Free writing workshop After teaching writing and performance workshops for 30 years, I am now focusing on 1:1 coaching and mentoring . The only workshop I'm currently offering is on Wednesday mornings via Zoom (see below). "I am really enjoying the class. This is the easiest writing has ever been for me." Get Up and Write! E very Wednesday 8 to 9.15am Pacific Time Free via Zoom An appointment with yourself to write. Writing prompts. Or you can work on your own project. Conversation. C ompany in the creative process. Zo om link . ________________________________________________________________________

< Back #1 Gunther's Dream August 23, 2023 Comic Bonbon #1: Gunther's Dream It's January 2021. The depth of the pandemic. The medical storytelling podcast The Nocturnists, has put out a call for dreams. Physicians should make audio recordings of their dreams and nightmares, and upload them; some will be included in an upcoming episode. So, one day I'm talking to the podcast's host, my friend Emily Silverman (mentioned above), and she tells me they've just received this amazing dream from this German-accented physician. I didn't have the heart to tell her... Please feel free to share this bonbon with friends! For the next bonbon, click here Gunther's Dream 00:00 / 04:47 Keep the bonbons coming! Email me when the next one is ready! Email Subscribe Previous Next

How I became part man, part eagle My Political Rebirth (Oct 2025) The great labor organizer (accidentally) taught me how to talk to voters Last month, The New Yorker ran a piece called "How Jane McAlevey Transformed the Labor Movement." She also transformed how I make phone calls to voters. Here's the unlikely story of how that happened. I am a phone banker. I call voters and try to get them to vote for Democrats. I do not like doing this. I do it because our democracy is in trouble. I used to hate phone banking even more than I do now. What changed? That I can tell you in two words. Jane McAlevey. It’s April 2020. I’m calling voters in Arizona on behalf of two Democratic candidates for the state legislature. I’ve hit a long string of no-answers, half an hour of nothing. I go out to the garden for a break. Then I hear my phone ringing, inside the house. I run in, pick up, and hear a voice. "You called me?" A voter I hadn't reached is calling me back. I’m a bit flustered, look at my laptop screen to remember the names of the candidates, launch into my spiel. I say the candidates want to know what issues were important to voters. "How do you mean?" he said. I hear myself say, "Like – If you were in charge, what are the first three things you would change?" Immediately he says: "We have to enforce speed limits." He talks, energetically, about that, for a few minutes. "What else?" I say. "Education.” He talks, I listen. What he says gives me the opening I need. I tell him funding education is a top issue for the candidates I’m calling for. I give him a bit more detail, then say: "I think these candidates would be a good match for you." The conversation stays alive and energized to the end, I of course repeat the candidates' names multiple times. I think I got his vote. That magic question — "If you were in charge…" — yielded such different results from the generic "What issues are of most concern to you?" ! Only afterward did I realize where I’d gotten that question. A couple weeks earlier I was listening to Ezra Klein’s podcast. He had Jane McAlevey on – the legendary labor organizer. Ezra Klein: Walk me through a typical interaction with a worker, specifically one who may disagree with you. Jane McAlevey: When I start a conversation with a worker, I’m going to start by telling them exactly why I’m there. There’s no bullshitting: I’m here because coworkers of yours called up and they’re in and figuring out how you can make things better in the workplace. That’s it. I’m being very honest about why I’m on your do or. The very next thing I’m going to do is ask them a question: If you could change three things at work tomorrow, what would they be? * That question had apparently lodged in my brain and, when that voter called me back, it flew out of my mouth! I continued using that question, with good results. I told the phone bank captain, who passed it on to the campaign, which incorporated it into their phone bank script. A couple other campaigns have also incorporated that question or some version of it. I sent Jane a message telling her all this, and she replied: What a GLORIOUS email! Go, fight, and keep on winning! We have so much work to do. Be healthy, safe and strong * It's July 2022. I'm once again calling Arizona. I reach a woman I'll call Kara who, according to the information on my screen, is 21 and lives in Scottsdale. I ask her what she would do if she were in charge. "Protect reproductive freedom." No pause, no hesitation. She is angry about Dobbs , and what it's going to do to abortion access in Arizona. S he loves her 3-year-old son more than anything in the world, but if she were to get pregnant now, she wouldn't want to have another child. From her voice, her manner, her self-confidence, I picture a young white woman, broad-shouldered, blond, with a ponytail. Kara has a friend who's studying to be a Catholic priest. She tells me about her conversations with him, challenging him. Now he's come around to accepting that a woman's choice shouldn't be up to him, or the Church. Okay, abortion rights, I say. What else would you change? Education. Arizona's schools aren't good enough. Kara didn't a get a great education, she tells me, but it was decent. But she has friends who got a lousy education, and some of them have become Trump supporters. She still talks to them, but it's hard. Mainly she wants a good education for her 3-year-old son, and for all the kids of his generation. What else? Voting rights. She's been circulating petitions to protect voting rights in Arizona. I realize I'm talking to a born organizer. She's passionate, direct, a great speaker, a natural storyteller. I tell Kara she needs to run for something. "That's the best compliment I've ever gotten," she says. We agree that now is probably not the time for her to run for office -- she's a single parent, working, going to school -- but I insist that she consider it in the future. I ask about her friends, the ones she's getting to sign the voting rights petition. Are they all registered to vote? We work out a plan - she's going to post on Facebook, and offer every friend a dollar if they register. Facebook's not enough, I say, and insist she follow up with phone calls. Kara and I talked for nearly half an hour. That conversation was, in one sense, waiting to happen. But without that opening question, it wouldn't have. * It's October 2023. I'm calling voters in Virginia on behalf of Phil Hernandez, a Democratic candidate for state legislature. I reach a voter I’ll call Jennifer. The information on the screen told me she’s 66 years old. From her voice, I was pretty sure she was Black. “If you could change one or two things...” “Inflation. The cost of food, gas, rent.” There was anger in her voice. Fifteen dollars is not a high enough minimum wage. Yes, women should have control of their bodies, but what good is that if you don’t have enough to eat? The woman in the house next door is in her eighties and doesn’t have enough money for food. Jennifer kept going. And it’s terrible what’s happening to people in these wars, but why are we sending them money when our people at home can’t make ends meet? I listened, reflected back what I was hearing, asked her if it would be okay if I shared what she was saying with Phil Hernandez. “It’s important to Phil to know what people in the district are thinking.” Yes, that would be okay, Jennifer said. I’ve found that some people, once they feel heard, are open to hearing from me. I gently tried to steer the conversation to Phil Hernandez. Jennifer told me she’d voted for Democrats in the past, but now she’s planning not to vote. “They promise a lot, but nothing changes.” I asked her to tell me more about that, and she hung up. * So what happened in that call? Was it a failure? A confession about that call: I didn’t use the phone bank script I’d been given. Here’s how that script started: Hi! This is _________ with Phil Hernandez's campaign. Can I speak with __________? Great! I'm a volunteer with Phil's campaign. He is running for the Virginia House so he can go to Richmond to represent you, your family and this community. Can Phil count on your vote in the November election? If I’d gone with that opening, Jennifer would have hung up on me right away. * Over the last couple years, my own, loose, improvisational phone banking “script” has evolved. No matter what issue someone is talking about, no matter what side of the issue they’re on, I take notes. I tell the person I'm taking notes. I ask them if it would be okay to pass them on to the candidate. They always say yes. And I always pass them on. Sometimes I type them up and put them in the “Notes” field on the screen in front of me. Sometimes I put them in an email to the candidate. Sometimes, as was the case with Jennifer, I suggest the candidate follow up with a phone call: She voted for Dems in the past, now is so frustrated she's planning not to vote. If you call, she might get the sense that Democrats do care. That might earn her vote. * Think of it this way: Every time you call a voter, you are setting in motion a little play. There are two actors. Most phone bank scripts cast you, the caller, as a Salesperson. And the person who picks up the phone: they’re the person you’re trying to sell. What Jane McAlevey taught me is that we can change the play. The person picking up the phone is not a customer. Not the means to our end. They are a Member of Society . They have information w e need. That makes them the expert, the protagonist. Which is how it should be in a democracy. Thank you, Jane. November 12, 2023 Find out about: My coaching & mentoring for writers My free online writing community

Memoir Writing for Everyone Say What You Mean Before You Die: Memoir Writing for Everyone Webinar - Sun May 14, 2023 10am to 12noon Pacific on Zoom Key idea: Writing your memoir is a relational act! I've coached writers and performers for 30 years. I thought I knew something about autobiographical work. Then I started writing my own memoir. Exciting. Scary. Vulnerable. Overwhelming. What got me writing each morning? Knowing that Molly was going to read what I wrote. (See photo above.) So... Forget the millions or thousands of people who might buy your book. Pick 1 to 4 people you trust and engage them in your writing adventure . This workshop includes Time to write & prompts to get you started "What one story must I tell before I die?" Craft, craft, craft: How memoir writing is different from writing what happened An emergency plan for when you feel like quitting Price: $64* After b uying your ticket, you'll receive an email with the Zoom link. Note: No refunds for this workshop. *Why $64? Recently, two people I know, in separate conversations, called me an elder. Whaaat? Well, I’ve been writing, performing, directing, etc for 40+ years. And I turned 64 last year. So... Elder it is! Buy ticket

Your first words as a canvasser are the most important (W hat I learned knocking on doors for Democratic Congressional candidate Adam Gray in Modesto 2024) My opening Hi my name is Charlie Varon I'm a volunteer I'm with Adam Gray and the Democrats Adam is running for Congress and he's asked us to talk to every voter in the district He wants to know what's most important to you Like, if you were in charge and could change one or two things, what would they be? I had one woman open her door partway She seemed preoccupied I knew she wanted to get back to what she'd been doing But she answered the question - Homelessness, there are all these homeless people nearby I said, "Tell me more about that." She did I took notes, I drew her out, I repeated what she said That went on for a minute or two Then I said: "Would it be okay if I share what you're saying about homelessness with Adam Gray?" Yes And the conversation continued for another 5 minutes Only after listening to her with complete focus and respect, until she had said her piece, did I even find out her name. After that, I told her why I'm volunteering for Adam Gray and why I'm excited about him Then I began filling out the PDI survey When I said, "Can I put you down as a supporter for Adam Gray?" I showed her my phone, so she essentially was helping me fill out the form By the end of the convo, she said she would fill out her ballot, mail it in, and tell three friends about the election and about Adam The reasoning My opening is kind of a run-on sentence I don't rush through it, but I don't stop either I don't ask if I'm talking to the right person I don't try to bond about the weather I don't talk about the candidate I don't want any give and take yet I am trying to get as directly as I can from saying my name to asking my question a question that gets the voter talking a question that treats the voter as the expert - the more important person in the "scene" Changing the game The question changes the expectation of what happens when someone knocks on your door I am not a salesman going door to door selling a candidate I am an ambassador from the candidate A candidate who wants to know what voters are thinking I am a listener, a note-taker, in a way I am the voter's secretary taking shorthand as they dictate Respect The more I can let go of my agenda, the more I can treat the voter as the most important person in a democracy, the more effective I am. Some things I notice when I do this: People's body language changes once they start saying their truth They become less defensive People long to be heard They listen better after they have been heard and feel respected I didn't come up with this approach Here's where I learned it I've also drawn on the ideas of my friends Elizabeth Chur and Jackie Tulsky (talkwithvoters.com )

Visiting Professor of Pessimism --audio CD Ten Day Soup --audio CD Genome Out of the Bottle --VHS video Rush Limbaugh in Night School --audio cassette A power-drunk President... Troops advancing on Baghdad... Protesters in the streets... This was the situation as Charlie Varon took the stage of the Brava Theater in San Francisco on April 6, 2003 before an audience of 350. This CD is a live recording of that sold-out performance. Highlights of the CD: Charlie's trademark BBC News parody, skewering Bush, Rumsfeld, and Blair a monologue on marching for peace in San Francisco a multi-layered story about American Jews and Israel, told by "the only Gentile at the bat mitzvah" a salute to Henny Youngman and Sigmund Freud, "the two giants of Jewish comedy"... In all, 77 minutes of material, written in collaboration with David Ford, and with the help of Jim Rosenau and Myra Levy. Track list: BBC News. . . Visiting Professor of Pessimism. . . My War. . . Too Damn Polite. . . Stewart Russell. . . Forget Your Troubles. . . The Four Questions. . . People's Violin Medley. . . America-Head Listen to excerpts from the CD: BBC News Visiting Professor of Pessimism My War $16.95 Buy it now! Visiting Professor of Pessimism Ten Day Soup In the spring of 2002, Charlie Varon and collaborator David Ford created a show from scratch in ten days. Thanks to critical and audience response, the show was extended...and recorded. One fan writes: "I have been playing the CD in the car, at home, at work, for friends, over and over. You are truly remarkable." Eight monologues... 73 minutes... recorded before a packed house at The Marsh in San Francisco. Listen to excerpts from the CD: Picketers in front of Noam Chomsky's house Ushering in a redemptive age My spiritual awakening Listening to Leishmaniasis The Gentile at the bat mitzvah Grandma Dora (a memoir) Make $20 check payable to Charlie Varon and send to Charlie Varon, The Marsh, 1062 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94110 Genome Out of the Bottle In the spring of 2001, the California Medical Association approached Charlie Varon about giving a speech. They were thinking comedy: Charlie would do a few routines over lunch to lighten up a seminar for physicians and attorneys. Charlie had a different kind of comedy in mind. He proposed to do the speech posing as a ranking expert on human genetics. To Charlie's amazement, the C.M.A. agreed to the prank. In less than five weeks, Charlie created Albin Avgher, Ph.D. and his theory of human communication, supported by an intricate web of fabricated statistics and personal anecdotes. Still, when he finally took the podium, he had no idea whether the assembled doctors and lawyers would believe him. Color VHS video... 32 minutes... includes interviews with audience members. Listen to an excerpt $16.95 (US and Canada only) Please allow 2 weeks for delivery. Now available for free online Rush Limbaugh in Night School Hear the show that became a runaway hit at The Marsh in San Francisco, and traveled to St. Louis, Washington DC, and Off Broadway. The Washington Post called the 25-character solo show "a delight... Varon, an uncannily gifted mimic, plays a cast of 24, including, besides Limbaugh, his agent, his (uh-oh) libber girlfriend, several New School for Social Research faculty members (one of whom lectures unforgettably on the metastructure that produces a pear), a gay performance artist, a rival talk radio star and assorted 'real' people, including Garrison Keillor, Spalding Gray and Jackie Mason. It's quite a party." Audio cassette... approx. 90 minutes... recorded live at The Marsh. Listen to excerpts from the cassette: Rush on the air It's what boys do Jackie Mason does Garrison Keillor Make $20 check payable to Charlie Varon and send to Charlie Varon, The Marsh, 1062 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94110

WRITING CRAFT: The 3 Selves in a Memoir Experiencing Self Does not know how it will turn out Lives in the emerging present Thus, try writing in present tense Remembering Self Knows how it turned out Has made some sense out of it (or decided it doesn’t make sense) Has conclusions that may have hardened Reflective Self Stands back, as a painter would looking at a canvas: the canvas of your life Sees anew; may see new patterns or themes May have more questions than answers (lives in the questions) Is open to what is emerging Asks bigger questions than we normally find time for: Wonders how this life fits into the times the ‘character’ grew up in the place and culture and subculture the influence of key people pivotal moments the human condition The memoirist is moving among these three selves Each has a different gift a different sensibility Each is a part of the human experience So your memoir is both yours and bigger than you These ideas are inspired in part by the work of Daniel Kahneman, z"l The photo is of me writing my memoir on what appears to be a fruitful day

An emergency card for when you feel like giving up

In the spring of 2002, Charlie and collaborator David Ford tried an experiment. They created a show from scratch in ten days. The evening of eight monologues (called "Ten Day Soup") included political satire, stand-up comedy, and personal memoir. Audience response was unlike anything Charlie had experienced: "Thank you for your courage." "Thank you for ideas that challenged me." "Thank you for saying what I was thinking." Working quickly and intuitively allowed Charlie and David to create a new kind of work: less polished but more vulnerable and alive. In the autumn of 2002 Charlie and David cooked up a second round of Soup–six more monologues–which received an equally strong response. The monologues created in 2002 form the basis of Charlie's evolving show “Soup of the Day.” The show can be adapted to a variety of venues and audiences, with topical political material being added and revised as events unfold. Here are audio samples from Soup of the Day: Picketers in front of Noam Chomsky's house Ushering in a redemptive age My spiritual awakening Listening to Leishmaniasis The Gentile at the bat mitzvah Grandma Dora (a memoir) Elea Avon More about the artistic process behind Soup of the Day... Buy the Ten Day Soup CD

The 5 most important things I've learned as a writer Webinar - Sun Feb 5, 2023 10 to 11.30am Pacific on Zoom 60% of what I know in 90 minutes • The 5 most important things & how I learned them • Two brief writing prompts • I’ll tell a few stories • I’ll do a demo of how I coach writers & performers Goal: You will leave this workshop ready to steal my techniques! Or decide they're of no use! Price: $64* After buying your ticket, you'll receive an email with the Zoom link. Note: No refunds for this workshop. *Why $64? Recently, two people I know, in separate conversations, called me an elder. Whaaat? Well, I’ve been writing, performing, directing, etc for 40+ years. And I turned 64 last year. So... Elder it is! Buy ticket

Alan Watts - "You are the egg man" Charlie Varon's Comic Bonbons #21: Alan Watts, "You are the egg man" Alan Watts - You are the egg man 00:00 / 02:16 Written & performed by Charlie Varon Collaboration: J.P. Tilleman Special Thanks: David Ford Live show Wed May 28 at 7pm in SF! Get tix now More announcements #1 Don't postpone writing your memoir! Say What You Mean Before You Die New session starts May 1 #2 Can't stand what's happening in this country? Life is better when you're doing something to change it Here's one place to start

In the spring of 2001, the California Medical Association approached Charlie Varon about giving a speech. They were thinking comedy: Charlie would do a few routines over lunch to lighten up a seminar for physicians and attorneys. Charlie had a different kind of comedy in mind. He proposed to do the speech posing as a ranking expert on human genetics. To Charlie's amazement, the C.M.A. agreed to the prank. To create Genome Out of the Bottle, Charlie assembled a team that included his collaborator and director, David Ford; humorist Jim Rosenau; and Jonathan Karpf, who teaches genetics at San Jose State University. In less than five weeks, Charlie created Albin Avgher, Ph.D. and his theory of human communication, supported by an intricate web of fabricated statistics and personal anecdotes. The prank worked perfectly, receiving high marks from conference attendees and press coverage in the San Francisco Chronicle and The Recorder. Charlie has reprised the speech, each time fooling a new group. And each time, members of the audience have stayed afterward to thank him for his artful deception. Watch the video...