By Casey Rafter

After an evening of laughter and smiles at the second monthly “In a Nutshell” storytelling event at The Sofia, Keith Lowell Jensen — the series’ curator and host — solemnly walked on stage to close the show with a heart-wrenching story highlighting his journey to war-torn Ukraine with his father-in-law in December of 2023.

The show, which premiered in January, continues at The Sofia in Sacramento near the end of every month. Aaron Carnes, who co-created the show with Jensen and Amy Bee, Carnes’ wife, said the show will continue monthly tentatively through June 2026.

Each show features Jensen alongside at least four other storytellers, all tailoring their story choices to fit that month’s theme. Carnes said themes are already being planned out with guests confirmed for April.

The show’s name comes from a bit in Jensen’s act about the demands he has for those who will survive him after death. “Like storytelling, in a nutshell — especially if we’re doing themes in every show — it kind of works,” Carnes said. “The essence of the joke is that he … wants to be cremated and put in empty walnuts so people can say, ‘Oh, that’s Keith, in a nutshell.’”

Jensen, who traveled to Ukraine to assist in writing letters of appreciation to U.S. representatives for financial support for war efforts, ended the Feb. 28 “Strange Bedfellows” show by commenting on why he broke the format to tell a story that wasn’t necessarily aligned with the night’s theme. 

“After the news we saw this morning, I called Aaron and Amy and told them I need to tell my Ukraine story,” Jensen began, referencing the tumultuous meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy that had happened that morning. “It isn’t ready, but they were like ‘Yeah. Great. Do it.’”

Jensen told his story with vulnerability, sometimes orating in a shaky voice and teary eyes while describing a nation of people resolved to maintain some semblance of normal daily life as they fight for their lives. He talked about bomb warning apps installed on everyone’s phone that began alerting of a threat shortly after his arrival to the country, a force of female guards standing in for their male counterparts who were risking — and in some cases losing — their lives on the frontlines, and a secret dungeon restaurant themed after the very bombings that wracked Ukraine’s easternmost borders at the time.

Jensen smiled when he described a takeaway prize from the restaurant: Patrons could fire an automatic pellet gun at a picture of Putin and take it home to show off their aim. Despite being faced with Russia’s invasion, Jensen’s story showed that Ukrainians found a very Slavic way to cope:  with irony.

But Jensen’s last story was the most striking. On his train ride leaving Ukraine, he saw a young man in his seat, answering the queries of the female guards. The guards asked him for papers, then left the car, eventually returning to request further paperwork. After a few rounds of this, a higher ranking officer entered, signaling the end of the young man’s journey. Jensen observed him as he quietly resigned and gathered his luggage before exiting the train.

“I was pretty sure what I was witnessing was a man who’d failed at leaving the country to escape being drafted,” Jensen said. He summarized that he can’t blame the country who needs the body, but he also couldn’t blame the man for risking his life, to save his life. “Maybe it’s just not in his skill set.”

Jensen’s story was juxtaposed against the rest of the storytellers that night: JP Frary, a storyteller often seen at The Moth’s “StorySLAM” in Berkeley, gave an account of a short lived romance that seemed straight from an episode of “The Love Boat”; Sacramento comedian Johnny Taylor Jr. talked about meeting his least favorite band’s biggest fan; touring comedian Kate Willett recalled the slow burn spell she cast to thwart an unsavory ex; and Lucie Moses, another frequent speaker at The Moth, told a story about two squirrels pursuing a fatal connection.

Moses was recruited for the night by Bee, who had heard some of the stories Moses did for The Moth’s “StorySLAM” and told the storyteller, “You’ll be a good fit.” That night was the first time she had gigged with the rest of the lineup, save Frary, who has also told anecdotes regularly for The Moth. 

Moses’ story described a time when she fostered squirrels for a wildlife rescue center. When two male baby squirrels mistook each other’s genitals for nipples, an oral fixation results in the demise of one of the squirrels due to infection.

Frary, who returned after taking the stage for the January show, described being a young man initiating the end of his engagement during the wedding planning stages. His former fiance stuck him with the bills, which included tickets to a couples cruise. Having been kicked out of his San Francisco apartment by his now ex, a 10-day cruise at least gave him a place to stay — albeit he was now single, spending his time living it up in an over-the-top honeymoon suite.

His was a story of two subsequent attempts at love that were ultimately unsuccessful, though his romance with a more mature woman on the boat seemed to give him hope for his love-life during a time when almost everything seemed lost to him.

“Everything is dusty-pink rose and there’s a spray of flowers everywhere and chocolate and champagne and the stewart looks at me like, ‘What are you doing?,” Frary said, continuing until he revealed the love interest of his story, a much older widowed woman who was just as much a voracious reader as him. “All of the women in the room watched me as we danced for hours.”

The next “In a Nutshell” is scheduled for Monday, March 31 at The Sofia. The theme for the night is “Unwritten Rules.” The storytellers for the night include author and poet Diana Medina, Sacramento native comedian Turner Sparks, “In a Nutshell” co-creator Bee and storyteller Don Reed, who created Redwood Nights, a Fairfax storytelling event that partially inspired the creation of Jensen’s current project. 

This story is part of the Solving Sacramento journalism collaborative. This story was funded by the City of Sacramento’s Arts and Creative Economy Journalism Grant to Solving Sacramento. Following our journalism code of ethics, the city had no editorial influence over this story. Our partners include California Groundbreakers, Capital Public Radio, Outword, Russian America Media, Sacramento Business Journal, Sacramento News & Review, Sacramento Observer and Univision 19. Sign up for our “Sac Art Pulse” newsletter here.