OUR STORY: Heather, Amy, & Tales! 

 When Heather Christie and Amy Impellizzeri met in 2010, they were realtor and client, respectively, searching for Amy’s dream home in Berks County, Pennsylvania. They had no idea that a much bigger story was about to unfold over the next decade: one of friendship, love, loss, grief, resilience, and HOPE. 

Soon after meeting, Heather and Amy discovered they were each working in secret on a passion project – full-length novels. Together they embarked on a journey that forged an indelible connection between the two women that was nothing short of extraordinary. Not only did they support each other as they each navigated mid-life divorces, but they also sustained one another in the topsy-turvy world of publishing through revisions, edits, rejections, acceptance, multiple literary agents, and ultimately SUCCESS – as their hard-wrought dreams ultimately become LEMONGRASS HOPE, Amy’s 2014 award-winning debut, and WHAT THE VALLEY KNOWS, Heather’s award-winning 2018 debut. 

Following their literary accomplishments, Heather and Amy’s love of storytelling manifested in a number of local projects over years. Heather has produced the acclaimed LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER show in Berks County, which debuted in 2019, and has been an instructor at Reading Area Community College and Alvernia University. Amy was a cast member in the 2019 inaugural Berks County LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER show, and has been a creative writing teacher – developing programming for adults and teens – at the Yocum Institute. Both women were recently invited to join the faculty of Drexel University’s MFA Program in Creative Writing. 

And now, a new chapter is being written: the joint production of TALES FROM THE OTHER SIDE, a labor of love celebrating the supernatural, unexplained and extraordinary stories in our own community and beyond. Ticket sales will raise money for SAFE BERKS, an organization that helps women and children in Berks County write their own life-saving and empowering new stories every day. 

TALES FROM THE OTHER SIDE is a 90-minute journey of true stories – about a dozen original readings from a diverse cast carefully curated from scores of auditions. Sit back and experience stories of the unexpected and surreal that will shock you, entertain you, give you goosebumps, and make you laugh out loud. Through this show, Heather and Amy hope to make you question those things you were so very sure of, and in doing so, they hope you will leave open to the notion that perhaps, anything is possible. 

And that maybe, just maybe, your own supernatural, unexplained, and extraordinary story is waiting for you right around the corner. 

Xoxo,
Heather & Amy

P.S. We are looking for other creatives/producers to launch TALES FROM THE OTHER SIDE across the United States in 2022. To inquire about bringing TALES to your area, send an email to heather@heatherchristiebooks.com. And please follow TALES on Facebook and Instagram.

UPDATE 8.9.21

Dear Friends,

It is with a heavy hearts that we report we have made the necessary decision to indefinitely postpone the 2021 TALES FROM THE OTHER SIDE live production previously scheduled for October 30, 2021. After a summer of tirelessly working to bring this show to life, we have to acknowledge that TALES 2021 is one more casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

When we first announced the show in March 2021, and put a call out for auditions, we had a venue in place for the fall of 2021, and it appeared that the world was turning a corner. The COVID vaccine was rolling out, the virus numbers – particularly in our area – were on the decline, and we excitedly looked ahead to the fall of 2021 as a realistic timeframe in which to make this long held dream of ours a reality.

Sadly, shortly after our announcement, our venue announced a temporary moratorium on all rentals. We remained cautiously optimistic, but still we spent the summer scouting other alternative locations. We continued with our scheduled auditions, and we fell in love with the stories we heard. We were about to announce our final (amazing!) cast when our cautious optimism began to wane in light of recent events. And now, with the surge of the Delta variant and breakthrough incidents of COVID, and the continued divide between vaccinated persons and the unvaccinated, we simply cannot secure a venue in Berks County that will allow us to safely and in good conscience, hold a show that can accommodate social distancing and allow for the audience numbers we anticipate. 

Please know you all will be among the first to know when we reschedule the show … In the meantime, keep believing that the supernatural, unexplained, and extraordinary can happen. We still do!

Xo

Heather & Amy

 We want your story of the supernatural, unexplained, or extraordinary!

Email letting us know you want to set up a ZOOM meeting for send your video to heather@heatherchristiebooks.com.
In the meantime, check out these audition tips.

Email show co-producer, Heather Christie, at heather@heatherchristiebooks.com for sponsorship opportunities.
On board thus far are these spectacular businesses:

THE MOMENT PHOTOGRAPHY

Remember, a portion of your 2021 ticket will support SAFE BERKS.

P.P.P.S. Watch for Heather and Amy’s next project: #AlwaysChooseHope—Stories of starting over and second chances (launches in 2022).