You may have heard the rumors already, but we are looking to put together a “Best of” StorySlam CD for release later this year. To do so, we need music samples for in between the stories. Think of the music between segments of any NPR program and you’ll get the idea.


Interested in being included? Interested in sharing your music with our StorySlam audience? Send me (Karina) five to ten 1-minute long samples of instrumental music in mp3 format by January 22nd. My email is kkacala@firstpersonarts.org.


Any questions/concerns? Send those to me as well!

First Person Arts is partnering with Philebrity to showcase the winning video of each Slam. Look for last night’s winner, Olga Schmutz, on Philebrity later today!

All other story videos will be posted on our YouTube channel by the end of the week. And check out photos from last night on Flickr.


Thanks to everyone for a great inaugural Slam at World Cafe Live- all the storytellers, our host David Sweeny, guest judge Doug Didyoung, guest storyteller R. Eric Thomas and the staff at World Cafe Live.


Now it’s time to start thinking about our NEXT Slam- Tuesday, January 26th at L’Etage. The theme is Rituals. Find more info on our StorySlam page.

Ok, forgive the Phil Collins (I do kinda love him though… guilty pleasures!), but I am super psyched for tonight’s Slam at World Cafe Live.


The details… World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. Doors at 7:30, Slam starts at 8:30. Tickets are $10 at the door, $8 for members. The theme is Home for the Holidays and our host is David Sweeny. Come hungry – World Cafe Live will be serving food from their awesome menu. Come thirsty – we’ll have $3 Yuengling draft specials.


And here is a final, double-header FlashSlam. I actually met Rose and Brooke last night randomly at a dinner party. I recognized Rose, having just watched her story on strange coincidences last week by chance. After talking to her for about 5 seconds, I asked, “Um, this is strange, but have you ever told a story at a First Person StorySlam?” The answer was yes. “Yeah, cause I’m their new Marketing Coordinator.” Not only that, her friend, Brooke has also told a story. There were four people at this dinner party. Two of them were First Person Storytellers. Now THAT is a strange coincidence.


Hopefully this won’t embarrass my new friends too much, but I have to share their stories today.


Rose reveals her strange coincidence…





Brooke thought she was alone… she was wrong…

We are super psyched that David Sweeny, Philadelphia actor/performer, is hosting our first Slam at World Cafe Live (THIS Monday). I first met David in 2007, when we worked together on Adrienne Mackey’s Fringe piece, Echo. Currently, he is in the Arden’s production of Peter Pan as the pirate Smee.


David is most well-known around town for his character Johnny Showcase, of the the Johnny Showcase and the Lefty Lucy Cabaret. You can see them live on January 20th, downstairs at World Cafe Live. David assures us it will be the concert of the year!


In anticipation of his gig on Monday night, I asked David a few questions about storytelling, Johnny and his own Home for the Holidays story. And remember, the first Slam of the year is Monday, January 11th at World Cafe Live. More info can be found HERE.


What do you think makes for a good story?
I think specificity, heart, and a willingness to laugh at yourself are all part of a good story. Unrequited love and unfulfilled expectations are always great as well…


Do you have a good “home for the holidays” story?
My first Christmas at my fiance (now wife)’s family’s home comes to mind. We had just become engaged, and there was an excitement in the air and an incredible graciousness on all sides. I was feeling homesick for my first Christmas away from my family, and every attempt was made to make me feel at home.


My wife’s brother, fifteen years old, a sweet kid, the kind of kid that still takes dance class with eleven year olds, and still has a food palette limited to pizza and bagels, was very excited to share his room with me. I was given the bed, as guests of honor tend to do, and he was to stay on the floor in a sleeping bag.


Bedtime, however, was not sleep time, but sleepover time. Her brother proceeded to show me all of the schedules that he had created for his own version of Hogwarts School of Magic, complete with class by class breakdown and list of students that was comprised of friends from church and dance class. I could actually follow his friend Allie from Defense Against the Dark Arts to Spells to Magic History. No detail was neglected, as to leave any magic student to wander the halls. I sat trapped in his twin bed, looking over his shoulder at his database of magical metriculation. He then put on a greatest hits sampling of all his favorite parts of the Harry Potter soundtrack, demonstrating all the dances that he had choreographed to the music. The dancing lasted about 20 minutes. Three years later, I am certain he still does those dances.


Tell me about Johnny Showcase. Who is he? What was the inspiration for him?
Johnny Showcase is a top-shelf crooner from North Providence, Rhode Island. The character was born when my mother suggested that I find something to fall back on if my acting career doesn’t take off. I said, in a snotty teenager voice, “Maybe I’ll just be a loungesinger.”


In a way, it did happen like that. I wasn’t getting too much acting work, and I wanted to find a way to put myself and the extraordinary people around me on stage. I was always jealous of my musician friends and their ability to just play and create whatever and whenever they like. So that is what spawned the cabaret. Gradually, the world got bigger with other characters and a more stylized sound.


Johnny is inspired by a melange of people. Originally Andy Kaufman and Bill Murray inspired me to have a lounge singer alter ego, as well as an homage to my home state of Rhode Island. Soon I realized I could use him as a vehicle to write music, and I became much more influenced by Prince and James Brown, and the out-ness of Funkadelic, Gary Wilson and Beck. Johnny Showcase gives me an opportunity to make great music and to do stuff that makes me (and hopefully others) laugh.


What would Johnny’s “home for the holidays” story be?
Johnny, a recent divorcee, goes home to the Ciacassi home in N. Providence. His parents still buy him and his brother Bobby matching pajamas, and his mother guilts him about “that pervert play” he does in Philadelphia. His father, a former city council man, shows old movies from when little Johnny would sing jingles for his campaign.

Alex confesses to both being a lawyer AND one of the funniest/high maintenance bosses a personal assistant could ever have (outside of Hollywood, of course!)


See you Monday, January 11th at the first StorySlam of the year! World Cafe Live! 7:30 doors, 8:30 starts the Slam. $10 tickets at the door, $8 for members.

Ky’s story is just super cute. Watch it and get all warm and melty inside!

Take one broken heart, add a Xanax, a dash of leather-clad bears and garnish with some Facebook stalking and you have Renee’s Audience Favorite AND Winning Story from May 2009.


And don’t forget that the first Slam of 2010 is THIS Monday, January 11th, at World Cafe Live. Doors at 7:30, Slam starts at 8:30. Tickets are $10 at the door, $8 for FPA members.

Check out our 2010 StorySlam dude! He changed his shirt! He’s wearing a purple hat!





If you want to help introduce him to the rest of the city by distributing our 2010 StorySlam postcards (in exchange for free entrance to StorySlams), contact Karina at kkacala@firstpersonarts.org.