To lovers of homegrown storytelling, I have good news for you.
It is alive and well in Chattanooga, and has found a home in Cast Iron Storytelling founded by Jason Tinney and Holly Morse-Ellington of Next Exit Productions. There’s no special effects, no costumes or wheezy dialogue; It's a grab bag of local residents with a story to tell given voice by this new initiative started in April of 2024.
With three main stage events already and one more on the way before the year is out, I sat down with Jason to ask him more about the project, where to see it, and what compels someone to give voice to ordinary folks you pass on the sidewalk every day.
Greg Garrison: For those that don’t know you, who are you?
Jason Tinney: (Playful) Oh god, what a great question. I’m Jason Tinney, I’m a writer, actor/director, occasional musician, and the founder of Cast Iron Storytelling.
Greg: Cast Iron Storytelling. Sounds folksy. Where’d the name come from?
Jason: That name came from Holly Morse-Ellington, my better looking and smarter half. I’d come up with a whole litany of titles that progressively got more esoteric. Then one night out of nowhere, like she does sometimes, Holly just says, “Why don’t you call it Cast Iron Storytelling?”
You know, cast iron has tradition, it's an iconic staple of the south that's passed down from generation to generation. It’s got history, it's this tool with all these recipes that have a lineage. When I started mentoring potential storytellers, we had these raw materials that we cooked up into these amazing true stories that evoke all the senses... That’s what really solidified how the name connects to what we’re doing.
Greg: Most people have a passion for storytelling. You seem to have a passion for storytellers. What compelled you to put together Cast Iron Storytelling?
Jason: I met Amy Petulla during the pandemic doing a radio show (radio shows made a brief comeback during the pandemic). We’d finished the show, but later she messaged me and said, “I’m the owner of Chattanooga Ghost Tours and I’m looking for a guide and a storyteller.” Having never told stories in that fashion, ‘streetcorner storytelling’ as I’d come to find out, I said sure why not. And I fell in love with it.
I already had a deep love for Chattanooga and its history. The more I did it, the more I had my own personal experiences, just funny things that would happen on tours. I started weaving those into my stories and I saw that this connection was being made. I saw for the first time the power of storytelling as an art form and I wanted to make something that built upon what I was doing every night on the corners of Chattanooga and open it up to other people.
Greg: Can anybody sign up?
Jason: Absolutely anybody. Come take a workshop, work out the details, find the ‘switch’ as I call it. I really do believe that everybody has a story to tell. If you want to share it, I want to be the guy that helps you do that.
Greg: Who’s the target audience, if there is one?
Jason: Oh, our target audience is anybody that likes a good story. We really try to create an air of casualness, I like to think of them as blue jeans parties. Wear your favorite denim, that kind of thing. We want to create that aura of a lively gathering with friends, or summertime on your porch with neighbors. We’re not stuffy, we’re just swapping stories like good friends.
Greg: What’s your next event?
Jason: Right! Our next event is our holiday event. We’re closing the year out with a special one night only live event on December 1st at Barking Legs Theater.
Greg: Cast iron skillets are well seasoned, and I’ve noticed your events are seasonal. Your debut theme was Crossroads and Connections, then a sort of road trip theme this summer, October was Fear/Less about a time you faced your fears. What’s your winter theme?
Jason: All of our storytellers hitch their true tales to a theme. I try to keep it nebulous so it opens the door to interpretation. The theme for December is Naughty Or Nice, and it will close out our 2024 season. We have six brand new storytellers and they’re sharing a story about a time they were naughty or nice, or a personal experience that started off naughty and became nice. We always have unexpected twists on the theme, Naughty Or Nice will deliver a winter wonderland of variety.
We talked a while longer about the goals of the company, the already expanding 2025 docket, and as we spoke I saw a glowing spark of inspiration. There is no self aggrandizing here, just a man with a vision and the means to make it real. It’s unfair to say it’s rare to find, many creative arts initiatives have high hopes and the goal of bringing it to the public, but Jason has tapped into something deceptively simple.
Get tickets at barkinglegs.org/ourevents/naughty-and-nice
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