American urges bar patrons in Beijing to tell personal stories

Although storytelling has persisted since ancient times as a way of writing history, the act of telling stories in public settings and recognizing them as art is a modern movement, according to Catherine Burns, the artistic director for The Moth, a nonprofit. She says she often hears about storytelling events from Australia to Antarctica.

"It makes sense to me that people who have all chosen to be in a very different part of the world, or the part they grew up in, would want to come to a bar and tell stories and connect with each other," Burns says over phone from New York.

A top quality in storytelling is the speaker's willingness "to be vulnerable", she says, because many stories are about people's struggles.

"We hear again and again someone comes out to a storytelling night, they're feeling alone and … hear a story that might have nothing to do with them but they'll find some connection … and they go home feeling a little bit less alone," Burns says. "As the world becomes more and more digital, it's important to connect with people in a more direct way."

Before 4corners, Romberg, who grew up in Georgia and Tennessee, would host storytelling nights in his Beijing apartment with many people.

The crowd was different every time, he says.

"A lot of people assume before they come for storytelling that it will be about China but almost overwhelmingly, the stories are about home and about travel," Romberg says. "Something about distance makes it interesting."

Tavey Lin, 4corners co-owner, says Romberg is a storyteller at heart－h(huán)e wants to tell you about his life and interesting things that have happened to him.

"Our format is very off-the-cuff and we encourage that sort of atmosphere," says the 33-year-old.

Biology teacher John Mendenhall, who has watched Romberg onstage, says he is among rare hosts of such events in Beijing.

Aside from hosting the storytelling night at the hutong bar, Romberg occasionally runs workshops to help others improve their own storytelling ability and formulate narratives.

Mark Marino contributed to the story.

If you go

Thursday storytelling begins at 9:30 pm. 27 Dashibei Hutong, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6401-7797.