“What does it mean to be a storyteller in 2026?”
That was the big question posed at Sundance’s Variety & Audible Cocktails & Conversation panel. Variety Editor-in-Chief Brent Lang led the discussion, which included Tony and Grammy Award-winning actor, rapper, writer, and producer Daveed Diggs, comedian and actress Iliza Schlesinger, and Audible’s head of content for North America, Marshall Lewy.
While there is no single simple answer, the panel provided keen insight into the state of modern storytelling. For example, Diggs spoke about the need for empathy and connection through storytelling, especially at a time when so many in society are going through difficult times.
“This is a time of great opportunity, but it feels very heavy in a different way,” Diggs said. “There’s a huge weight on the shoulders of storytellers right now, because there are so many storytellers out there. I think we lack the ability to empathize. And that’s our job, that’s what we do. I feel like we’re needed right now. Sometimes I feel like people need me. It’s stressful times to be a storyteller, but at the same time, I think it’s very important when you can get over yourself and surrender to it.”It’s nice to feel needed, but I wish it could be better. ”
Schlesinger was honest about the challenges of being open and authentic as a storyteller.
“I think we’re all very scared,” she said. “For a long time, no matter how politically you lean, no matter what baggage you carry, no matter what you represent, there’s been a fear that you’re going to be judged, canceled, and ostracized. We all have our own weights to carry. I think it takes a lot of courage to be authentic and own your own story. Sometimes you have to say, ‘I have such a traumatic experience.’ Sometimes you think, “No, I don’t have that family story, I didn’t have this or that.” If you decide that your story doesn’t matter or isn’t important just because it’s not the same as someone else’s story that might be admired, you probably shouldn’t try to do that. Artists are the ones who have the courage to say, “My voice matters.” My story is equally valid. ”
Lewy discussed the importance of specificity in storytelling and how it can actually make the experience more universal.
“Being here at Sundance, I’m thinking about what a great legacy this festival has, how it started and how it’s fixing a lot of the things that are happening right now…I think for me, it’s the specificity of telling a story, no matter what it’s about, the more specific it is, the more universal it becomes,” Lewi says. “In 2026, when we are struggling to connect and understand each other, if you go deep and have the courage to tell your story, people will relate. It doesn’t matter if it’s the story of a girl on the other side of the world in Gaza or the town you grew up in. That, to me, is the power of storytelling.”
Watch the entire conversation above.
