Answers with Greg Walloch

Answer 1

You host the live storytelling event "Eat Your Words" every first Thursday of the month at The Standard, Hollywood. Can you tell us more about the event and why your stories are worth sharing?

Everybody eats and everyone has a story to tell. With Eat Your Words I wanted to create an evening that gives folks that feeling of community -- that moment where you take a break in your day and just sit around the kitchen table, sharing stories over some great food and a bottle of wine. Eat Your Words provides an opportunity for Los Angeles audiences to meet some of their favorite performers, storytellers and local chefs on a personal level. People can find out more here.

Everybody's stories are worth sharing, as well as my own, that's how we connect as people. I know you through the story you tell, both what's spoken and unspoken.

Answer 2

What do you consider your occupation to be? Do you consider yourself a comedian? A performer? A producer? An actor? An author? Or all of the above?

All of the above and more! Inquire within.

Answer 3

How has being a gay comedian with cerebral palsy impacted your professional life?

To be quite honest, it's helped if anything... I am walking very very slowly all the way to the bank. Seriously though, there are times when those qualities have gotten in my way professionally, but there are just as many times were those things have helped pique people's interest. I remember one time I was at an Animal Collective show at the Brooklyn Bowl. I was standing outside the VIP gate behind this cute semi-drunk blonde girl. The security guy scanned her up and down, let her in and closed the gate. He waited a beat, looked at me and then opened the gate and let me in. The girl turns to me with some recognition flooding in and says, "Oh my god, having crutches is just like having amazing tits!" Then she toasted me with her plastic cup exclaiming to the others outside the gate, "We're VIP bitches!!"

Answer 4

How did you initially become interested in storytelling as an art?

I had a great romance with the radio as a kid and I loved disc jockeys. I wanted to be a DJ on the radio when I grew up. There was something magic about their voice just coming out of this small box right into my bedroom at night. I was fascinated with who that voice on the radio was, what they looked like, and I romanticized who they were. I kind of had crushes on them a little bit. It wasn't until I heard myself telling a story on NPR a few years ago that I realized that in some ways my childhood dream actually came true... I had forgotten about it. I got an email from a guy who heard one of my stories on-air and he said, "I've never met you and I've never written a letter to anyone like this before. I'm fourteen years old and I have been really depressed and on a lot of medication. I heard your story on the radio this afternoon and it made me feel good enough to get up out of bed." Ironically, the day that I get his email, I'm feeling a little depressed myself and him reaching out made me feel good. It's pretty powerful, because that guy in Oklahoma might never come to a theater where I'm at, might not ever see a TV show that I'm in or a film that I've done, but here's the radio and it floats right into your room for free. The radio brought my story full circle and helped both of us.

Answer 5

What makes storytelling an art?

What makes anything an art? I think that's wholly subjective and more to do with the observer than the creator. If I'm telling you a story and you're digging it, then we're golden!

Answer 6

Congrats on being selected for Sundance Institute's "2014 New Frontier Story Lab." Hasan Minhaj's Sakoon project looks very intriguing. Can you describe the inspiration behind the project?

It's been such an honor to direct and work with Hasan Minhaj on his live solo show Sakoon. The show utilizes an innovative mix of storytelling, theater, stand-up and multimedia visual platforms. Hasan aims to reinvent the traditional one-hour comedy special. He is such a fearless, deeply funny, smart, compassionate performer and writer. You can currently see him absolutely crushing it on The Daily Show on Comedy Central.

Answer 7

How does Sakoon, produced through your collaborative effort with Hasan Minhaj, differ from projects you have created before?

Much of the work I've created before have been my own stories and solo shows which have toured internationally and around the country. I've also produced and hosted many successful long-running live variety shows in both New York and Los Angeles. Directing is a very specific thing. For me, directing or curating an artist or writer's work isn't about coming from a place of 'improving it' or 'beefing it up,' it's about being a witness and holding space for that person to discover exactly what it is they want to express. It's a conversation where you are mostly listening. It's an intense practice in receptivity and consideration. It's a pretty heavy thing to be entrusted with somebody else's personal stories - their life up to this point. It's been amazing and humbling to take that journey with Hasan. The show is absolutely going to rock!

Answer 8

What do you want listeners to get out of your stories?

I am a very come as you are, take what you need kind of guy. At the core of it, I just want everybody to be entertained and have a great time, forget about life for awhile, laugh and be taken on a ride. If you get something else out of it, that's gravy.

Answer 9

Do you ever get stage fright?

I've been performing live for years. There has certainly been an ebb and flow to nerves, it comes and goes here and there, but nothing too bad. To be honest I find performing in front of ten people much more intimidating than performing for a thousand. Nerves are part of it though, it's the energy that revs you up and gets you going, so I try to embrace it and use it.

Answer 10

You are a part of "The Moth Radio Hour," a Peabody award winning radio show. Why do you think "The Moth Radio Hour" is worthy of this prestigious award?

Their dedication to the art and craft of storytelling has been unwavering for many years. They have brought some of the most compelling stories and storytellers to the cultural landscape.