TELL is an evening of story telling from the mouths and minds of queers in NYC hosted by Drae Campbell at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division since February 2014.

First Look/Fresh Start is the theme of the 40th installment of TELL, with special guest host Topher Gross.  Featuring Harvey Katz, Mariah MacCarthy, Emily Ray Reese, and Wazina Zondon.

$10 suggested donation to support the Bureau and the performers. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Topher Gross is a born and bred Brooklyn kid who learned the art of storytelling from his Jewish grandma, Edith. He is an appearance enhancement artist aka hairstylist, party thrower+ yenta, aspiring cartoon voice over actor and marijuana dispensary owner. Topherhas performed stories at Tell, Tell It, at various burlesque shows, dinner tables, on live journal and a blog for original plumbing magazine. He was featured on the Graham Norton show as the “big gay following” of Kylie Minogue.

Harvey Katz first became a woman at a turquoise and peach colored Bat-Mitzvah in Miami in the early 90’s before coming into his manhood in a small city in Georgia. He spent 13 years on the road as a spoken word poet and is currently maybe pursuing a career in nursing. His lack of boundaries and general impulsiveness means he’s collected a story or two over the years. Catch him hosting Take Two Storytelling or trying to convince people to buy his hats on Etsy. This is life post poetry career.

Mariah MacCarthy writes plays, Young Adult novels, essays, overly-revealing one-woman shows, and sexts. She’s won some awards, her favorite being the Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award. She’s an angry queer and she loves you.

Emily Ray Reese is a Lesbian from a ghost town in the mountains of New Mexico. She came to New York ten years ago after volunteering for the Peace Corps in El Salvador. Reese is a filmmaker by day and a dance floor demolisher by night.

Wazina Zondon is a queer Muslim Afghan raised in New York City. She is the co-writer and co-performer of Coming Out Muslim: Radical Acts of Love, a personal storytelling performance capturing the stories and experiences of being queer and Muslim.

When she’s not agitating and reclaiming a truly radical Islam, she teaches Sex Ed at an all-girl, high school in Brooklyn, NY. She also co-hosts Follow that Flannel, a silly yet informative sexuality podcast.