June 23, 2025 • 31 mins
About This Episode
This fan-favorite story by the incredible storyteller, Ladi Loera, returns as part of our Best of Stories Found series — now featuring our new format that brings the story right to the front of the episode and then offers a behind-the-scenes interview with the storyteller.
Whether you're hearing this story for the first time or the fifth, 5 Calls, perfectly nails the nerve-wracking, awkward, and hilariously human moments involved in trying (and trying) to make a connection.
About the Storyteller
Ladi Loera is an artist, animal lover and award winning storyteller.
He won the Moth with a story about sympathetic nausea and what it teaches us about love and connection. He is a homebody, whose idea of traveling the globe is going to a different HEB. If you're ever looking for him, he's most likely at home.
Ladi is also the Artistic Director and Producer of Testify, an incredible live storytelling show in Austin, Texas. Visit https://testifyatx.com
Credits:
5 Calls was written and performed by Ladi Loera
Audio Engineer: Paul Hanna
Host: Ava Love Hanna
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📍 Stories Found is recorded at ELA Studios in Austin, Texas.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
>> Ava Love Hanna (00:06):
Hi and welcome to Stories Found. Each week we feature
funny stories, plays and sketches from some of the most talented
comedy writers around. I'm your host,
Ava Love Hanna, a comedy writer and playwright in
Austin, Texas. Joining me is my writing partner,
audio engineer and all around cool guy Paul
Hanna. You're listening to Stories
Found.
(00:32):
Thanks for joining us for this special best of Stories
Found episode. Weve recently updated our format
to better highlight the amazing stories and audio dramas that
we produce. This story was a fan favorite and it still
makes us laugh every single time we hear it. So we thought
hey, its only fitting to show off the new format with this
special episode. Stick around after the story
(00:52):
for a hilarious interview with Ladi and hear the story
behind the story. Stories Found
is now proud to present five Calls
by Ladi Loera.
>> Ladi Loera (01:10):
I used to work in a paper warehouse in
Houston. We sold skids of paper to uh,
businesses, churches and schools. And
one day Chris walked in
and when I saw him my stomach just dropped. There
was something about him.
Now we also had a small office supply section and that was the place that
(01:30):
I was mostly in charge of. So I helped him put an order
together and called him the next day. When everything came
in he smiled so
easily and it was such a nice smile. I
already had a big crush on this guy.
Over the course of the month he started coming in
more and more regularly and towards the end of the month he was coming in
(01:50):
every day, sometimes two or three times a day.
Now we had regular customers and some of them would come
in several times a day as well. But with Chris it
felt different. At least I hoped it
did. One
day I am helping him put together an order and he looks at me and says, you
know you have always been so helpful to
(02:11):
me. I would like to take you out for a beer.
Three things. Yay.
The other thing, I hate beer. I have never had a
beer that I've liked. People have always told me I'm drinking the wrong ones. It's
the problem is the same with all of them. The taste.
Third thing, I'm gonna drink that beer anyway.
(02:35):
Chris picks me up at work. I get off at
5:30. We head out to a restaurant called Bobby
Yea. We have dinner
and a couple of beers. It was worth it
and we get to know each other. Now up until
this point I am not even sure if this is a
gay person. This is the 80s in Texas. We
(02:56):
didn't talk about our sexuality. I was out to
friends and coworkers and my family, but I
wasn't out to everyone who came into the store, even the people with nice
smiles.
But over dinner I found out, yes
indeed, this was a gay guy.
In fact, he had been in a long term relationship almost 10
years. He had recently broken up with his
(03:18):
partner. Super recently, like that
very morning.
And they,
and they were gonna continue living in the house that they had bought
together. Now some of you hear red
flags.
I just hear that he's available.
(03:43):
Anyway, we spendt a couple of hours talking.
It's been a while and it's really time for us to leave the restaurant.
But we are having a nice time. We don't want to quit the evening.
So he suggests that we go for a walk along Buffalo
Byayou. We're following the trails and we
decide to take one of the trails at least closer down onto the
bayou. And we pass what can only be called
(04:03):
a herd of, uh, fireflies.
It was amazing. It was as if the universe
said, let's give these guys a candlelit
evening. We sat there and looked
at awe. And then we looked at each other and
we kissed and it was a date.
And we continued walking for about an hour, holding hands
(04:25):
and talking, just getting to know each other. But it was late and I
had to go back to work the next day and so did he. So he dropped me off at my
car and I went home. Now I have no recollection
of how I got home because all I did was play the date over
and over in my head the whole time.
The following morning at work,
I was myself. And I tend to be a bit
(04:46):
ridiculous at times. I was plotting the future,
where we'd live, how many pets. We'd have the pets names,
the pet names we'd call each other.
But what I didn't know is what's the proper
etiquette, you know, when dating.
Years earlier, I had d gone to the University of Houston and at some point
I became the president of the gay group we had on
(05:08):
campus. So I was trying to recall conversations'd had with some of
the other people. And there's the common thing, you know,
three days. You can't call for three days. But someone else said, no, it's
five days, it's a working week.
And then someone else know it's absolutely three days. But
it's a very specific three days. It's from Friday evening
through Sunday evening because they have to know that you
(05:28):
have other plans if they don't book you.
And then I had a friend named Jim.
Jim just looked at us like we were all
insane. Never call.
You don't call them if they don't call you,
you move on.
I have never had Jim self confidence. I probably
(05:51):
never will. But I
looked at everything that I had been thinking. I
tried to do the math and plot out the perfect time to call.
So I called him that day at 10:00 o'cl.
Hi Chris, this is Ladi I had a great
time yesterday. It was so nice getting the chance to sit
and talk to you and get to know more about you. I hope we can do this
(06:12):
again sometime soon. I have lunch.
1212 ish. If you want to come by, we can have lunch together and
visit. It would be great. I hung up the
phone. That was a good
call. I was proud of this call. I
did not come across creepy. I did not come across
desperate. I was nice. I was cordial. I was
inviting. That call.
(06:33):
I had nailed it.
So you can only imagine how sad I was when he didn't
call and he didn't come back for
lunch.
Well, love requires
action. And I am a man of
action. So I
called back at 12:30.
(06:57):
Hey Chris, this is Ladi
I called you earlier and you didn't call me back and you didn't drop by for lunch. And I
was just calling to make sure you got the message and to let you know I'm here at lunch.
If you feel like coming by, you can come on by. We can visit for a little bit.
It would be great to see you again. Bye.
That call sounded worse.
I did feel like I sounded a little bit desperate during that
(07:19):
call. In fact, I feel like I came across clingy and
needy. And I'm not clingy and needy.
Except at times I can be a little bit clingy and needy. And I know
this about myself. And you know,
it would be the worst thing if that's the way Chris remembers me from now
on and if he ever calls me because of that stupid
message. So I called again 45 minutes
(07:39):
later.
Hey Chris, this is
Ladi I know I've already called you twice.
Thrice with this call. Ha.
I just want to say, I know it seems kind of weird that
I'm calling you a lot, but I'm not really a weirdo. And yes, I
know that's probably something weirdo people say,
but I'm here and if you want toa come by, I have lunch
(08:02):
at the same time all the time. You can come by anytime. We'll visit. It'be great.
Call me. I hung up the phone and I am disgusted with
myself.
There is no reason for such blatant
weirdness on my part.
And I wonder what is wrong with me.
(08:22):
Do you know what the Skinner box is?
The Skinner box is the box they used to run
experiments on animals a long time ago,
psychological experiments. They would put a bird in it
or rodent of some kind, and they'd hit a lever and they get a
pellet of food. Well, what they
find is that if they keep
heading the lever and they don't get a pellet of
(08:45):
food, they do something different. Like maybe the bird will pick up its wing and
then it hits the lever, it gets the food. So now it marries
those two things together and it thinks it has to pick up the arm
in order to get the pellet. But then at some point it doesn't get
the pellet. So now it tries to figure out what else it needs to do. So it
picks up a leg and it does this. And now it has this modern
dance ritual that it is doing. Just trying to get
(09:05):
fedat. In my family, I was the
rodent in the Skinner box.
My parents are nice people,
but they did some weird stuff.
I find that they were not stingy with love at all, but they're kind
of unreliable. What, uh, was cute one day
(09:28):
was annoying the next day. What got you hugged
one day, got you scolded the next day. So
all I was trying to do was find a way to
be loved, but it kept changing. So there
was no way me just being myself was ever going to be good
enough. But what cemented this in my
head was a conversation I had with my mother.
(09:48):
I don't know what I had done. I probably had not cleaned my room, which as an
adult is still a problem.
And she looked at me, at the little boy that I was,
and said in my mother's most beautiful sing song voice,
well, if you don't do what your mother tells you,
I guess your mother just won't love you anymore.
Oh my God.
(10:09):
Can you imagine saying that to your child and thinking, oh,
this is good, this is healthy for him.
At this time, I realized that my parents, no matter
how much love they me have for me, they're just not
safe. And for me, love is safety.
Love is when you're able to be as weird as you
(10:30):
naturally are and there is still someone there willing to hold
your hand.
My fourth call
was significantly shorter than the others.
Hey, I know I've called a lot. It's just
that I really had a great time. And I know I'm coming
off weird, but I'm really a good guy. Give me a
(10:52):
call. Uh, I hung up the phone.
I am so, so angry at
myself. I am walking around the store helping customers,
but mentally kicking myself in the stomach the whole time.
My fifth call
was very simple. Hey,
(11:13):
I'm so sorry.
My heart was broken already, but it's my fault. I am the
idiot in this. And I realize this. I don't
understand what is wrong with me. It doesn't matter how I was raised. There is
something inherently not right here.
It's 5:30. We read again. You we were re getting ready to shut down the
(11:33):
shop. I'm at the back register closing things out and my boss comes and says,
I think that guy you've been calling out front.
My first thought is, whatever you do, don't run to the front door. Don't run to
the front door. I ran to the front door
and Chris was there, smiling. He said, I've been at work
at this stupid meeting all day. I just got home, took a
(11:54):
quick shower and decided to come and see if you wanted to go out for dinner.
I said, you didn't get my calls?
You called?
I swear I heard a smile in his voice.
He said, yeah, but of course I'm an
idiot. So the next question he says
five. Times.
(12:16):
And I saw him and his face just looked at me
for a while and then it melted into the
most beautiful smile. He said, that is
awesome.
Well, why didn't he get my messages? Well, it turns out
that his ex, that he had just broken up with the day
before, took that day off and heard
(12:37):
each and every one of my messages and erased them,
each one as they came through.
So he would never have known I'd called had I not been idiot
enough to tell him and he would have come to pick me up for
dinner all on his own.
I know it is an aw.
(12:59):
It feels to me like we have so many rules about the way we're
supposed to be and who you need to be and the correct way to
act. And all I
really know how to be is me.
But every once in a while, that's
enough.
>> Ava Love Hanna (13:32):
You've just heard five calls by Ladi Loera.
In addition to being an amazing storyteller, Ladi is the
artistic director and producer for Testify,
a fantastic live storytelling show in Austin,
Texas. Make sure you check out their website,
testifyatx.com or head over
to their YouTube channel later to see some of the amazing storytellers
they featured. Ladi is
(13:53):
hilarious, charming, and hes just an absolute
blast to talk to. So lets jump into the interview and hear
his story behind five Calls.
Hi Lonnie.
Welcome to Stories found.
>> Ladi Loera (14:13):
Howdy. I'm glad to be here.
>> Ava Love Hanna (14:15):
Awesome. Well, we are really, really excited to have you here
and have a chance to chat about your story. Five calls.
It is really, really funny, I have
to say that.
>> Ladi Loera (14:25):
Well, it's funny, but the sad
thing is it's also true. I just want
to say this. There are people in the world who when you're
dating, uh, they're all in the moment
you meet them. And those people are really annoying
people. And I know
this because I am one of those people
(14:46):
and I have been told how annoying that is.
>> Ava Love Hanna (14:49):
No, it's great. And it makes for a great story.
>> Ladi Loera (14:51):
It does, it does. But I am that way.
Uh, I'm.
If I like you, I'm all I m in
baby.
>> Ava Love Hanna (15:01):
Well, so, uh, I have to tell you. Okay, so the story is hilarious.
And you sent it over and I happened to be sitting there at the time and
when the email came in and Paul was right next to me, I said, hey, we got a story.
Let's listen to it. And so we listened together and we were both
laughing so hard because it's
funny and it is. It's a little cringey,
but it's
(15:22):
really sweet and it's relatable, which
is, you know that those are all the factors you need for a great
story, right?
>> Ladi Loera (15:28):
Yes.
>> Ava Love Hanna (15:30):
So I want to say though, I had one problem with it is that I wanted
to accept it right away. I was like, no man, I gotta
play it cool. I gotta wait a couple days. I can't like I
can't. So it shows just how relatable the story is for me
because. Yeah.
>> Ladi Loera (15:42):
Yes.
>> Ava Love Hanna (15:43):
All in.
>> Ladi Loera (15:44):
You had to wait your three day period of
exact.
>> Ava Love Hanna (15:47):
Exactly. I couldn't email you within 30 minutes. I. And be like, okay,
yes, please. So, yeah,
OK. So the story is. It's about you. You
meet someone and you end up calling
them and then calling them and calling them,
waiting for a response.
>> Ladi Loera (16:03):
And I knew better and I, um. Better.
>> Ava Love Hanna (16:06):
But something happens right when you're excited or you're like,
oh, I just need to fix it. And every time we go to fix
something.
>> Ladi Loera (16:13):
Yes.
>> Ava Love Hanna (16:13):
Then it gets worse.
>> Ladi Loera (16:15):
Yes.
Something else falls off. And uh, that was the case.
I don't know why I work. Well, I do. I have my
theories why I work this
way. I've seen my mother, she got a new
puppy and I've seen her raise this puppy. And every
once in a while I'll look at him and I go, that's.
Why I'm this way.
>> Ava Love Hanna (16:39):
Oh no. Well, okay. When you
have someone to blame so that you can be like, it's not. You can. Yeah,
you've got to.
>> Ladi Loera (16:45):
It's not me. It's gotta be some.
>> Ava Love Hanna (16:47):
Well, so this story takes place in
Houston and really you do such a great job of
describing the setting. And I think that's another thing we
loved about it is Paul and I are both from Houston. We lived in the Montrose
area for years and years. And I feel like I know
the exact paper place you're talking about the
story. And as soon as you mentioned going to a restaurant,
we're like, it's going to be Baba Yega And it was. Right.
(17:10):
So were you raised in Houston or just. Did you spend
time there?
>> Ladi Loera (17:14):
No, I'm born and raised in Houston.
Uh, so. I know. And the
place was on Studamont. I don't know if that helped,
but that is so funny.
And I go intermittently to visit
family.
Eventually, uh, Chris and I moved to
California and then California we moved back to Austin.
(17:36):
O.
>> Ava Love Hanna (17:36):
Okay, cool.
>> Ladi Loera (17:37):
Because California was too much.
>> Ava Love Hanna (17:40):
Yeah. Oh. I mean it seems beautiful. But you know,
when you're. Here's the thing. I keep meeting people
who're from Houston. It's like we all have this shared trauma.
We kind of can't get away from it. We can't stray too far.
Yes.
>> Ladi Loera (17:52):
Because I wanted. I liked. I know
Texas is problematic about so many things,
but I still like it here.
>> Ava Love Hanna (18:00):
I know. That's the thing. So what brought you to Austin
then?
>> Ladi Loera (18:03):
Uh, originally I moved to.
Originally, uh, Chris and I moved to Lago Vista
and I moved from
there to.
To Austin proper. It just. It was time
to move into. I uh, did so many
things in Austin that it was
(18:24):
ridiculous having this 45 minute ride two or
three times a day.
>> Ava Love Hanna (18:28):
Oh, right. Yeah.
>> Ladi Loera (18:30):
From LA of it, the. To Austin, then back home then.
So I just ended up moving to Austin.
>> Ava Love Hanna (18:35):
Well, Austin has such a fantastic storytelling scene. I know
Houston does too. But I think I, uh, mean we just
have a really great theater and storytelling scene
here.
>> Ladi Loera (18:44):
I think ours is funkier.
>> Ava Love Hanna (18:46):
Yes, I do too. I think we've
got some really interesting stories here.
Well, okay. So everybody talks about
storytelling sometimes when I'll mention it. And they're like, well, what do you.
What are you talking about? I'm like, oh, well, you're telling
stories or at a party. I'm like, well, okay, not
exactly. So I know that, um, I wasn't
(19:06):
really aware of storytelling at first. And then
I was in Austin, I was a new mom and
I had a four year old And I had a friend who was a performer. She had
done spoken, ah, word poetry, and she knew the whole
scene. And she asked me how my day went. We're at the library, and I'm
telling her it was train wreck, and he's
asking about genitals, and I might have scarred him for life. And
(19:27):
she's looking for a book. She's hunched down on a bottom shelf.
She starts laughing so hard at when I'm telling her it, she falls over, and
she looks up at me from the ground, and she's like, you have to tell people
this story. I'm like, um, no, thank you. And
so she was like, no, you do. And so that's how I got introduced to
storytelling. I ended up on stage telling it. And
every time afterward, people are like, oh, thank God for
(19:47):
telling that. That happened to me too. So, uh, does that
happen to you? How did you find your way into
storytelling?
>> Ladi Loera (19:53):
Well, first off, I want to say that does happen to me. Something else I want
to say is I know the story you're talking about, and I
heard that I was crying,
was laughing so loud. That is such
a wonderful story.
>> Ava Love Hanna (20:07):
Well, thank you. So when it was happening, it
wasn't as funny, But I think that's what's so great about
this storytelling world is we get to chance to sort of
reflect and go, well, I think they.
>> Ladi Loera (20:19):
Credit this to Mel Brooks, but I don't know if someone said
it before him, but he always said that, uh,
something, if it happens, if I fall down
and hurt myself, that is a tragedy.
But if you fall down and hurt yourself, that
is comedy.
>> Ava Love Hanna (20:35):
Yes, that's what it is.
>> Ladi Loera (20:37):
We have no problem laughing at someone else,
even if they've done the same thing we did. It just softens
the blow a little.
>> Ava Love Hanna (20:44):
Oh, definitely. Defly. So when did you tell
your first story? How did you find your way into this?
>> Ladi Loera (20:49):
Uh, I joined
Toastmasters, and from
there, uh, I found my
way to Testify, and I told the story. And from
that point on, I loved
it. Uh, I absolutely loved it. I did it at
other events. And then Kate, who used to run.
Testify, she had a bab, and she.
(21:11):
Decided, you know, to Testify
was. It had been her baby, but now she has a real one.
>> Ava Love Hanna (21:16):
Oh, yeah.
>> Ladi Loera (21:18):
So I took it over, and I love. I love working with
storytellers. I love hearing people's, uh,
stories, their story ideas, and helping them create the arc
or whatever it is they're trying to say to me. It's just
so much fun helping people
relate themselves to an audience, because
invariably the audience understands.
>> Ava Love Hanna (21:39):
Oh, always. Yes. That is
amazing. Mhm.
>> Ladi Loera (21:43):
No matter how bad you think what you did is,
the audience is going.
Oh, I've done that.
>> Ava Love Hanna (21:49):
Yeah. And you know, it's just that the whole human condition.
Right. And it's been amazing to me because I've been to
Testify a bunch of times and to sit there and to hear,
say, five different stories and one night, each one different. Every
storyteller with different sort of operational filters,
but every story was relatable.
Um, I think one time s. George
Saunders, I had read an essay and he'd gone to Dubai
(22:12):
and he was writing about, uh, sort of
that he didn't get his advance yet. And he's staying in this very
fancy hotel in Dubai and they're wanting to kick
him out because his credit card was
rejected. So he's talking about hiding in this
hotel until maybe the magazine will send his
advance over. And I've never been to Dubai, but I remember going,
oh God. This really feels really relatable about when you're new in your re
(22:34):
career and you don't really have money and they're asking you to go do these travel
things. So that's what I think I love so
much about storytelling is you can always find
one or two things in any story that you can relate
to.
>> Ladi Loera (22:46):
I absolutely agree. And I found that,
uh, working with Testify, working with the storytellers that
we get now. Mhm. And by the way, if you get a chance,
come and see, or come tell a story. We'd love to have you.
>> Ava Love Hanna (22:56):
Oh, I will.
>> Ladi Loera (22:57):
I'm gonna come back, say that. And I want it on record.
>> Ava Love Hanna (23:01):
Well, I've been hiding away like a hermit. I was like, all right,
it's time to. And you guys, I mean, it is just. The
production values are fantastic. So yes, yes, it's very
tempting. Everyone should tell a story with Testify.
>> Ladi Loera (23:12):
So I would love it. And we like working with it.
Cause what's interesting to me is, uh,
I'm not gonna say we have people that come with their idea of what a
story is.
>> Ava Love Hanna (23:22):
Mhm.
>> Ladi Loera (23:22):
And we helped them with that. And one of the guys
that was telling the story, apparently he had been telling the story
for 25 years. And it's his
favorite story and it's about a plane wreck that he
was in. But when
you know something, you talk in a
language that no one else gets.
>> Ava Love Hanna (23:41):
Yes.
>> Ladi Loera (23:41):
And since he understands planes, he was going,
``abulator was retortioned and
the sclibd went to the flook
and no one knew what he was talking about. And I
worked with him on how to make this
more, uh, comprehensible for the audience. And after the
show, his wife came and told me this is the first
(24:02):
time I have ever understood what he is talking
about.
>> Ava Love Hanna (24:05):
That is awesome.
>> Ladi Loera (24:07):
Thank you so much for helping him. Now I don't mind if
he tells the story toie bre well.
>> Ava Love Hanna (24:12):
So I think that do I love that about Testify,
Because I have had people, I've had friends say, oh, I couldn't tell a story. I'm like,
yes, you can. They will help you. And I think that's
what's so great about experienced storytellers is
helping people sort of realize, oh, you know, I do have
these big sort of memoir moments in my own life.
Right.
>> Ladi Loera (24:30):
Well, and I think because people always think that a story
is die hard or you have to be a
firefighter who raced into a house.
>> Ava Love Hanna (24:38):
Oh, right.
>> Ladi Loera (24:38):
Things burning kittens and babies. But,
uh, a really nice story can just be.
You got up in the morning, you went on a walk, and you saw a
butterfly, and it made you cry. And this reminds you
of something. Um, and that's a beautiful
moment.
>> Ava Love Hanna (24:53):
And you know what? That's what I will tell people. They're like, well, where do you start your story? I'm
like, well, for me, I kind of start in the middle. It's a crystallized moment. And
I go, there's something about this moment that's important.
And then to work my way out from that, what did I
learn? Where did I go? That all will come, you know, but you gotta have
that moment. So obviously. So people will ask
writers, like, well, where do you get your ideas? Well, storytelling hold does. It's your
(25:14):
own life. But how do you personally know when something
is a story versus just sort of an
anecdote or a funny moment? What is it that
makes it for you?
>> Ladi Loera (25:23):
Well, I think a story, you really
have to, uh. There's an arc
there. The way I look at a story is. I
know they say it has a beginning, a middle and an end, but
it. A banana has a beginning of middle and an end. So
that's not different from anything else. I think of it,
I look at. It is u. Uh, there's who you
(25:44):
are, then what happens
and who you become. Yes, that's the
thing. Because you're something that causes you to change. And it
doesn't have to be a lifelong change. It could be a change that lasts
the day. But something that was important enough to you
to cause some sort of change there for you.
>> Ava Love Hanna (26:01):
Exactly.
>> Ladi Loera (26:01):
I Think that's what people find interesting
because we go through this all the time. We're not the same
people from day one to day two.
>> Ava Love Hanna (26:10):
Oh, exactly.
>> Ladi Loera (26:11):
I'll wake up in the morning and I've been having
oatmeal for two weeks because I'm on an oatmeal kick
and there's. My partner gets more oatmeal. I said
nomeal
because something has changed. And I. And it's, it's,
it's interesting. These things that change in us, uh, they
are wonderful stories. Cause we all have
those moments where you're driving on the freeway
(26:34):
and everything is nice and all of a sudden you're
really hacked off about something.
>> Ava Love Hanna (26:38):
Oh yeah.
>> Ladi Loera (26:40):
And that's a story because something caused
you to remember being hacked off. What was it?
Why are you mad all of a sudden? And I love those
moments.
>> Ava Love Hanna (26:50):
Oh, um, I think they're so important. And if you notice,
like, so shows like this American Life, which has a degree
of storytelling that was m. My first exposure, I think, to
storytelling. Um, and then the moth
testify. You guys sell out pretty much every
show ever. So what is it about these
storytelling shows, you think, that is so addictive to people?
>> Ladi Loera (27:11):
I think, uh, you know
the thing that they say, I can't remember his name. It's
that very foreign sounding name. And it's only foreign sounding
to me cause I'm an American. I'm sure to him it sounds
absolutely normal. Uh, but he says
that storytelling is what created who we are. That
without storytelling we would not be where we are now.
>> Ava Love Hanna (27:31):
Mhm.
>> Ladi Loera (27:31):
And I think that's true, that
the first stories that people told were, uh, stories
of survival. Just like
the word run is a story because there's an
implied now and.
You know, you gotta get out of there.
Uh, so if you look at stories as
things of survival, then I think they are
still that. But the world has changed so
(27:54):
much that it's not, it's not
inhospitable to a lot of us like it used to
be. So now stories are more about
emotional change, emotional dangers,
and emotional, uh, things that we have to go through.
So it's still about survival, but it's moved
to our head and our heart. As opposed to
chasing down dinner.
>> Ava Love Hanna (28:15):
Exactly. You know, I'll tell you, it happens
a lot when I'm typing storytelling. I always have a typo and ends up being
story yelling. And I'm like, you know what? I love that. That work. Work
too.
>> Ladi Loera (28:25):
Especially, you know, that sounds like another idea for
a show.
>> Ava Love Hanna (28:28):
It does a story Yelling, storytelling
and angry times. There we go. We've already pitched it.
We've got it.
>> Ladi Loera (28:36):
I actually kind of like that.
>> Ava Love Hanna (28:38):
Uh, well. So one
thing I have run into is explaining
this genre. Do you ever have a hard time, like, when you're putting
out a call for submissions and you're saying, you know, we
want stories, and I've seen it happen to you guys. It happens
to us. How do you go about explaining
what Testify is what you're looking for?
>> Ladi Loera (28:59):
You know, it doesn't seem to matter how many times we
do it. There's always the next
person that says, but what?
>> Ava Love Hanna (29:08):
But what?
>> Ladi Loera (29:08):
Like, yeah, because people have an idea
of what a story is, right? And,
uh, usually they're just a fun
anecdote or a nice romp of a story. It's not
an actual story the way Testify
classified story, which is tr.
And people will also think that they don't have one because they say, nothing
(29:29):
happens in my life. Um, you're 30, you're
40, you're 50. Things have happened to you.
>> Ava Love Hanna (29:35):
Yeah, exactly.
>> Ladi Loera (29:36):
Things happen to us all day long.
So, uh, when we tell them, what we do at
testifying is we make a safe space for people
to share who they are with an audience
that wants to learn about them.
>> Ava Love Hanna (29:49):
Oh, yeah. Oh, uh, that's perfect.
Um, so let me
see here. I do have one final question for you.
>> Ladi Loera (29:57):
Oh, please.
>> Ava Love Hanna (29:58):
And it's probably the most important. So
if I had called you five times
asking you to be on the podcast, would you have still agreed
to be here today?
>> Ladi Loera (30:08):
You would have had me at the first call.
>> Ava Love Hanna (30:11):
Cause I would have called you five times if you hadn't
responded. We were
like, I remember I sent to the email, I was like, okay, now
I just got away from to respond. This is such a good story.
>> Ladi Loera (30:22):
Well, thank you so much. I'm glad to be part of this. I went and
listened as soon as you put out that call. I went to listen to
your whole season. And I loved it. I love the plays,
I loved the stories. I loved everything.
>> Ava Love Hanna (30:33):
Well, we are super excited to have here. You're going to fit in
perfectly. And, um, I'm telling you, I cannot wait. I
wish I could listen to this for the first time with everyone.
So it's that good. So thank you
so much for joining us today. It's been a blast.
>> Ladi Loera (30:47):
Thank you, Ava. Bye. Bye.
>> Ava Love Hanna (30:53):
Thanks for hanging out with us today on Stories Found.
Weve been your host, Ava Love Hanna and Paul
Hanna. You can find out more about this episode.
Our amazing team. Sign up for our newsletter
or see how you can be a featured guest on a future
episode. You can do all of that and more over on
storiesfound.com
stories found is recorded at ELA
(31:15):
Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas
Hi and welcome to Stories Found. Each week we feature
funny stories, plays and sketches from some of the most talented
comedy writers around. I'm your host,
Ava Love Hanna, a comedy writer and playwright in
Austin, Texas. Joining me is my writing partner,
audio engineer and all around cool guy Paul
Hanna. You're listening to Stories
Found.
(00:32):
Thanks for joining us for this special best of Stories
Found episode. Weve recently updated our format
to better highlight the amazing stories and audio dramas that
we produce. This story was a fan favorite and it still
makes us laugh every single time we hear it. So we thought
hey, its only fitting to show off the new format with this
special episode. Stick around after the story
(00:52):
for a hilarious interview with Ladi and hear the story
behind the story. Stories Found
is now proud to present five Calls
by Ladi Loera.
>> Ladi Loera (01:10):
I used to work in a paper warehouse in
Houston. We sold skids of paper to uh,
businesses, churches and schools. And
one day Chris walked in
and when I saw him my stomach just dropped. There
was something about him.
Now we also had a small office supply section and that was the place that
(01:30):
I was mostly in charge of. So I helped him put an order
together and called him the next day. When everything came
in he smiled so
easily and it was such a nice smile. I
already had a big crush on this guy.
Over the course of the month he started coming in
more and more regularly and towards the end of the month he was coming in
(01:50):
every day, sometimes two or three times a day.
Now we had regular customers and some of them would come
in several times a day as well. But with Chris it
felt different. At least I hoped it
did. One
day I am helping him put together an order and he looks at me and says, you
know you have always been so helpful to
(02:11):
me. I would like to take you out for a beer.
Three things. Yay.
The other thing, I hate beer. I have never had a
beer that I've liked. People have always told me I'm drinking the wrong ones. It's
the problem is the same with all of them. The taste.
Third thing, I'm gonna drink that beer anyway.
(02:35):
Chris picks me up at work. I get off at
5:30. We head out to a restaurant called Bobby
Yea. We have dinner
and a couple of beers. It was worth it
and we get to know each other. Now up until
this point I am not even sure if this is a
gay person. This is the 80s in Texas. We
(02:56):
didn't talk about our sexuality. I was out to
friends and coworkers and my family, but I
wasn't out to everyone who came into the store, even the people with nice
smiles.
But over dinner I found out, yes
indeed, this was a gay guy.
In fact, he had been in a long term relationship almost 10
years. He had recently broken up with his
(03:18):
partner. Super recently, like that
very morning.
And they,
and they were gonna continue living in the house that they had bought
together. Now some of you hear red
flags.
I just hear that he's available.
(03:43):
Anyway, we spendt a couple of hours talking.
It's been a while and it's really time for us to leave the restaurant.
But we are having a nice time. We don't want to quit the evening.
So he suggests that we go for a walk along Buffalo
Byayou. We're following the trails and we
decide to take one of the trails at least closer down onto the
bayou. And we pass what can only be called
(04:03):
a herd of, uh, fireflies.
It was amazing. It was as if the universe
said, let's give these guys a candlelit
evening. We sat there and looked
at awe. And then we looked at each other and
we kissed and it was a date.
And we continued walking for about an hour, holding hands
(04:25):
and talking, just getting to know each other. But it was late and I
had to go back to work the next day and so did he. So he dropped me off at my
car and I went home. Now I have no recollection
of how I got home because all I did was play the date over
and over in my head the whole time.
The following morning at work,
I was myself. And I tend to be a bit
(04:46):
ridiculous at times. I was plotting the future,
where we'd live, how many pets. We'd have the pets names,
the pet names we'd call each other.
But what I didn't know is what's the proper
etiquette, you know, when dating.
Years earlier, I had d gone to the University of Houston and at some point
I became the president of the gay group we had on
(05:08):
campus. So I was trying to recall conversations'd had with some of
the other people. And there's the common thing, you know,
three days. You can't call for three days. But someone else said, no, it's
five days, it's a working week.
And then someone else know it's absolutely three days. But
it's a very specific three days. It's from Friday evening
through Sunday evening because they have to know that you
(05:28):
have other plans if they don't book you.
And then I had a friend named Jim.
Jim just looked at us like we were all
insane. Never call.
You don't call them if they don't call you,
you move on.
I have never had Jim self confidence. I probably
(05:51):
never will. But I
looked at everything that I had been thinking. I
tried to do the math and plot out the perfect time to call.
So I called him that day at 10:00 o'cl.
Hi Chris, this is Ladi I had a great
time yesterday. It was so nice getting the chance to sit
and talk to you and get to know more about you. I hope we can do this
(06:12):
again sometime soon. I have lunch.
1212 ish. If you want to come by, we can have lunch together and
visit. It would be great. I hung up the
phone. That was a good
call. I was proud of this call. I
did not come across creepy. I did not come across
desperate. I was nice. I was cordial. I was
inviting. That call.
(06:33):
I had nailed it.
So you can only imagine how sad I was when he didn't
call and he didn't come back for
lunch.
Well, love requires
action. And I am a man of
action. So I
called back at 12:30.
(06:57):
Hey Chris, this is Ladi
I called you earlier and you didn't call me back and you didn't drop by for lunch. And I
was just calling to make sure you got the message and to let you know I'm here at lunch.
If you feel like coming by, you can come on by. We can visit for a little bit.
It would be great to see you again. Bye.
That call sounded worse.
I did feel like I sounded a little bit desperate during that
(07:19):
call. In fact, I feel like I came across clingy and
needy. And I'm not clingy and needy.
Except at times I can be a little bit clingy and needy. And I know
this about myself. And you know,
it would be the worst thing if that's the way Chris remembers me from now
on and if he ever calls me because of that stupid
message. So I called again 45 minutes
(07:39):
later.
Hey Chris, this is
Ladi I know I've already called you twice.
Thrice with this call. Ha.
I just want to say, I know it seems kind of weird that
I'm calling you a lot, but I'm not really a weirdo. And yes, I
know that's probably something weirdo people say,
but I'm here and if you want toa come by, I have lunch
(08:02):
at the same time all the time. You can come by anytime. We'll visit. It'be great.
Call me. I hung up the phone and I am disgusted with
myself.
There is no reason for such blatant
weirdness on my part.
And I wonder what is wrong with me.
(08:22):
Do you know what the Skinner box is?
The Skinner box is the box they used to run
experiments on animals a long time ago,
psychological experiments. They would put a bird in it
or rodent of some kind, and they'd hit a lever and they get a
pellet of food. Well, what they
find is that if they keep
heading the lever and they don't get a pellet of
(08:45):
food, they do something different. Like maybe the bird will pick up its wing and
then it hits the lever, it gets the food. So now it marries
those two things together and it thinks it has to pick up the arm
in order to get the pellet. But then at some point it doesn't get
the pellet. So now it tries to figure out what else it needs to do. So it
picks up a leg and it does this. And now it has this modern
dance ritual that it is doing. Just trying to get
(09:05):
fedat. In my family, I was the
rodent in the Skinner box.
My parents are nice people,
but they did some weird stuff.
I find that they were not stingy with love at all, but they're kind
of unreliable. What, uh, was cute one day
(09:28):
was annoying the next day. What got you hugged
one day, got you scolded the next day. So
all I was trying to do was find a way to
be loved, but it kept changing. So there
was no way me just being myself was ever going to be good
enough. But what cemented this in my
head was a conversation I had with my mother.
(09:48):
I don't know what I had done. I probably had not cleaned my room, which as an
adult is still a problem.
And she looked at me, at the little boy that I was,
and said in my mother's most beautiful sing song voice,
well, if you don't do what your mother tells you,
I guess your mother just won't love you anymore.
Oh my God.
(10:09):
Can you imagine saying that to your child and thinking, oh,
this is good, this is healthy for him.
At this time, I realized that my parents, no matter
how much love they me have for me, they're just not
safe. And for me, love is safety.
Love is when you're able to be as weird as you
(10:30):
naturally are and there is still someone there willing to hold
your hand.
My fourth call
was significantly shorter than the others.
Hey, I know I've called a lot. It's just
that I really had a great time. And I know I'm coming
off weird, but I'm really a good guy. Give me a
(10:52):
call. Uh, I hung up the phone.
I am so, so angry at
myself. I am walking around the store helping customers,
but mentally kicking myself in the stomach the whole time.
My fifth call
was very simple. Hey,
(11:13):
I'm so sorry.
My heart was broken already, but it's my fault. I am the
idiot in this. And I realize this. I don't
understand what is wrong with me. It doesn't matter how I was raised. There is
something inherently not right here.
It's 5:30. We read again. You we were re getting ready to shut down the
(11:33):
shop. I'm at the back register closing things out and my boss comes and says,
I think that guy you've been calling out front.
My first thought is, whatever you do, don't run to the front door. Don't run to
the front door. I ran to the front door
and Chris was there, smiling. He said, I've been at work
at this stupid meeting all day. I just got home, took a
(11:54):
quick shower and decided to come and see if you wanted to go out for dinner.
I said, you didn't get my calls?
You called?
I swear I heard a smile in his voice.
He said, yeah, but of course I'm an
idiot. So the next question he says
five. Times.
(12:16):
And I saw him and his face just looked at me
for a while and then it melted into the
most beautiful smile. He said, that is
awesome.
Well, why didn't he get my messages? Well, it turns out
that his ex, that he had just broken up with the day
before, took that day off and heard
(12:37):
each and every one of my messages and erased them,
each one as they came through.
So he would never have known I'd called had I not been idiot
enough to tell him and he would have come to pick me up for
dinner all on his own.
I know it is an aw.
(12:59):
It feels to me like we have so many rules about the way we're
supposed to be and who you need to be and the correct way to
act. And all I
really know how to be is me.
But every once in a while, that's
enough.
>> Ava Love Hanna (13:32):
You've just heard five calls by Ladi Loera.
In addition to being an amazing storyteller, Ladi is the
artistic director and producer for Testify,
a fantastic live storytelling show in Austin,
Texas. Make sure you check out their website,
testifyatx.com or head over
to their YouTube channel later to see some of the amazing storytellers
they featured. Ladi is
(13:53):
hilarious, charming, and hes just an absolute
blast to talk to. So lets jump into the interview and hear
his story behind five Calls.
Hi Lonnie.
Welcome to Stories found.
>> Ladi Loera (14:13):
Howdy. I'm glad to be here.
>> Ava Love Hanna (14:15):
Awesome. Well, we are really, really excited to have you here
and have a chance to chat about your story. Five calls.
It is really, really funny, I have
to say that.
>> Ladi Loera (14:25):
Well, it's funny, but the sad
thing is it's also true. I just want
to say this. There are people in the world who when you're
dating, uh, they're all in the moment
you meet them. And those people are really annoying
people. And I know
this because I am one of those people
(14:46):
and I have been told how annoying that is.
>> Ava Love Hanna (14:49):
No, it's great. And it makes for a great story.
>> Ladi Loera (14:51):
It does, it does. But I am that way.
Uh, I'm.
If I like you, I'm all I m in
baby.
>> Ava Love Hanna (15:01):
Well, so, uh, I have to tell you. Okay, so the story is hilarious.
And you sent it over and I happened to be sitting there at the time and
when the email came in and Paul was right next to me, I said, hey, we got a story.
Let's listen to it. And so we listened together and we were both
laughing so hard because it's
funny and it is. It's a little cringey,
but it's
(15:22):
really sweet and it's relatable, which
is, you know that those are all the factors you need for a great
story, right?
>> Ladi Loera (15:28):
Yes.
>> Ava Love Hanna (15:30):
So I want to say though, I had one problem with it is that I wanted
to accept it right away. I was like, no man, I gotta
play it cool. I gotta wait a couple days. I can't like I
can't. So it shows just how relatable the story is for me
because. Yeah.
>> Ladi Loera (15:42):
Yes.
>> Ava Love Hanna (15:43):
All in.
>> Ladi Loera (15:44):
You had to wait your three day period of
exact.
>> Ava Love Hanna (15:47):
Exactly. I couldn't email you within 30 minutes. I. And be like, okay,
yes, please. So, yeah,
OK. So the story is. It's about you. You
meet someone and you end up calling
them and then calling them and calling them,
waiting for a response.
>> Ladi Loera (16:03):
And I knew better and I, um. Better.
>> Ava Love Hanna (16:06):
But something happens right when you're excited or you're like,
oh, I just need to fix it. And every time we go to fix
something.
>> Ladi Loera (16:13):
Yes.
>> Ava Love Hanna (16:13):
Then it gets worse.
>> Ladi Loera (16:15):
Yes.
Something else falls off. And uh, that was the case.
I don't know why I work. Well, I do. I have my
theories why I work this
way. I've seen my mother, she got a new
puppy and I've seen her raise this puppy. And every
once in a while I'll look at him and I go, that's.
Why I'm this way.
>> Ava Love Hanna (16:39):
Oh no. Well, okay. When you
have someone to blame so that you can be like, it's not. You can. Yeah,
you've got to.
>> Ladi Loera (16:45):
It's not me. It's gotta be some.
>> Ava Love Hanna (16:47):
Well, so this story takes place in
Houston and really you do such a great job of
describing the setting. And I think that's another thing we
loved about it is Paul and I are both from Houston. We lived in the Montrose
area for years and years. And I feel like I know
the exact paper place you're talking about the
story. And as soon as you mentioned going to a restaurant,
we're like, it's going to be Baba Yega And it was. Right.
(17:10):
So were you raised in Houston or just. Did you spend
time there?
>> Ladi Loera (17:14):
No, I'm born and raised in Houston.
Uh, so. I know. And the
place was on Studamont. I don't know if that helped,
but that is so funny.
And I go intermittently to visit
family.
Eventually, uh, Chris and I moved to
California and then California we moved back to Austin.
(17:36):
O.
>> Ava Love Hanna (17:36):
Okay, cool.
>> Ladi Loera (17:37):
Because California was too much.
>> Ava Love Hanna (17:40):
Yeah. Oh. I mean it seems beautiful. But you know,
when you're. Here's the thing. I keep meeting people
who're from Houston. It's like we all have this shared trauma.
We kind of can't get away from it. We can't stray too far.
Yes.
>> Ladi Loera (17:52):
Because I wanted. I liked. I know
Texas is problematic about so many things,
but I still like it here.
>> Ava Love Hanna (18:00):
I know. That's the thing. So what brought you to Austin
then?
>> Ladi Loera (18:03):
Uh, originally I moved to.
Originally, uh, Chris and I moved to Lago Vista
and I moved from
there to.
To Austin proper. It just. It was time
to move into. I uh, did so many
things in Austin that it was
(18:24):
ridiculous having this 45 minute ride two or
three times a day.
>> Ava Love Hanna (18:28):
Oh, right. Yeah.
>> Ladi Loera (18:30):
From LA of it, the. To Austin, then back home then.
So I just ended up moving to Austin.
>> Ava Love Hanna (18:35):
Well, Austin has such a fantastic storytelling scene. I know
Houston does too. But I think I, uh, mean we just
have a really great theater and storytelling scene
here.
>> Ladi Loera (18:44):
I think ours is funkier.
>> Ava Love Hanna (18:46):
Yes, I do too. I think we've
got some really interesting stories here.
Well, okay. So everybody talks about
storytelling sometimes when I'll mention it. And they're like, well, what do you.
What are you talking about? I'm like, oh, well, you're telling
stories or at a party. I'm like, well, okay, not
exactly. So I know that, um, I wasn't
(19:06):
really aware of storytelling at first. And then
I was in Austin, I was a new mom and
I had a four year old And I had a friend who was a performer. She had
done spoken, ah, word poetry, and she knew the whole
scene. And she asked me how my day went. We're at the library, and I'm
telling her it was train wreck, and he's
asking about genitals, and I might have scarred him for life. And
(19:27):
she's looking for a book. She's hunched down on a bottom shelf.
She starts laughing so hard at when I'm telling her it, she falls over, and
she looks up at me from the ground, and she's like, you have to tell people
this story. I'm like, um, no, thank you. And
so she was like, no, you do. And so that's how I got introduced to
storytelling. I ended up on stage telling it. And
every time afterward, people are like, oh, thank God for
(19:47):
telling that. That happened to me too. So, uh, does that
happen to you? How did you find your way into
storytelling?
>> Ladi Loera (19:53):
Well, first off, I want to say that does happen to me. Something else I want
to say is I know the story you're talking about, and I
heard that I was crying,
was laughing so loud. That is such
a wonderful story.
>> Ava Love Hanna (20:07):
Well, thank you. So when it was happening, it
wasn't as funny, But I think that's what's so great about
this storytelling world is we get to chance to sort of
reflect and go, well, I think they.
>> Ladi Loera (20:19):
Credit this to Mel Brooks, but I don't know if someone said
it before him, but he always said that, uh,
something, if it happens, if I fall down
and hurt myself, that is a tragedy.
But if you fall down and hurt yourself, that
is comedy.
>> Ava Love Hanna (20:35):
Yes, that's what it is.
>> Ladi Loera (20:37):
We have no problem laughing at someone else,
even if they've done the same thing we did. It just softens
the blow a little.
>> Ava Love Hanna (20:44):
Oh, definitely. Defly. So when did you tell
your first story? How did you find your way into this?
>> Ladi Loera (20:49):
Uh, I joined
Toastmasters, and from
there, uh, I found my
way to Testify, and I told the story. And from
that point on, I loved
it. Uh, I absolutely loved it. I did it at
other events. And then Kate, who used to run.
Testify, she had a bab, and she.
(21:11):
Decided, you know, to Testify
was. It had been her baby, but now she has a real one.
>> Ava Love Hanna (21:16):
Oh, yeah.
>> Ladi Loera (21:18):
So I took it over, and I love. I love working with
storytellers. I love hearing people's, uh,
stories, their story ideas, and helping them create the arc
or whatever it is they're trying to say to me. It's just
so much fun helping people
relate themselves to an audience, because
invariably the audience understands.
>> Ava Love Hanna (21:39):
Oh, always. Yes. That is
amazing. Mhm.
>> Ladi Loera (21:43):
No matter how bad you think what you did is,
the audience is going.
Oh, I've done that.
>> Ava Love Hanna (21:49):
Yeah. And you know, it's just that the whole human condition.
Right. And it's been amazing to me because I've been to
Testify a bunch of times and to sit there and to hear,
say, five different stories and one night, each one different. Every
storyteller with different sort of operational filters,
but every story was relatable.
Um, I think one time s. George
Saunders, I had read an essay and he'd gone to Dubai
(22:12):
and he was writing about, uh, sort of
that he didn't get his advance yet. And he's staying in this very
fancy hotel in Dubai and they're wanting to kick
him out because his credit card was
rejected. So he's talking about hiding in this
hotel until maybe the magazine will send his
advance over. And I've never been to Dubai, but I remember going,
oh God. This really feels really relatable about when you're new in your re
(22:34):
career and you don't really have money and they're asking you to go do these travel
things. So that's what I think I love so
much about storytelling is you can always find
one or two things in any story that you can relate
to.
>> Ladi Loera (22:46):
I absolutely agree. And I found that,
uh, working with Testify, working with the storytellers that
we get now. Mhm. And by the way, if you get a chance,
come and see, or come tell a story. We'd love to have you.
>> Ava Love Hanna (22:56):
Oh, I will.
>> Ladi Loera (22:57):
I'm gonna come back, say that. And I want it on record.
>> Ava Love Hanna (23:01):
Well, I've been hiding away like a hermit. I was like, all right,
it's time to. And you guys, I mean, it is just. The
production values are fantastic. So yes, yes, it's very
tempting. Everyone should tell a story with Testify.
>> Ladi Loera (23:12):
So I would love it. And we like working with it.
Cause what's interesting to me is, uh,
I'm not gonna say we have people that come with their idea of what a
story is.
>> Ava Love Hanna (23:22):
Mhm.
>> Ladi Loera (23:22):
And we helped them with that. And one of the guys
that was telling the story, apparently he had been telling the story
for 25 years. And it's his
favorite story and it's about a plane wreck that he
was in. But when
you know something, you talk in a
language that no one else gets.
>> Ava Love Hanna (23:41):
Yes.
>> Ladi Loera (23:41):
And since he understands planes, he was going,
``abulator was retortioned and
the sclibd went to the flook
and no one knew what he was talking about. And I
worked with him on how to make this
more, uh, comprehensible for the audience. And after the
show, his wife came and told me this is the first
(24:02):
time I have ever understood what he is talking
about.
>> Ava Love Hanna (24:05):
That is awesome.
>> Ladi Loera (24:07):
Thank you so much for helping him. Now I don't mind if
he tells the story toie bre well.
>> Ava Love Hanna (24:12):
So I think that do I love that about Testify,
Because I have had people, I've had friends say, oh, I couldn't tell a story. I'm like,
yes, you can. They will help you. And I think that's
what's so great about experienced storytellers is
helping people sort of realize, oh, you know, I do have
these big sort of memoir moments in my own life.
Right.
>> Ladi Loera (24:30):
Well, and I think because people always think that a story
is die hard or you have to be a
firefighter who raced into a house.
>> Ava Love Hanna (24:38):
Oh, right.
>> Ladi Loera (24:38):
Things burning kittens and babies. But,
uh, a really nice story can just be.
You got up in the morning, you went on a walk, and you saw a
butterfly, and it made you cry. And this reminds you
of something. Um, and that's a beautiful
moment.
>> Ava Love Hanna (24:53):
And you know what? That's what I will tell people. They're like, well, where do you start your story? I'm
like, well, for me, I kind of start in the middle. It's a crystallized moment. And
I go, there's something about this moment that's important.
And then to work my way out from that, what did I
learn? Where did I go? That all will come, you know, but you gotta have
that moment. So obviously. So people will ask
writers, like, well, where do you get your ideas? Well, storytelling hold does. It's your
(25:14):
own life. But how do you personally know when something
is a story versus just sort of an
anecdote or a funny moment? What is it that
makes it for you?
>> Ladi Loera (25:23):
Well, I think a story, you really
have to, uh. There's an arc
there. The way I look at a story is. I
know they say it has a beginning, a middle and an end, but
it. A banana has a beginning of middle and an end. So
that's not different from anything else. I think of it,
I look at. It is u. Uh, there's who you
(25:44):
are, then what happens
and who you become. Yes, that's the
thing. Because you're something that causes you to change. And it
doesn't have to be a lifelong change. It could be a change that lasts
the day. But something that was important enough to you
to cause some sort of change there for you.
>> Ava Love Hanna (26:01):
Exactly.
>> Ladi Loera (26:01):
I Think that's what people find interesting
because we go through this all the time. We're not the same
people from day one to day two.
>> Ava Love Hanna (26:10):
Oh, exactly.
>> Ladi Loera (26:11):
I'll wake up in the morning and I've been having
oatmeal for two weeks because I'm on an oatmeal kick
and there's. My partner gets more oatmeal. I said
nomeal
because something has changed. And I. And it's, it's,
it's interesting. These things that change in us, uh, they
are wonderful stories. Cause we all have
those moments where you're driving on the freeway
(26:34):
and everything is nice and all of a sudden you're
really hacked off about something.
>> Ava Love Hanna (26:38):
Oh yeah.
>> Ladi Loera (26:40):
And that's a story because something caused
you to remember being hacked off. What was it?
Why are you mad all of a sudden? And I love those
moments.
>> Ava Love Hanna (26:50):
Oh, um, I think they're so important. And if you notice,
like, so shows like this American Life, which has a degree
of storytelling that was m. My first exposure, I think, to
storytelling. Um, and then the moth
testify. You guys sell out pretty much every
show ever. So what is it about these
storytelling shows, you think, that is so addictive to people?
>> Ladi Loera (27:11):
I think, uh, you know
the thing that they say, I can't remember his name. It's
that very foreign sounding name. And it's only foreign sounding
to me cause I'm an American. I'm sure to him it sounds
absolutely normal. Uh, but he says
that storytelling is what created who we are. That
without storytelling we would not be where we are now.
>> Ava Love Hanna (27:31):
Mhm.
>> Ladi Loera (27:31):
And I think that's true, that
the first stories that people told were, uh, stories
of survival. Just like
the word run is a story because there's an
implied now and.
You know, you gotta get out of there.
Uh, so if you look at stories as
things of survival, then I think they are
still that. But the world has changed so
(27:54):
much that it's not, it's not
inhospitable to a lot of us like it used to
be. So now stories are more about
emotional change, emotional dangers,
and emotional, uh, things that we have to go through.
So it's still about survival, but it's moved
to our head and our heart. As opposed to
chasing down dinner.
>> Ava Love Hanna (28:15):
Exactly. You know, I'll tell you, it happens
a lot when I'm typing storytelling. I always have a typo and ends up being
story yelling. And I'm like, you know what? I love that. That work. Work
too.
>> Ladi Loera (28:25):
Especially, you know, that sounds like another idea for
a show.
>> Ava Love Hanna (28:28):
It does a story Yelling, storytelling
and angry times. There we go. We've already pitched it.
We've got it.
>> Ladi Loera (28:36):
I actually kind of like that.
>> Ava Love Hanna (28:38):
Uh, well. So one
thing I have run into is explaining
this genre. Do you ever have a hard time, like, when you're putting
out a call for submissions and you're saying, you know, we
want stories, and I've seen it happen to you guys. It happens
to us. How do you go about explaining
what Testify is what you're looking for?
>> Ladi Loera (28:59):
You know, it doesn't seem to matter how many times we
do it. There's always the next
person that says, but what?
>> Ava Love Hanna (29:08):
But what?
>> Ladi Loera (29:08):
Like, yeah, because people have an idea
of what a story is, right? And,
uh, usually they're just a fun
anecdote or a nice romp of a story. It's not
an actual story the way Testify
classified story, which is tr.
And people will also think that they don't have one because they say, nothing
(29:29):
happens in my life. Um, you're 30, you're
40, you're 50. Things have happened to you.
>> Ava Love Hanna (29:35):
Yeah, exactly.
>> Ladi Loera (29:36):
Things happen to us all day long.
So, uh, when we tell them, what we do at
testifying is we make a safe space for people
to share who they are with an audience
that wants to learn about them.
>> Ava Love Hanna (29:49):
Oh, yeah. Oh, uh, that's perfect.
Um, so let me
see here. I do have one final question for you.
>> Ladi Loera (29:57):
Oh, please.
>> Ava Love Hanna (29:58):
And it's probably the most important. So
if I had called you five times
asking you to be on the podcast, would you have still agreed
to be here today?
>> Ladi Loera (30:08):
You would have had me at the first call.
>> Ava Love Hanna (30:11):
Cause I would have called you five times if you hadn't
responded. We were
like, I remember I sent to the email, I was like, okay, now
I just got away from to respond. This is such a good story.
>> Ladi Loera (30:22):
Well, thank you so much. I'm glad to be part of this. I went and
listened as soon as you put out that call. I went to listen to
your whole season. And I loved it. I love the plays,
I loved the stories. I loved everything.
>> Ava Love Hanna (30:33):
Well, we are super excited to have here. You're going to fit in
perfectly. And, um, I'm telling you, I cannot wait. I
wish I could listen to this for the first time with everyone.
So it's that good. So thank you
so much for joining us today. It's been a blast.
>> Ladi Loera (30:47):
Thank you, Ava. Bye. Bye.
>> Ava Love Hanna (30:53):
Thanks for hanging out with us today on Stories Found.
Weve been your host, Ava Love Hanna and Paul
Hanna. You can find out more about this episode.
Our amazing team. Sign up for our newsletter
or see how you can be a featured guest on a future
episode. You can do all of that and more over on
storiesfound.com
stories found is recorded at ELA
(31:15):
Studios, deep in the heart of Austin, Texas
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