Storytellers Showcase Their Talent at the Second Annual Tales from the 'Dale and Beyond

There are so many great tales from the ‘Dale and a host of talented community members to tell them. The second annual night of storytelling on April 12, produced by the Scarsdale Adult School, brought together an animated group of students, teachers, former teachers, moms, Scarsdale natives and a few from outside our community with amazing stories to share.

Sandi Marx, a Moth slam favorite and former Greenacres denizen produced the evening at the Heathcote Auditorium. She told a story of her own and invited others to spin their stories. The event drew a rapt crowd who laughed, cried and cheered for the talent.

The performances will be shown on the Scarsdale Cable Television (SCTV) and streamed on video, and I recommend that you watch. Trying to describe a great performance is only second to seeing the performance yourself, so look for it on SCTV.

The evening opened with Sandi Marx who told us how she shared a ride downtown with her childhood idol, Carole King. Marx poked some fun at herself. Usually glib and quick with conversation Marx was overwhelmed when she met King. Marx grew tongue-tied and in an attempt to connect, found herself playing with the famed composer’s curly hair.

Two Scarsdale High School teachers and a retired faculty member were on the program. Joe Vaughn, who teaches physics and also coaches the debate team revealed how a jack knifed tractor-trailer made him three hours late to his interview in Scarsdale, which involved teaching a class. Only 22 years old, he was sure that the mishap would cost him the job. But as hundreds of high school students know, there was a happy ending to this story.

Former A-School Director and social studies teacher Howard Rodstein brought us back to those terrifying 2-minute conference nights, when parents and teachers “speed date.” Rodstein, who revealed that he had trouble with names, confused two students and gave their parents progress reports that they did not expect. How did this play out in the semesters to come … with one of the poorest students thinking he was the class star, and the star fearing he needed to work a lot harder? There is an ironic lesson in this mishap.

Denise Del Balzo told a bittersweet tale about her tempestuous relationship with her mother. Del Balzo had a tough time living up to her mother’s expectations, especially when it came to taming her unruly hair. The hair was a metaphor for their conflict; Denise’s was wild and her mom’s was straight, neat and always perfect. It was only after her mom passed away and Denise was in mourning for the relationship she would never have with her mother, that she read a book that unlocked the secret to getting along with her.

The show included a student at SHS, and an Edgemont alum, and an SHS alum who all shared poignant stories.

Julia Brody, from the Edgemont class of ’13 created the Storytelling Club and was featured in USA Today. During her college years at the University of Delaware, she found a group of soul mates who spent time deep in meaningful conversation. Brody has been honing her storytelling at the Magnet Theater NYC and now has an Instagram account with over 7000 followers. On Thursday she shared how she ultimately used her storytelling skills to help her deal with her mother’s sudden and unexpected death. She said, “I am going to continue to share my story – it makes me feel less alone.”

Also impactful, was SHS junior Nabiha Qadir, who struggled to integrate her Pakistani heritage with her wish to be American, like many of her classmates. After spending years hiding her Pakistani culture she decided to “come out” to her friends, and show them her true self. She found that she was far more comfortable living with her real identity than trying to pretend she was someone else.

Justine Gelfman found out that she could learn more that science from her Physics teacher when he suffered a tragic loss during the year. Though she dreaded science, and didn’t know the difference between astrology and astronomy, she came to love the class and her teacher. After he lost his wife, she wondered if he would return to finish the school year – which he did – demonstrating lessons in courage, strength, tenacity and resilience that Gelfman will remember for a lifetime.

Another SHS Alum, Lori Weitzner returned for an encore appearance, this year sharing the story of how she came to publish a book. An accomplished textile and wallcover designer and the recipient of many design awards, she set her stars on publishing a book – but struggled to figure out what that book should say. At a loss for words, she collected her ideas in a box of inspiration with swatches, poetry and mementos, hoping to communicate through color. Eventually, an editor at Harper Collins helped her overcome her writer’s block and identify her thesis, saying, “I think you are trying to write the book of what people want to read, not what you want to say.”

And there’s more – Rebecca Gabin, the daughter of Russian immigrants, and herself a mother of three, explained how her impulse to rescue others frightened her parents who were survivors who believed “no good deed goes unpunished.” Pregnant with her first child, she rushed to help an elderly woman who had fallen on the streets of the city, and ended up taking a strange ride in an ambulance.

Other community members got in the act as well. Pastor Pete Jones from Hitchcock Church recounted a story from his training years when he was instructed to pay a visit to a Baptist minister, in the last days of his life in a hospice. Fearful that he did not have the theological knowledge to address the man, he was surprised that all the minister wanted was someone to sing to him and make him feel loved as he slipped away.

For the tale from beyond the “Dale,” tech entrepreneur Justin Hefter told the thrilling story of how he and three relative strangers used social media to facilitate peace activist Mohammed El Salhawi's escape from Yemen. It’s a true story that has been turned into a book, The Fox Hunt, and is even being made into a Hollywood film by producer Marc Platt (LaLa Land) and Academy Award winning writer Josh Singer (Spotlight). He came directly to Scarsdale from The Megyn Kelly show. Wow!

Also on the program was Mary Wasacz who shared her adventure trying to recapture her lovebird who flew the nest and ignited a neighborhood chase.

The event was hosted by Sandi Marx and produced by Scarsdale Adult School co-chairs Ann Sacher and Leesa Suzman, and Executive Director Jill Serling.

Kudos to SAS and everyone involved.