pretty much full all the time; we have a waiting list, and the need is large.”
He also said these events help strengthen the community from the ground up.
The organization continues the operation of Vermont's second largest food shelf and the region's only year-round homeless shelter. On the food side, a 2017 impact report shows Groundworks Food Shelf fed 3,837 people that year: 396,029 pounds supporting 898 households (3,081 adults and 756 children).
This is Davis's second outing with Storytellers. April 2014's Latchis show, hosted by Peter Sagal, host of NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! featured Elna Baker, Peter Aguero, Cindy Pierce, and Ian Chillag. They raised a neat $35,000 for Morningside Shelter's 35th anniversary.
November 2013 brought storytellers Brian Babylon, Ophira Eisenberg, Dave Hill, SRSLY with Alexandra Fiber and Danielle Gibson, Adam Wade, and host Tom Shillue to the Latchis in a benefit for New England Youth Theatre.
In November 2014, Bodett hosted at the Flynn to benefit Vermont Parks Forever, the foundation for Vermont State Parks. Storytellers were Peter Aguero, Roy Blount Jr., Ophira Eisenberg, and Kevin Hand.
In April 2015, saying it would now host events annually at the Latchis, The Hatch benefitted the Winston Prouty Center for Childhood Development. Storytellers were Lizz Winstead, Ernesto Quiñonez, Catie Lazarus, Adam Wade, and David Martin.
Your host - Jordan Carlos!
Anchoring the seventh Storytellers on a Mission is New York City-based comedian and actor Jordan Carlos, whose resume includes stand-up comedy and writing. He's appeared on MTV's Guy Code vs. Girl Code. His other credits include stints on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, Comedy Central's Live at Gotham, The Colbert Report, Nurse Jackie, Girls, Broad City, and Golden Globe-award winner The Affair. He's written for Samantha Bee's Not The White House Correspondents' Dinner and the real White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, and is writing for HBO's Divorce. Look for Carlos to appear in the upcoming season of Black Mirror on Netflix.
Storyteller lineup
• Tara Clancy says she's “a fifth-generation native New Yorker, third-generation bartender, and first-generation author.” Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Nation, and The Paris Review Daily. She is a frequent host of The Moth live shows, a GrandSLAM champ, and has told stories on The Moth Radio Hour, NPR's Snap Judgment, and Risk. She played herself on HBO's Girls and is a recurring panelist on Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! Her memoir, The Clancys of Queens, was published by Crown in 2016.
• Jon Glaser is an actor, comedian, and writer who created and starred in the television shows Jon Glaser Loves Gear, Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter, and Delocated! He had a recurring role as Councilman Jeremy Jamm on NBC's Parks and Recreation and appeared as Laird on HBO's Girls. His television writing credits include Inside Amy Schumer, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and The Dana Carvey Show. He has written several stories for The New York Times Magazine and his writing has appeared in ESPN The Magazine, The Onion A.V. Club, and online for New York Magazine. His first book, My Dead Dad Was In ZZ Top, is published by Harper Perennial.
• Writer, producer, and director Jodi Lennon has performed with Chicago's Second City, The Annoyance Theatre, and New York City's Upright Citizens Brigade. She writes and produces television projects such as Hulu's Difficult People and Funny or Die's Billy on the Street. She's writing and producing At Home with Amy Sedaris on truTV.
• Chicago-based Adam Burke has been performing throughout the U.S. for almost 10 years. He's a fixture on showcases and in clubs throughout the Midwest and beyond. A regular panelist on Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, he has appeared on the podcasts Doug Loves Movies, The Benson Interruption, The Bob and Tom Show, WGN Radio, and many more. Voted Best Standup by readers of The Chicago Reader in 2014, Burke also won Second City's Up Next Comedy Competition.