Hello, new friend—
My name is Jason Cannon, and I’d like to welcome you to Page&Stage.
Before you start splashing around in all my storytelling content, do you have any questions?
Hey, thanks. So, what exactly have I signed up for here? Who are you and what do you mean by “storytelling content”? What exactly does Page&Stage do?
Well, I’m a storyteller, storycoach, and father of canines (shout out to my awesome silly pups, Gaia and Odin). I’ve been a theatre professional since 1998—actor, director, playwright, producer, you name it.
In 2022 I pivoted from full-time theatre work so I could also focus on writing and publishing books, podcasting, and coaching all my awesome fellow storytellers out there. I still work on plays, but now I’m bringing all that experience to other storytelling forms.
Page&Stage is the hub of all my various projects and experiments. But the bumper sticker version is this: at Page&Stage, we explore the art and craft of writing and performance.
Writing and performance, eh? So, like, this Substack is just for authors and actors?
Not at all!
If you love to create or visit worlds built with words, then you’ve come to the right place.
That means authors and actors, sure, but also memoirists, public speakers, directors, playwrights. Basically, anyone who enjoys stories and storytelling.
And there’s a lot of “behind the scenes” stuff for readers and audience members, too.
All creative adventurers are welcome!
OK, I’m intrigued. But who are you really, Jason “Storycoach” Cannon? Why should I give a hoot what you have to say about storytelling?
Well, let me take you way, way back to the mid-1980s. In 4th grade, I won a short story contest. The principal pinned my award-winning tale to the hallway wall. (Full disclosure: I totally ripped off Honey, I Shrunk the Kids!) Thus was my passion for storytelling planted.
That passion came to full bloom in high school when I tumbled into the speech team, met the theatre kids, got cast in my first play (I played a drunk poet and soldier in Cyrano de Bergerac) and never looked back.
So telling stories has been my profession for almost thirty years now. I’m a director, actor, playwright, and improviser, as well as an author, memoirist, public speaker, and teacher.
That’s a lot of hats, so let’s make it easier. Zip all those gigs in a blender, pour it into a frosty freelance glass, and there ya go: storycoach.
And if you want to vet me fully, you can learn more than you’d ever care to know at jasoncannon.art. Theatre credits, books and plays, classes taught, awards won, testimonials. There’s even a photo of Gaia and Odin!
OK, I guess you know what you’re doing. So tell me more about what you offer. I see three distinct logos in your banner graphic up there.
Sharp eye, my new friend!
Check it out. I’m gonna break it down for you bullet-point style—
The Page&Stage Newsletter comes out each Friday. You can think of it as a weekly kick in your storyteller pants. Tips, tricks, encouragement, and inspiration for storytellers of all stripes. Plus occasional pics of my two silly dogs, Gaia and Odin. Because hey—they’re part of my story.
The Page&Stage Podcast drops every other Monday. Deep-dive interviews and discussions with writers, actors, directors, memoirists, and anyone else with cool things to share about the process of creating, curating, and sharing stories.
100 Stories: Lessons Learned Telling Stories from the Stage is a solo podcast that also drops every other Monday (alternating with P&S). Part memoir, part love letter to the theatre, and part motivational handbook for all my fellow storytellers out there
The Loose Cannon is part workshop, part journal, part soapbox. Two or three Wednesdays a month, I’ll light the fuse and see where that cannonball flies. You’ll find monologues, short fiction, shards of memoir, personal essays, and real-time responses to the world as it spins (available to PAID subscribers).
The Newsletter and Podcasts are FREE, and all subscribers can comment on them, because I want as many people as possible to access the power of storytelling. Only The Loose Cannon lives behind the paywall (to protect it from spam, bots, and trolls), but I’ve set the monthly rate at the lowest Substack allows (five bucks a month), and the annual rate such that you get two months free (fifty bucks a year). Annual subscribers will also receive a renewable $20 gift card to the Ibis Books bookshop!
It all comes to you. Every new post, whether newsletter or podcast, is sent directly to your email inbox. No spam. No ads. No algorithmic hijinks.
It all also lives on the Substack App, which is legitimately awesome.
Whoa. Most Substacks don’t let free subscribers comment. You sure you’re cool with that?
I hear that, but here’s the thing.
Substack has terrific built-in community features. I look forward to rollicking discussions about creativity and process and catharsis and all the other cool stuff that storytelling unlocks in the human spirit.
I want us to learn from and inspire each other. So yes, free subscribers can totally hop on the comments and chats.
But I do have the administrative power to ban. So you can rest assured that anyone who tears down or personally attacks others will promptly be given the ol’ heave-ho.
That being said, I am protecting The Loose Cannon behind the paywall, because the content there is most likely to provoke, and also I want to make the paid membership more valuable.
See—and I share this with all humility and gratitude—since starting the newsletter back in 2022, I’ve had many readers ask how they could be part of a creative community and how they could support me. The nominal membership fee is a way to support my work and offset the costs associated with producing podcasts and investing the time into research and writing.
What if I don’t want to pay through the Substack platform, or want to donate rather than subscribe, or can’t afford it right now?
All totally legit concerns.
I can vouch that Substack is a safe portal, but you can also contact me directly (Jason@JasonCannon.art) and we can work with Zelle or Venmo or Paypal.
The one support option Substack doesn’t yet offer is that whole “buy me a coffee”/one-off donation thing. But, again, if that’s your preference, we can make it happen with those other options I mentioned.
And if affordability is a concern, same thing. Hit me up directly. I can gift free subscriptions, and as long as you’re willing to share my work to your socials and friends, I’m more than happy to offer “scholarships.”
Anything else I should know before I start catching up on your archive and listening to podcasts??
Just one last thing… affiliate links. (cue the scary music)
You’ll often see in my newsletters and show notes that I link to other sites. Maybe a podcast guest mentioned a cool book they were reading, or have a project or resource they are offering.
Here’s my take on those links…
I will always do my best to link to the primary source. I will only link to third-party or “middlemen” sites if I absolutely cannot track down the original manufacturer or publisher.
I do NOT take affiliate income from third-party sources. I find that a bit icky. I signed up for a program like that once, and I immediately got bombarded with emails telling me all the stuff on sale that I could push onto my readers and audience.
No thanks.
No ads. No spam. I don’t want even a whiff of “does Jason really like that thing, or is he just selling me?” to enter the equation.
The only affiliate links I will ever offer will be clearly identified, will connect to primary manufacturers, and will be for items I PERSONALLY USE AND LOVE.
For example, I include an affiliate link for Riverside.fm in all of my podcast posts, because I personally use Riverside.fm to record, edit, and produce both my podcasts and other video and audio content. It’s an awesome app for which I personally pay an annual subscription.
If I don’t personally pay for and use it, no way am I gonna push it on you.
Well geez. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I cannot wait to hear your story.
