Personal story-telling is the standup comedy of the 2010s.

All across LA, writers (and other humans) are searching their souls, spilling their guts and trying to get a few laughs along the way.

These days, you can't throw a rock without hitting some kind of word event. Theaters, clubs and restaurants are all hosting shows where people read their personal essay and/or tell their story – and there's a new show starting every week.

Each show has it's own particular vibe, rules and flavor, from serious to sensational, literary to licentious. Professional writers and/or performers often mix with inspired amateurs. Some include music. Some strictly enforce time limits. Some are competitive. Some are a lot like therapy – at least for the people onstage telling the stories.

This is all great news for writers, because these events provide hard deadlines and thematic frames to create focused pieces, encourage productivity, provide a sense of community and offer an interesting new kind of showcase.

You need stage time to get good at comic storytelling or reading your funny personal essays, but how do you get good stage time?

Since we started Un-Cabaret and our spoken word spinoff show Say the Word, many high quality shows have appeared in LA, NY and beyond. Here are a few that are really worth your time if you're developing your storytelling voice and writing. Each one has it's own taste, point of view, flavor and aesthetic so you really should take the time to check them out before just barging in and demanding stage time. (See our previous blog for suggestions on getting stage time anywhere.)

And you should really consider developing your material with me and Beth Lapides at our workshop, The Comedian's Way so when you do get your stage time you make the kind of impression you want to make.