Keeping the spirit of the word “griot” alive, The Griot Show is a bi-monthly storytelling show featuring black comedians, musicians, artists, poets, educators, and elders from around NYC. Hosted by Alexis Lambright, artists have the opportunity to share stories from the black experience, often with a comedic turn and if they’re a griot worth their salt, a healthy amount of music.

I’ve had the honor of performing at the Griot Show twice since its inception. In my first show, among the amazing storytellers was one of the last living Tuskegee Airmen, (the late) Mr. Dabney Montgomery. In the second run, which happened to be on my birthday this year, I was swindled into performing alongside some real pros including Tim Barnes (It’s All True!) and Joanna Briley. Massive fun and only slightly demoralizing being sandwiched between those two amazing storytellers.

I also am pretty handy with the Photoshop and designed the logo for the show.

The host of The Griot Show is the incredibly talented (and ridiculously brave) Alexis Lambright – a great writer and improv performer with hilarious, dry humor and a great sense of comedic timing. She has performed on some of the strongest and longest running Magnet teams in her tenure and has built an awesome portfolio of her own including her one woman show, The Alexis Lambright Tell-A-Thon: Combating Adult Virginity. The show parodies telethons, seamless pulling together storytelling from a fake memoir, short videos including man-on-the-street interviews and music videos, live musical performance, a real call-in number, and background dancers. Yes, I kid you not. I was one of them. I also had the pleasure of creating the digital elements and shooting the video components for a hilarious show that went on to play at both the NYC and Hollywood Fringe Festivals.