Arts & Culture

NHPR Presents: Celebrating Portsmouth's Past, Present & Future with Long Story Short

New Hampshire Public Radio | By Zoë Kay,

Published June 30, 2023 at 3:35 PM EDT

Story teller Chris Elliott poses with Long Story Short co-host Mark Michael Hall — Storyteller Chris Elliott poses with Long Story Short co-host Mark Michael Adams at Long Story Short in Portsmouth, NH.

NHPR is excited to present Long Story Short, in collaboration with 3S Artspace, throughout 2023. This quarterly storytelling series features local performers from across the region. Segments are based on themes that allow each participant to bring their own unique experiences to life.

Long Story Shortreturns to stage and air with Portsmouth: Past, Present, and Future.

The Portsmouth-based live storytelling series returned on Wednesday, June 14 to the 3S Artspace stage with a show that hits close to home for many. This show, cohosted by Long Story Short founder Beth LaMontagne Hall and Mark Michael Adams, highlights the Portsmouth from long ago, its recent history, and includes stories from some of the youngest residents.

Featured storytellers in this broadcast:

Rochelle Jones - Community Outreach Coordinator for the City of Portsmouth
Barbara Steinbach - former owner of the Elvis Room
Evan Mallet - owner/chef of The Black Trumpet, author, and James Beard semi-finalist
Chris Elliott - writer and musician

Portsmouth Past, Present, and Future will air on NHPR on Friday, June 30 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, July 1 at 4 p.m. You can listen live on-air, online, or with the NHPR app.

About Long Story Short: Long Story Short is not just a storytelling event. It’s an opportunity to share the funniest moments life brings us, the deepest human emotions, and the strangest day of your life with complete strangers.

This bare-bones storytelling series, hosted by Beth LaMontagne Hall, is free of pretense and over-rehearsed monologues. The show throws a mix of professional writers, performers, and average folks who have no public speaking experience whatsoever on stage with just a mic and a spotlight to tell a personal story based on that show’s theme.

What makes Long Story Short unique is the off-the-cuff feel many of the stories have, including each show’s one open mic slot. A brave volunteer from the audience is selected at random and must take the stage at a moment’s notice to open the second half — not even the host knows what’s going to happen.