103: The Power Of Not Giving a Damn – Tori Chickering O’Connell

103: The Power Of Not Giving a Damn – Tori Chickering O’Connell

The Impossible Network
The Impossible Network
103: The Power Of Not Giving a Damn - Tori Chickering O'Connell
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Tori Chickering O’Connell was born in New Jersey to parents that cultivated a loving, safe, and creative home environment where comedy, music, and dance were a central part of the daily furniture of growing up.

There is no question that this nurturing environment set her on a path to a creative career of being a journalist, producer, documentary filmmaker, comedy writer and published author of two books Nookie Town and Family Values.

In this vibrant two-parter, we cover Tori’s upbringing and the influence of her parents, infusing the importance of having fun and not giving a damn.

Tori’s discusses the importance of gratitude, having a ‘why not me’ attitude, and how in her early career, this attitude landed her a job at MTV, as she applied her creativity and embraced life’s uncertainty and ambiguity with gusto. Tori reflects on using this attitude in the time of Covid19, and we discuss how new models are emerging in comedy, music and the arts during the lockdown.

We cover her extraordinary experience of making a documentary of some of today’s most lauded comedians 20 years ago before they were famous.

And we dive deep into how the serendipitous personal experience of becoming a divorcee in Jersey led to the idea for her first novel, NookieTown, and covers her second book, Twisted Family Values.

I hope you enjoy the fun, frivolity, and freedom of not giving a damn with Tori Chickering

What We Discuss

Tori’s parental impact

Glitter balls and dancing on Saturdays

The experience of her youth

Art Therapy

The importance of fun

The impact of her grandparents

Living in a household of love

Freedom and life force of not give a damn

Being outspoken and out there and the bullying that resulted

The importance of Halloween costumes

The connection of dis-ease to disease

Her ‘let’s do it’ attitude

An early love of song and dance

Having a sellout show at the Edinburgh festival with New York, Sex, Killing and Shopping

Having start over attitude

You Can Do it attitude

Great Day in Harlem

The evolution of NookieTown

The idea behind Twisted Family Values

Her upcoming novel

Fun, accountability and social risk

Social Links 

VC Chickering – author’s site (with loads of fun links to buy books and procrastinate)

@vcchickering – author’s Instagram

Tori Erstwhile & The Montys – author’s band’s YouTube channel

Links in the Show 

Nookie Town

Twisted Family Values 

Tori Erstwhile and the Montys

St Martin’s Press 

Rocky Horror Picture Show

Mike Birbiglia Tip Your Wait staff

Mahler Chamber Orchestra 

 International Opera Choir Nabucco Opera 

Hamilton on Zoom

Stuck in the Middle Fallon 

CBGB’s 

Bust 

Joan Jet 

Hurricane Sandy 

Great Day in Harlem

VEEP

Flight of the Conchords

Sex Education 

Don’t Stop Here

More To Explore

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