Three years to change

Three years out of the five James Kihn was in prison. That is how long it took him to change. Thinking, pondering, searching, he found himself.

James joined us during our NEON Festival collaboration with ViBe Story Exchange. The night featured storytelling with a creative twist. After telling their stories, the storytellers were followed by an artist presenting an interpretation of the story they just told.

Dancer Rowan Reyna interpreted James’s story.

Storyteller Bio:

James Kihn is a student at Tidewater Community College. He says, “I’m no longer who I was yesterday, nor am I who I’ll be tomorrow. I’m in school so I can become productive and useful. To quote a country song, I’m gonna be somebody someday.”

Artists Bios:

Rowan Reyna is a 15 year old freshman at Salem High School and attends the Visual and Performing Arts Academy as a Dance Major. He is a member of Elite Dance Team, a competition team with Golden Slippers Dance Academy. He is a former member of local hip hop crew CREWcial. Rowan currently holds the titles Mr Regional Solo StarMaker Dancemakers Inc., Mr Teen On Point Regional Virginia Beach and Mr Teen On Point Nationals Virginia Beach. Rowan would like to thank Kim Louis for her amazing choreography that allowed him to express himself and his personal experience with bullying.

CONTENT WARNINGS:

This episode is fairly clean.

Rowan Reyna

Rowan Reyna (Photos: Amber Nettles)


About Tell Me More… Live Storytelling: Everyone has a story, and there are plenty of storytelling events and podcasts around the world to showcase them. We’re not that different – except we tell stories mostly from a small stage in a mid-size military town. See the show regularly at the Push Comedy Theater in Norfolk, Va. As a hat tip to the improv theater, each show has a one-word theme. For upcoming shows, please find the schedule here. If you have a story you think fits one of the upcoming themes, sign up here.

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