< Back #14 Poetry Unwound: "Circling" August 28, 2024 Written & performed by Charlie Varon Collaboration: J.P. Tilleman Poetry Unwound - Circling 00:00 / 02:28 Keep the bonbons coming! Email me when the next one is ready! Email Subscribe Attention, writers and performers: I have openings for mentoring/coaching starting in February. Previous Next

Bernie Sanders' dream of Henry Kissinger Charlie Varon 's Comic Bonbons #8: "Bernie's Henry Kissinger Dream " Bernie's Henry Kissinger Dream 00:00 / 03:24 Written by Charlie Varon & David Ford Performed by Charlie Varon Keep the bonbons coming! Email me when the next one is ready! Email Subscribe Use code BONBON and save $25 on the Intensive

"Wake up and smell the data" Charlie Varon's Comic Bonbons #24: "Wake up and smell the data!" (feat. Oliver Sacks & Studs Terkel) Wake up and smell the data 00:00 / 04:38 Written & performed by Charlie Varon Collaboration: J.P. Tilleman, David Ford Next live pop-up show! Wed April 22, 2026 at The Magic Patio in SF Get tix Find out what else I'm up to this spring

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

About the Year in Review It started simply enough. One Rosh Hashanah Rabbi Katie included in her evening sermon a few sentences about the events of the past year. I liked that: it felt true, important. I suggested we do it again the following year, but more fully. What if it became a separate thing, not part of the sermon? Katie agreed and, being a good leader, delegated it to me. I’ve done the Year in Review every Erev Rosh Hashanah since 2010. I’ve been standing in front of audiences for over 40 years, but the response I get to the Year in Review is different from anything else I’ve experienced. People heartily thank me (but I’ve been thanked before). Some ask me to email them a copy (but I’ve been asked for scripts before). So what’s the difference? My hunch is that the Year in Review meets a need. A need that we may not have even known we had, for communal orientation. The Year in Review is a collective marking of time, an acknowledgment of what we have lived through, are living through. Watch 5785: The Year in Review

< 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

John Cheever - The Angel of the Bridge - read by Malachy McCourt 00:00 / 25:13

Charlie Varon's satire and other mischief The Many Voices of Charlie Varon #4 Satire, Pranks and Other Comic Bonbons Comic Bonbon #4: "Mitch's Silence," featuring Studs Terkel & Dr. Oliver Sacks September 2023 I can't stop thinking about Sen. Mitch McConnell and that news conference, the one where he froze and went silent for 30 seconds. Then my friend Jim Rosenau sends me a link. It's to an old radio show . Studs Terkel, champion interviewer, is talking to beloved neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks. Both men are gone now, but Jim knows how much I love their voices. "A twofer," Jim says. I listen to the interview, then start doing their voices, just riffing to myself, which makes me exceedingly happy. Then the question poses itself: McConnell's silence + Studs Terkel + Oliver Sacks = ? I rough something out, call David Ford, and we get going. As is often the case, the best details come from David's fertile comic mind. Mitch's Silence 00:00 / 04:52 Keep the bonbons coming! Email me when the next one is ready! Email Subscribe

Free writing workshop Monday mornings in SF Start your week immersed in creativity and community Charlie's Monday Salon a welcoming space for writers and performers to connect, create, and share When: Mondays, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Where: Noe Valley Ministry, 1021 Sanchez St, San Francisco Upcoming Dates: Aug 31, Sept 14, Sept 28 Salon Schedule 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM: Writing Session Work from Charlie's writing prompts or focus on your own project. Then, 10 minutes to share work with a fellow writer 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: Community Sharing Listen to new works presented by writers and performers. Additional Information: Participation is flexible; drop in as your schedule allows. There is no admission fee; donations are welcome. All are welcome, regardless of experience level. Click here & I'll keep you posted Find out about my small group workshops

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

Election anxiety Charlie Varon's Comic Bonbons #16: Election Anxiety Election anxiety 00:00 / 03:54 Written & performed by Charlie Varon Special thanks to David Ford & J.P. Tilleman Feeeling a tad anxious about the election? Click here

Charlie Varon & David Ford, improv rehearsal for "Alan Watts Returns" podcast (Nov 17 2022) Rehearsal Audio - Fall 2022 On Nov 17, 2022 Charlie and his long-time collaborator David Ford worked via telephone on new material for their satiric podcast, Alan Watts Returns . Listen in on this improv rehearsal. 00:00 / 17:38