On February 26th, I’ll be telling a new story — “The Elevator in Rome” — at Tell It On Tuesday at The Marsh in Berkeley.
AND … I’ll be telling other new stories at three gigs in April in San Francisco and Oakland. Storytelling in the oral tradition — no text, no notes.
Come on down! Easily BARTable. Cheap entertainment!
I’ll Be Telling It On Tuesday This Month … and Other Stories Read More »
It’s still dark out as we pull up to the hospital on a frosty Chicago morning at six. One of the nurses greets us quietly, and we roll our cameras, monitors, lighting, and audio equipment through the bowels of the hospital to the corridor with the operating rooms.
In two hours we’ll be filming heart surgery.
Shooting Miracles: How to Deal with Medical Locations Read More »
Technology companies around the world spend millions of dollars on marketing media. Many of these projects rely on real people talking about their own experiences—that staple of corporate video, the talking head …
But I’ve come to realize that health is the most important product of technology, and that patient stories make the most interesting and compelling talking heads, not corporate executives, engineers, or software designers. Here are four memorable patients
Health: Our Most Important Product Read More »
Today we gave away over 300 books from our dusty shelves. Many bags, crammed full of books, all in excellent shape, an alarming number unread and unopened.
It started with a holiday season when our kids were away most of the time, coupled with a desire to reduce dust and sneezing, amplified by a dread of our kids someday discovering that our vast collections were both voluminous and virginal.
The latter dread, which is not uncommon for retired folks, is a byproduct of having lived in the same house for 32 years. Without regular purges of stuff, every closet, shelf, or cabinet would be stuffed. That’s why they call it stuff.
On Discarding Books Read More »
I gave a talk on Storytelling at my 50th Dartmouth College Reunion last month. Following is the text of my ten-minute introduction. If you want to see the whole, one-hour presentation, including video clips and stories, click on the video player below. Closed Captions (CC) available.
I never wanted to be a performer until I discovered storytelling.
About two-and-a-half years ago, a friend of mine had a gig playing classical guitar at The Marsh, a club in Berkeley that was hosting a monthly storytelling night called Tell It On Tuesday. She urged me to come along. After she finished playing, five people, all roughly my age, stood up in turn and told stories.
A Storytelling Journey Read More »
I guess gratuitous self-promotion pays off, eh? Every single chair was in use. I was so pleased with the turnout and the enthusiasm of the audience, even if most of them were friends!
They laughed a lot, usually at appropriate moments, and applauded each story. What fun!
Part 2 includes these stories:
BILLY SOLO Video — Part 2 Read More »
My solo storytelling show last Friday was amazing, a real peak experience!
What a fun evening! I had a terrific time and feel wonderful about having challenged myself like that. I did eight stories, about 75-80 minutes of material in all.
The place was packed. About 48 people in a medium-smallish room.
Part 1 includes these stories:
BILLY SOLO Video — Part 1 Read More »
Friday, April 20th at 7 pm
Silk Road House, 1944 University Avenue #107, Berkeley (6-minute walk from Downtown Berkeley BART)
Tickets are ON SALE NOW:
http://bit.ly/billysolo
OR Go to zarchy.eventbrite.com
BILLY SOLO: One-man, One-hour Storytelling Soirée Salon with BILL ZARCHY Read More »
(Loosely inspired by a tall and nearly true tale)
Jake rushed through the door, sweaty and disheveled, to find Al playing solitaire in the main lodge.
“Al! I just had a moose encounter,” said Jake. “Up on Bacon Ridge. It was pretty great, dude. Wait’ll I tell the guys at home about this.”
“Was it sweet and chocolatey?”
“No, dipshit! Not that kind of moose, with a U! Moose with two O’s, like Bullwinkle. Huge, with antlers. I just saw one.”
“Tell me.”
About two years ago, I went to a storytelling event at The Marsh in Berkeley and watched six people tell six very different stories. Some personal, some historical, all about 10-15 minutes long.
My first reaction: I can do that.
Little did I know.
A Writer’s Debut As a Storyteller Read More »
Radio host Lilycat interviewed me recently about my writing on FCC Free Radio.
The show ran live on September 18, broadcast from their studios in the Civic Center/UN Plaza District in downtown San Francisco. For two hours, we talked, she played music, and I read three stories from my book, Showdown at Shinagawa: Tales of Filming from Bombay to Brazil.
Once a month, she hosts authors like myself from Left Coast Writers.
Listen to My Interview on FCC Free Radio Read More »
An old friend from the East Coast contacted me recently to see if I had any career advice for her friends’ son, a recent film school graduate who was trying make it as a filmmaker in New York City. I told my friend that, though my experience as a freelance crew person in the Bay
How to Succeed in the Film Business While Really, Really Trying Read More »
As we pass the 30-year mark in our home next week, the tall tree in the right rear corner of the yard, an Incense Cedar, stands tall and true, more than twice the height of the house. When we moved in, there were two tall trees. The left rear corner held a Monterey Pine, so
Video of a presentation by Bill Zarchy at Northbrae Community Church, Berkeley, California on 2/3/16. The author reads excerpts from four of the stories in his book, Showdown at Shinagawa: Tales of Filming from Bombay to Brazil.” He also discusses the ins and outs of self-publishing, as well as his background as a globe-trotting cinematographer. The
Video: Showcasing ‘Showdown at Shinagawa’ Read More »
“I’m hungry,”said Randy, as we set up a sunset shot from the overpass near the end of our first day on the ground. “We need something to eat.” “Okay,” Larry agreed. “I’ll get street food. There’s lots of it around.” “Is that safe?” “This is at least my fifth trip to Thailand. I’ve never gotten
Bangkok, the Saudis, and the Jism Balls Read More »
Meet Molly. The third in the Pantheon of Zarchy Family Dogs, she follows, in succession, Sophie the Wonder Dog and Montana Banana Zarchy, all of them delicious sources of unqualified love. Molly is eight months old, about 45 lbs., a super-cute Boxer mix with light fawn-and-white coloring and a longer snout than the typical purebred
Dog 3.0 — Good Golly, Miss Molly Read More »
One autumn about a million years ago, I was living with friends in Vermont, teaching high school, avoiding conscription, and just starting my California Dreaming. We lived on a farm on a dirt road off another dirt road. The farm didn’t grow anything. The owners lived on Guam, used it only as a summer house,
The Moon, the Snow, and Dr. Zhivago Read More »
Sometimes the course of your life can turn on one small thing, one chance encounter. It happened to me, many years ago, the day Beverly invited me to visit her. Of course I had the hots for her — pretty, round face, sparkling blue eyes, long blond hair. But ever since our one blind date
A Chance Encounter Read More »
We loved our first house in San Francisco, in the Excelsior district of the Outer Mission. We loved the fact that we owned it, loved that we had managed to move quickly enough to evade eviction by our last landlady (who had suddenly decided to move into our apartment), loved that our living space had
We Loved Our First House Read More »
Whenever my dad wanted to speak metaphorically about Podunks — places that were remote and sparsely populated — he often cited Broken Elbow, Indiana, and Frozen Dog, Iowa. I always assumed they were real places, and recently I dug around to find out how they got their colorful names. Internet research truly is the best!
Bronze Certificate, Funny Travel Category, 9th Annual Solas Awards for Travel Writing from Travelers Tales, March 2015. It’s not easy being a mileage whore. Sometimes you have to do things that don’t seem to make sense. United Airlines operates a major hub in San Francisco, and I’ve whored for their miles for years now. On
Good Night, Irene: Confessions of a Mileage Whore Read More »
I just found an online page which appears, at first, to be a review of my book, SHOWDOWN at SHINAGAWA. Then I read the page all the way through. I know these are English words, but … is this English? My favorites are learning that “SHOWDOWN at SHINAGAWA … lets you cook flavorful and tasty food without
New Book Review? Is This English? Read More »
At 9 am Monday, I left my home near San Francisco for what proved to be one of my longest trips ever. Twenty-nine hours later, I reached my destination, after a grueling air journey. But I hadn’t been hurled halfway around the world. I had finally touched down in Fargo, North Dakota, just halfway across
Why They Call It Far-go Read More »
My book SHOWDOWN at SHINAGAWA tells true stories from my long career as a director of photography, working on film and digital cinema shoots across the U.S. and all around the world: Japan, India, China, Uganda, the Philippines, New Zealand, France, Singapore, England, Taiwan, Mexico, and Brazil. The book has recently been honored as a Commended Winner in
New Award & Reviews for SHOWDOWN at SHINAGAWA Read More »
Today is the 100th birthday of my mom, Jeanette Tulman Zarchy, who passed away about two years ago. In her honor, I am republishing this eulogy I wrote for her memorial. I want to tell you a little about our mom, whose life mirrored our nation’s history for the last century. She was born Jeanette
For Mom, A Century Later: We Miss Your Bright Eyes and Sweet Smile Read More »