On Season 6 of The TMI Project Story Hour: Gift of a Story, join rotating co-hosts Eva Tenuto, Micah, Raine Grayson, Julie Novak, and Blake Pfeil as they take a deep-dive into the TMI Project archives, past and present.

Whether we’re exploring veteran’s rights, the politics of period products, or pet misadventures, one thing is certain: each storyteller is sharing the gift of a story. Join us as we take a deeper dive and share the stories behind the secrets, and what happened next.

Podcast co-hosts

Eva Tenuto

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WORKSHOP LEADER

“One of the most rewarding parts of working at TMI Project is seeing what storytellers look like when they step off stage. It often looks like they’re floating out of the theater. They look taller; lighter. It’s as if something has truly been lifted. To be able to witness that over and over fills my spirit. I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do.”

Eva co-founded TMI Project in 2010, spearheading a movement using true storytelling as a liberation practice for social justice. With an unwavering commitment to releasing shame and stigma through true storytelling, Eva has propelled TMI Project from her living room to the United Nations, and many places in between. Since then, she has guided thousands of people to write and share their stories. Now, Eva is the co-host of the award-winning podcast, The TMI Project Story Hour, and the stories are being listened to around the world. Eva is the editor and director of multiple solo shows, one of which was awarded Best Comedic Script in the United Solo Festival. Her award-winning docu-short, Vicarious Resilience, celebrated its world premiere at The Woodstock Film Festival. Her latest docu-shorts, Locker Room Talk and One Story at a Time: Celeste Lecesne, debut in 2024. Her essays have appeared in assorted anthologies and online publications.

Micah

Pronouns: He/Him/His
Black Stories Matter Co-Director, Workshop Leader

“TMI Project allows an exchange to happen. It feeds a deep need to know our own truth, to connect to something real. This is an ancient practice of sharing our stories and it’s perhaps the most revolutionary tool we have at our disposal.”

In addition to leading TMI Project workshops, Micah serves as the manager at GWI’s (Good Works Institute) Greenhouse Kingston, a yoga teacher at Mudita, and creator of DAY 1 (a New Year’s Day community event). He is on the board of Wild Earth (a non-profit Wilderness School), Radio Kingston, The Center for Creative Education, and O+ (a nonprofit health and wellness festival for artists and creators). He also serves as City of Kingston’s Art Commissioner at the Kingston Farmers Market.

Raine Grayson

Pronouns: He/Him/His
Organizational Administrator, Workshop Leader

“TMI Project does the exact kind of work that the world needs. From the moment I learned about them I wanted to contribute to the way they spread outstanding courage, community, and kindness. TMI Project makes the world a more honest, open place and I am honored to be given the chance to help foster and facilitate their mission.”

Raine Grayson is a multi-genre writer whose work focuses on exploring and uplifting the LGBTQIA+ community. He specializes in social action theatre and also dabbles in academic essays and creative non-fiction. He founded “Queeries Blog” – a space for queer artists to publish their work freely. He’s worked with The TMI Project before in conjunction with the Trevor Project for “Life Lines: Queer Stories Of Survival”. He’s spoken his suicide survival story on nationally streaming platforms for Trevor Live in support of their suicide prevention chat line. His nonfiction work can be found featured at Queeries Blog, Go Magazine, The Paragon Press, Weasel Press, and soon So Say We All’s magazine “The Whole Alphabet”. His playwriting has been featured by The Playwriting Collective, The Tank, NY Madness, KIT Theatre, The Rosendale Theatre, and Virtual Theatre Collaboration. He is a recipient of the SUNY Thayer Fellowship and Patricia Kerr Ross Award for his playwriting, as well as being recognized as a runner-up for the The Playwriting Collective’s Ball Grant. If you’d like to queer up your timeline, find him on social media @rainerpism.

Julie Novak

Pronoun: She/Her/Hers
Workshop Leader

“To be a part of helping people release the shame that binds them, to see people transform in the most positive way after sharing their truth is what gives my life meaning. Countless times I have witnessed how the act of being seen and heard can create true connection and lasting change.”

Julie is a multi-talented performer, writer, and musician who enjoys making people laugh, feel loved, and consider their role in making the world a better place. Aside from co-founding TMI Project, Julie is a media producer and facilitator with The Future Perfect Project, a queer-led organization that offers free arts programming to LGBTQIA+ youth across the globe. She has performed all over the United States, including a tour of her one-person show America’s Next Top, which had a successful run in the NYC Fringe Festival. Currently, Julie is the host of No One Like You (broadcast on TMI Project media partner Radio Kingston/WKNY), a weekly program where she interviews everyday heroes who share uplifting stories about turning their kryptonite into their superpower. Learn more: julienovak.com

Blake Pfeil

Pronouns: He/Him/His
Operations & Programs Manager, Workshop Leader

“It’s humbling to be part of a mission committed to exploring the cultural dynamics of intersectionality. For centuries, the art of true storytelling has allowed for unheard voices to find an audience and untold stories to come to light. In a day and age when truth is constantly under fire, there is hope when all kinds of marginalized voices are able to find platforms like TMI Project to share common ground.”

Blake Pfeil is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist. He cofounded folk-fusion band Macabre Americana and hosts “The Pfeil File” on Radio Kingston/WKNY (107.9 FM/1490 AM in the Hudson Valley, NY). Blake’s work appears on stages, concert halls, or clubs; through your headphones, speakers, radio, Diskman, or TV screens; or in magazines, books, or journals. In all his non-existent spare time, Blake is also currently working as an associate producer for season 5 of History Colorado’s Lost Highways. His current project is All-American Ruins, a multimedia travelogue in which he recounts his experiences exploring abandoned spaces across the United States and reimagines them via multimodal storytelling. The podcast arm of the project, abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, was an Official Select at On Air Fest 2023 and winner of the Top of the Rockies – Best of Podcasts (2023). All-American Ruins was also recently shortlisted for the Elevate Creatives Fund.MA, Arts Entrepreneurship, Purchase College; BFA, Musical Theatre, Emerson College. Audio Podcast Fellow, SUNY Stony Brook. https://www.blakepfeil.com

About TMI Project & the Podcast

Since 2010, TMI Project has led nearly 150 true storytelling workshops and staged live storytelling performances by over 3,000 storytellers, which have been presented to audiences of nearly 250,000. In the past, you had to wait on line to get seated in an off-broadway theater, a cafeteria in a detention center, or perhaps you were coming to hear activists perform their stories at the United Nations. Now, you can listen from anywhere in the world. Tune in and join us. While you listen, don’t forget to ask yourself, “What is my TMI story?” We all have one.

Podcast Partners

Funders

TMI Project programming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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