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For many, COVID lockdown was marked by loneliness and boredom. But for Bay Area residents Claire Hennessey and Regina Stoops, co-founders of storytelling organization Six Feet Apart Productions, lockdown gave rise to exhilarating connections. “It’s blasphemous to say we had a good pandemic, but we got to know all these people,” Hennessey told 48 Hills.
She and Stoops are both award-winning storytellers themselves. Pre-pandemic, they performed at various local venues. When lockdown forced them off stage, they and another friend cooked up the idea of producing their own online storytelling events, similar to The Moth Radio Hour. The other friend soon backed out due to the work involved. But Hennessey and Stoops were hooked.
Their different but complementary personalities and skillsets make them a perfect match. Stoops is calm and detail-oriented. Hennessey, high energy and gregarious, thrives on bringing people together and is fearless when it comes to asking acclaimed storytellers to participate in their events. She snagged TV host and legendary storyteller Bil Lepp to perform in their first show— for free.
“We did one show a week for six months until I thought I was going to dig myself into the ground, because I also had a job then,” Hennessey said. “So we changed it to twice a month, and that’s how we’ve done things ever since.”
She quit her job in 2021 to focus on Six Feet Apart Productions full-time. Stoops, a stay-at-home mother of three, joined her. The company still doesn’t generate a ton of revenue. Yet both women believe the payoffs are worth their time and energy. Hennessey noted that if she won the lottery tomorrow, she’d continue her work with Six Feet Apart. Stoops, who will perform at this year’s National Storytelling Festival, the country’s most prestigious storytelling event, expressed similar feelings.
“I have met people from around the world, both online and in person, whom I would never have had the chance to know,” she said. “Six Feet Apart Productions has allowed me to tell my stories to a much broader audience than I ever thought possible.”
Thanks to Hennessey’s tech guru husband and graphic designer son, their virtual shows have a polished look with fun touches like animated theater curtains. In addition to regular online open mic story slams, Six Feet Apart also produce special themed online events that support worthy social causes, donating a portion of the proceeds to related nonprofits like Black Lives Matter and Feeding America.
As venues began to re-open after lockdown, the company expanded into the real world and now hosts monthly Story Shuffles at the Courtyard by Marriott in Novato. Hennessey and Stoops take pride in providing an inclusive, friendly environment for all storytellers, whether seasoned pros or newbies.They also hold workshops to help performers hone their storytelling skills. And they manage the Bay Area Storytelling Festival and work closely with other organizations, such as the Storytelling Association of California.
“There’s a massive world of storytelling out there that lots of people really don’t understand,” said Hennessey. “One of our missions is to change that.”
