What I Learned Turning My Life Into a Sitcom
Tuesday, September 29, 2026, 6:00 PM PDT – 8:30 PM PDT
Little Bird Brewing · 3176 Thorn St, San Diego, CA 92104, USA
Hosted by Big Idea Night
We all tell stories about our lives. About who we are, what has happened to us, what matters, and where we think we're going. But what happens when you start telling those stories more intentionally? For Philippe Lazaro, that question became surprisingly literal when he decided to turn his own life into a sitcom. Along the way, he began noticing something: the more actively he engaged with the story of his life, the less passively he seemed to live it. That insight followed him into his professional work as a storyteller, where Philippe has spent more than a decade helping nonprofits and communities around the world tell stories about people, places, and social change. Again and again, he saw how powerful it can be when people aren't simply subjects of a story, but are given the opportunity to tell and shape their own. At this Big Idea Night, Philippe will explore the relationship between storytelling, agency, and the way we experience our own lives. We'll look at how the stories we tell about ourselves—and the stories others tell about us—can influence how we see ourselves and what's possible next. And we'll experiment with some playful ways of looking at our own narratives. If your life were a movie, what kind would it be? What would you change about the next act? And what might happen if you stopped treating yourself as a passive character and started taking a little more ownership of the story? Venue: Little Bird Brewing in North Park. Doors open at 6. Talk begins at 7. Help support our host venue by arriving early to get a drink, something to eat and meet fellow attendees. We'll have some interactive points of discussion out too. About the Speaker Philippe Lazaro is a strategic communications leader with over a decade of experience helping international nonprofits grow through ethical, solutions-focused storytelling. He has told stories from Ethiopia to Haiti to Bangladesh and recently launched Banana Leaf Storytelling. He’s also an avid traveler, illustrator, improviser, dad to three, and a person with a few too many hobbies.