< Back #17 Turn back the hands of time December 28, 2024 Written & performed by Charlie Varon Special thanks to J.P. Tilleman Turn Back the Hands of Time 00:00 / 04:43 Keep the bonbons coming! Email me when the next one is ready! Email Subscribe Coming up Sun 1/12/25... Free webinar w/me & Kenny Yun Previous Next

Mind bcomes tranquil Charlie Varon's Comic Bonbons #18: Mind Becomes Tranquil Mind becomes tranquil 00:00 / 05:09 Written & performed by Charlie Varon Collaboration: J.P. Tilleman Saturday evening, March 8 in Oakland: Charlie Varon's Comic Bonbons LIVE! Info & tickets

An emergency card for when you feel like giving up

"You want it all" Charlie Varon's Comic Bonbons #22: "You want it all" You want it all 00:00 / 01:07 Written & performed by Charlie Varon Collaboration: David Ford Special Thanks: J.P. Tilleman Next live show at The Magic Patio - date TBA More announcements #1 Don't postpone writing your memoir! New session starts Thu Sept 4 Email me for details #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

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

Overcome writer's block and loneliness by creating in community! Boost your writing to the next level. "Thank you for your classes! They have enriched and expanded my world." I've been teaching writing and performance workshops since 1993. I love the creative process, and my goal is to help you take the next step in your work. Creative Writing with Charlie Varon 6 Mondays, May 9 - June 20, 2022 (no class May 23) 7-9pm Pacific time via Zoom During the course of the 6-week workshop, you will... Email me one piece you've written (up to 1250 words) I'll email you suggestions for revision, and you do a rewrite (in 2 hours or less) In class you read it to the group, and then I give supportive feedback Each evening you will also... Write to prompts Have a conversation with another writer, where you can read something you've written Hear some thoughts from me about the craft of writing Note that you can write in any genre you like, and there is no class performance. Payment is on a sliding scale via PayPal or check: Employed/doing okay financially: $300 Unemployed/underemployed/financially distressed: $175 Somewhere in between: $225 Sign up by May 1 and take $25 off your fee! Note: There are no refunds for this workshop To enroll: 1. Click my PayPal link and pay the appropriate amount 2. Email me to let me know you've done that. I'll send you Zoom links and other information!

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

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

Starting Points for Creating Characters 1. If you're writing a personal essay or memoir... Some thoughts from Philip Lopate: “In personal essays... the writer needs to build herself into a character... “So how do you turn yourself into a character? First of all, you need to have – or acquire – some distance from yourself. If you are so panicked by any examination of your flaws that all you can do is sputter defensively when you feel yourself attacked, you are not going to get very far in the writing of personal essays. You need to be able to see yourself from the ceiling... “A good place to start is your quirks. These are the idiosyncrasies, stubborn tics, antisocial mannerisms, and so on that set you apart from the majority of your fellowmen. There will be more than enough time later to assert your common humanity, or better yet, to let the reader make the mental bridge between your oddities and those of everyone else... Who wants to read about that bland creature, the regular Joe?” (Excerpted from “Writing Personal Essays: On the Necessity of Turning Oneself Into a Character”) 2. If you're creating fictional characters... My starting points: Abandon all shoulds. Look for any spark that lights you up or intrigues you. Create characters you don’t fully understand. Look for both external conflict and internal conflict in the character’s life. As you develop a character, and think about their backstory, write what gives you energy and don't worry about being thorough. 3. David Ford's wisdom on “normal” From a workshop David and I taught many years ago... Student (after reading something she’d written): “I don’t know, the people in this piece don’t seem normal.” David : “There’s nothing normal a bout people.”

< Back #20 The grass is green and the sky is blue April 18, 2025 Written & performed by Charlie Varon Collaboration: J.P. TillemanSpecial Thanks: David Ford The grass is green and the sky is blue 00:00 / 02:02 Keep the bonbons coming! Email me when the next one is ready! Email Subscribe Get tix now Buy before May 1 and get $5 off w code COCOA 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 Previous Next

Alan Watts: "Puzzling Evidence" Charlie Varon 's Comic Bonbons #13: Alan Watts, "Puzzling Evidence" Alan Watts - Puzzling Evidence 00:00 / 06:00 Written & performed by Charlie Varon Collaboration: J.P. Tilleman Attention, writers and performers: I have openings for mentoring/coaching .

I've been teaching writing and performance workshops since 1993. Below are descriptions of my current workshops and my performance and script consultation. For email updates on my upcoming workshops, click here . Get Up and Write! Every Wednesday via Zoom 8 to 9.15am Pacific Time FREE Click here to donate Like going to the gym first thing in the morning. 3 different writing prompts, plenty of time to write, and company in the creative process. Think of it as a trip to... The Imaginarium Please plan to arrive 5-10 minutes early. We will start promptly at 8am. Make sure you're set up to write -- using either paper and writing implement, or your computer. Feel free to invite a friend! Email me and I'll send you the Zoom link! ________________________________________________________________________