We all have them – Tales from times when things didn’t look likely; when chances seemed slim at best and all hope was hanging by a thread. At last night’s StorySlam we heard from ten storytellers who carried that thread and shared personal stories in response to the theme “Against the Odds.”

Death defying Donald told about how he miraculously brought a zombie dog back from the other side. Erin refused to give up her hopes of recovering her long lost hat – even if getting it back meant she’d have to snatch it off a stranger’s head. And Joli braved the bowels of a pink Chinatown Bus to dig for an abandoned burrito and a prized journal.

Our winning and Audience Favorite story came from beloved First Person Arts storyteller, Bernardo. Perhaps the odds were in Bernardo’s favor last night. As a frequent First Person Arts storyteller and two-time Grand Slam competitor, Bernardo’s candid spirit and storytelling prowess quickly won over the audience judges. Travel to Bogota, Columbia with Bernardo and witness how he turns a terrifying experience into a touching tale in the video of his winning performance below. Click here to see what our friends at Philebrity had to say about Bernardo’s story.


Winning Storyteller and Audience Favorite, Bernardo – “Against the Odds” StorySlam

Congratulations Bernardo! Stay tuned for more videos coming soon to the First Person Arts YouTube channel. Special thanks to all of our “Against the Odds” storytellers and to everyone who came out.

Join us for the next Slam:

Theme: The Ex-Files
Date: Tuesday, February 14
Location: World Cafe Live (3025 Walnut Street)
Time: Doors open at 7:30PM, Slam starts at 8:30PM
Price: $10, $8 for First Person Arts members
All-ages, $3 Yuengling draft specials

If you want to guarantee a table at the Slam, make a reservation with World Cafe Live! Call 215-222-1400 after 10:00 AM up until the Monday of the Slam.

-Becca Jennings

Jeanne’s Podcast Pick is a weekly First Person Arts blog post that lets Jeanne, the Marketing Intern, share with you a recent story that has sparked her interest from the World Wide Interwebs. Please feel free to comment if you are moved to do so!

My last week of college I barely slept a wink in order to complete a thesis paper for my capstone course: History of Anthropological Theory. I finish on the due date lying in my bed with my Hewlett-Packard laptop. Elated, I make a frantic dash to my roommate’s printer. Smack! I trip on the adapter wire and my HP crashes against the hardwood floor. The monitor instantly turns black and cracks that look like a spider web form on the screen. My eyes swell with tears.

The blue and silver HP served me well for four and a half years. It had countless pictures of friends and memories that I wanted to have for a lifetime. It had all of my favorite music! Mixes made for me by first loves and best friends. Smack. I thought it was done for.

The nerds of my family examined the device and diagnosed it as still useful! We hooked the laptop up to an old Gateway 2000 monitor that had been stashed away for 9 years and…voila! It was a brilliant setup: A giant off-white monitor with a convex screen sat on my used Ikea desk alongside the HP laptop that was now only useful as a hard-drive and a frame for homemade stickers.


Weeks later on a hot summer day I came home from a run dripping with sweat. The door to my apartment is ajar and I feel a sinking feeling in my gut. The apartment has been trashed and robbed. I walk to my room and the Gateway 2000 monitor is standing proud but next to it is an empty space. My old school HP laptop with the cracked spider web screen that I had decoupaged with kittens and Johnny Depp photos is gone.

I received an A in my capstone course. I had emailed the thesis to myself several times before the smack and had saved it on dropbox and a zip drive. I never thought to back-up my memories, pictures or music. Out of all that was stolen, I was most upset to have lost those.

My story of woe is only a brief chapter in the life history of the HP. The story actually begins half-way around the world in Shenzhen, China where many of our gadgets are made. In a podcast from This American Life, Mike Daisey performs an excerpt from his one man show “The Agony and the Ecstacy of Steve Jobs” and shares in-depth insight into the working conditions of these gadget factories. Few of us will see these conditions first hand but most of us will have a connection to them through the products we buy and use.

My Pick of the Week: Mr Daisy and the Apple Factory

Jeanne Lyons

When your boyfriend’s life becomes a reality TV show, and women from all around the world are applying for a chance to snatch him off your arm, a girl can sense she’s up against some serious competition. Unfortunately, that was the reality of last night’s winning storyteller, Diana. Discover the key to lasting romance with Diana in the video of her winning performance below.

Congratulations Diana! And congratulations to Audience Favorite, Martha! Journey with Martha as she navigates her early career path playing the “expert.” Whatever you do, don’t disappoint Oprah.

Thanks to all of our “Daily Grind” storytellers and to everyone who came out to last night’s Slam. Stay tuned for more stories from all of our storytellers coming soon to our YouTube channel.


First Person Arts StorySlam, Theme: “Daily Grind,” Winning Storyteller, Diana


First Person Arts StorySlam, Theme: “Daily Grind,” Audience Favorite Storyteller, Martha

Next First Person Arts StorySlam:
Date: Tuesday, January 24
Theme: Against the Odds
Location: L’Etage (6th and Bainbridge Streets)
Doors at 7:30pm, Slam starts at 8:30pm
21+, $4 well drink specials

Jeanne’s Podcast Pick is a weekly First Person Arts blog post that lets Jeanne, the Marketing Intern, share with you a recent story that has sparked her interest from the World Wide Interwebs. Please feel free to comment if you are moved to do so!

I began watching the animated television version of the X-Men when I was kid to try to bond with my big brother and his cool friends. I was the little sister who wanted to play basketball as hard as the boys, to be entertained for hours by Golden Eye 007 (a James Bond themed video game) and to play fight with GI-Joe action figures on hands and knees in the dirt.
For the most part I endured these activities simply out of a desire to spend time with my big bro. However, the X-Men truly captured my interest and attention. I have been a fan ever since!


The story of the Mutants in the Marvel Comics X-Men series is an allegory representing the experience of various social and racial minorities in our own society. It is about characters (with rad mutations and special powers!) who are attempting to live in a world in which they do not quite fit and become marginalized.

In this Radio Lab Podcast the X-Men allegory is reflected in real life when the question of categorizing the Marvel Comic toys as Dolls with human features or Action Figures with non-human features is confronted by the court of law.

My Pick of the Week: Mutant Rights on Radio Lab can be listened to and downloaded HERE

Jeanne Lyons

Happy New Year! Before we post 2012’s stories, let’s take a look back at some of 2011’s most watched videos from the First Person Arts YouTube channel.

#5 Janet, “Family Ties”
Buckle up and hit the road for a family trip with “Family Ties” Winner and Audience Favorite, Janet in our #5 most viewed story. After checking out her tale, you’ll be keeping on the sunny side with Janet all the way from St. Louis to Florida.


#4 Bernardo Strange Encounters
Tune into our #4 pick by Bernardo and follow the signs to experiencing how strange the everyday can be.


#3 Sarah, “The Ex-Files”
Load up your Uhaul and scavenge through the classified ads for a new home fitting for a recent divorcee in this our #3 most viewed story by Sarah. Oh, and be sure to steer clear of mobile homes rendered in brick where plumbing is irrelevant. But you probably knew that already.


#2 Marla, “Beasts”
Our #2 pick teaches us an important lesson about the economics of gravity. Skeptical about trickle down theory? Not in West Philadelphia. Check out the #2 most watched video by Marla and find out what crashes through her bathroom ceiling. (And no, it wasn’t a hallucination after not taking her anxiety meds for months.)


#1 Rodrick, “Do the Right Thing”
Unsurprisingly our #1 most viewed video of 2011 is a very special story that puts the “I do” in “Do the Right Thing.” Witness the first-ever First Person proposal in the video below.


-Becca Jennings

‘Tis the season to please the memoir fanatic in your life with a special gift. If you’re trying satisfy a storyteller or a story appreciator check out these holiday First Person Arts shopping picks!

Pick #1 First Person Arts StorySlam Six-Pack
Treat the StorySlam fan in your life to six Slam admissions at World Cafe Live and L’Etage for just $50! This pack can be used for multiple Slams over the 2011-2012 season or to bring a big group to one slam. Buy a Six Pack here.

Pick #2 An Evening with Ira Glass and the New Kings of Non-Fiction
So many great storytelling voices in one funny show! On this live recording you’ll hear from Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Orlean, and Chuck Klosterman. Each author shares a surprising incite into their life and life’s work. Give the commuter in your life a new CD for the road! Buy the recording for $10 here.

Pick #3 Mom: A Celebration of Mothers
How about treating mom to a book that celebrates her existence? This StoryCorps project presents the experience of American Moms from all walks of life and explores the meaning of family and the special bond between mother and child. Buy this gift for Mom here.

Pick #4 FOUND’s Seventh Heaven Holiday Pack
Oh boy, do I love Found Magazine and this gift pack is seriously sweet! Seven issues with over 700 pages of found items for $29 bucks. Dare I say, six issues for you and one for a friend!? Buy this sweet seven-pack here.

Pick #5 Minor Characters
This compelling memoir written by the friend and lover of Jack Kerouac paints a vivid picture of NYC in the 50’s and 60’s and the individuals who are recognized as the Beat Generation. A nice gift for the liberal arts student or aging hippie in your life. Buy the Joyce Johnson Memoir here.

Pick #6 Six Words About Work
Anyone, no matter how busy their work schedule, can spare a moment to read for pleasure if the stories are six-words long! The latest from SmithMag, Six Words About Work, has over 400 short (teeny-tiny!) stories that explore why people do what they do, lessons learned in the work place and tricks to navigate the professional world. Buy the book of mini stories here.

Pick #7 Six Word Game
The perfect way to develop a keen sense of six word story-telling! Your memoir fanatic will love the challenge of defining and deciphering famous people and places in exactly six words and the fun of competing with friends. Buy some fun in a box here.

Pick #8 When You Are Engulfed in Flames
This is an oldy but a goody! We all know someone who appreciates dark humor. Give the gift of a David Sedaris story collection in which he shares his fascination with dead bodies, his recollections on poor clothing choices and oh, so much more. Buy the gift of David Sedaris here

Pick #9 Blue Nights
Author of one of my favorite fictional works, Play it as it Lays, Joan Didion has written several gripping memoirs both in essay form and for the stage. In her new book Blue Nights, Didion shares her story of grappling with grief after the loss of her daughter. “We all survive more than we think we can.” -Didion
Buy this new memoir here.

Pick #10 100th Anniversary Mug
Quirky Mug- The gift that never fails! Have your favorite Documentary Art fanatic wake up each morning by sipping a cup of jo with Ira Glass and the future faces of This American Life! Story telling+warm beverage=happiness! Buy this quirky mug here.

-Jeanne (FPA Marketing Intern)

Last night we kicked off the 2011-2012 Slam season with ten audience storytellers who got into the spirit of the holidays with real life stories all inspired by the theme “Naughty or Nice.” Our winning story came from Marjorie, a first time StorySlammer whose story begins and ends with an image of hope: a naked man feeding her pie.

(It was cherry pie. Yeah…we asked.)

Marjorie’s story reminds us that when you’ve just witnessed your husband being taken away in handcuffs that jingle jangle jingle and you’re too sad to sing the blues, a naked man with a warm heart and a warm pie just might be right around your corner.

Congratulations to Majorie and last night’s Audience Favoite, Mega Matt! Don’t miss their winning performances in the videos below.


“Naughty or Nice” StorySlam. Storyteller, Majorie



“Naughty or Nice” StorySlam. Storyteller, Mega Matt


-Becca Jennings

A couple weeks ago, we asked you to share your sex questions and quandaries with the Stripped Stories gals in advance of their appearance at the First Person Festival this weekend. One lucky respondent asked a serious question and in addition to receiving some wisdom from Giulia and Margot, she also won free tickets to their show!

How can I convince a guy to let me use a strap-on on him?

We think honesty is the best policy, talk to him, share your feelings and desires and hear his feelings and desires. Maybe you can watch a porn where a strap-on is used so he can what it’s like. If he is not into the strap-on idea you have to respect that just as you would want him to respect your boundaries. Good luck!

Laura Reeve, former Marketing Intern of First Person Arts, has been using her experience to complete assignments for a News and Feature writing class taught by Tom Ferrick at Bryn Mawr College. One such assignment was this artist profile of beloved First Person Arts storyteller and host, R. Eric Thomas.


R. Eric Thomas likes to talk about himself. Well, the version of himself who fails at relationships, never meets anyone, and eats too many cupcakes when he’s sad.

“The only story I ever tell is my own. I’m not a good journalist and I’m not a good actor because I can’t disappear into others things. Which maybe is because I’m a narcissist, or maybe it’s just how I’m built,” said Thomas, as he gestured with his hands, a move he makes when he tells his stories as his hands will physically bring his audience closer to him.

Eric, 30, a Philadelphia storyteller and playwright originally from Baltimore came directly from his work at a law firm in Center City. Despite his work attire, his black tie had a bit of shimmer in it and black Converse sneakers peaked out from under his slacks.

Working at the law firm is just his day job. His real passion is telling stories, whether that be through writing a play or telling a personal story to a live audience. Though Thomas writes fiction, he explains that he finds that through telling personal stories, he can comment genuinely on the world around him.

“I write a lot of fiction and I do find a lot of solace in that. I consider myself a playwright, so other people’s voices are interesting to me,” Thomas explained. “But when it comes to vocalization, when it comes to representing something concrete about humanity, I really am only able to draw from my own experience.”

Though Thomas didn’t recall ever learning about storytelling as a child, he described his mother, a frequent character in his stories, as the “Family Historian,” who keeps all the family’s stories in her head and his father as coming from a Baptist preaching tradition. So telling and listening to stories were always a part of Thomas’ life even if it was never recognized formally.

Though Thomas liked to write fiction and plays, it wasn’t until Thomas began tellings stories that he realized the power and art of shaping and performing personal stories. “It’s frustrating to me because when I started telling stories, telling true stories with an emotional heart, they were so much better than my plays. It’s like ripping opening a wound and either healing it up or sticking my finger in it,” Thomas said.

In the story that ultimately became Will You Accept This Friend Request?, a one-man show about connecting with others, Thomas opens up about his first gay friend he met in college, and how this friend created a space where he could be honest about who he was for the first time. Despite the emotional and very touching subject matter, Thomas weaves in his signature self-deprecating humor that ultimately allows the audience to connect with the version of himself that Thomas paints: complete in black parachute pants and tucked in orange tank-top.

Thomas’ ability to talk about emotional, sometimes sad, subjects while keeping his audience laughing is because of this on-stage personality Thomas has created. “What I try and do is play up the base thought that goes on in my mind, which is usually neurotic because it’s the funniest thought. So, the person that I’m playing is a version of me, but is much less self-actualized and more prone to rash decisions,” Thomas said. “I ultimately try to be the sitcom Friend version of myself.”

Like the romantic comedy movies he dreams his life will one day mirror, Thomas’ stories are reflections on the relationships that dictate our lives: friends, lovers, and family. Even if Thomas is Always the Bridesmaid (the title of his next show), he continues to entertain audiences with his journey, albeit sometimes a clumsy one, for his happy ending.

-Laura Reeve

Will You Accept This Friend Request? will be performed by R. Eric Thomas at the First Person Festival November 14th and 15th. Find all the ticketing information you need by clicking here!

Photo by James Carminati

The morning of my phone interview with Adam Wade, I was perusing Facebook and quickly discovered that Adam and I had a peculiar mutual friend. Not that this friend, was peculiar, but the connection was unexpected and exciting. See, Adam went to Keene State College with my favorite camp counselor Chad. Chad led a great creative writing class at camp, influenced me a lot in terms of the music that I grew up listening to, and even taught me how to juggle. And those experiences at summer camp shape a bunch of the stories that I love to tell. I had to bring up this mutual friend at the start of our conversation, and was glad I did.

Hillary: I realize that we have a very funny mutual friend which is my former camp counselor Chad who went to college with you. He was my hero at summer camp and he taught me about cool music and we stayed in touch ever since.

Adam: Yeah Chad is a very good man. Chad helped me a lot creatively too. He was always very supportive of me and he was my first acting partner. I used to open for Chad’s band at Keene, that’s basically how I started. I was very shy, so to get up in front of an audience with a guitar, tell a little set-up story and then play a song. The guitar was a great prop, a sort of shield. People seemed to like it, it was really fun, and It was just something I always wanted to do. I built the confidence in Keene, NH and I would do the same thing when I moved to New York City and it went alright. I did Caroline’s New Talent Night and stuff like that. But I didn’t feel fulfilled doing it. After awhile I thought I had more to offer but I just didn’t know how to do it. Then I worked a production assistant at Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and one day we were at lunch and Colin came over to me and he said, “I’m mad at you.” And I said, “Why are you mad at me?” I had been working there for a couple of months and he said “I didn’t know you did stand-up. Bring in a tape. I wanna watch it.” And it was cool, I brought in a tape and he watched it and he went over it with me. And he said, “The most interesting thing about you is you. Not the guitar. The stories in between the songs are actually the sense of you coming out. That’s the stuff you should focus on.” He gave me ten minutes and we went over the video and I remember going to my little Production Assistant desk and writing everything he said down. It meant a lot. He had seen a lot and he took the time.

Hillary: Can you tell me a little bit about your relationship with the Moth. What is your history with them? How has it shaped your storytelling?

Adam: So I started doing shows without the guitar and just telling little stories. It went really bad just because they were expecting jokes and then the people that booked me were expecting me to bring the guitar. When you’re doing a comedy show it’s always nice to have a guitar act or a music act cause it breaks it up. That’s why I was getting booked. So those shows wouldn’t book me again and it was very difficult for me. I was very frustrated. I had read this thing in the newspaper about the Moth and it seemed very interesting, but I was kind of intimidated by it all and I didn’t go. And I waited and waited and waited. There was a producer at Tough Crowd who said, “Wait, why don’t you do the Moth?” So he kind of kicked me in the ass. I was like “Well, I can’t get out of work early to do the Moth.” And my regular boss said, “Absolutely, I’ll let you leave.” So I started going. And I have been doing it for eight years. For me it was really good because there was a strong sense of community and nurturing. Not that the stand-up community was not nice, there was definitely a lot of nice people…

Hillary: The Moth is more tight knit.

Adam: Yeah it was just more tight knit and very nurturing. The producers and the people at the Moth, they knew your names. The founder of the Moth knew your name. There was gentleman who used to go to the Moth that brought pizzas, he would give pizzas out. In each venue I would always have my seat. Another thing with the Moth, too, is even when I started to get to know people, a lot of times I would make sure I stood in line with people or I sat at a table of people I didn’t know. I wanted to force myself to meet people. And it was always kinda nice when you’re sitting with three or four people you don’t know and they’re not really giving you the time of day but they’re being nice or being cordial. And then you perform and you get back and they’re like “Oh we didn’t know we were sitting next to this guy.” And it always made you feel like a million bucks. It’s definitely my home in a lot of ways. I owe a lot to the Moth and to the Moth community. They couldn’t have been nicer and more supportive to me.

Hillary: The Adam Wade from NH Show: How did that all come together?

Adam: I did another show at the Theatre Under Saint Marks by Seth Lind, who works at This American Life. He does a monthly show there, which is incredible and I was a part of that. And then I just met his producer and she’s a producer of the theater and I went out to have coffee with her one time. The thing with the Moth, I felt like for me personally, I wasn’t having more than 5 to 8 minutes to tell a story. I wanted to have more time and be a little bit more creative. My whole style at the Moth is very fast moving, and you have to be because of the time limit. I wanted to work on slowing things down and do something for an hour or 45 minutes. My goals were to slow things down and to get chops. My friend Peter Aguerro has an improv story band and basically we discussed it and decided that Monday night I was gonna do a thing for an hour and then his band was gonna come on. We made a pact with each other that we would do this. And now his show regularly sells out and The Adam Wade From NH show does too. It really grew. Peter Aguerro is my rock in that sense. I’m nervous before every show no matter what it is. And I’m nervous the day of. But once I get there, I get there early, I start talking to the tech guy and Peter shows up and I’m fine. I don’t need a beer, as long as I have my asthma inhaler. I calm down and it’s like performing for friends. And basically what I try to do after the show, the best I can, is try to talk to everybody and thank everybody individually for coming. I am very grateful that people are coming.

Hillary: On the subject of nerves, you mentioned a couple of times that you still get nervous before every show. Does it go away once you start? How do you combat that?

Adam: A lot of times I’m nervous all day and now, once I’m on stage, I’m fine. That’s when I feel most comfortable.

Hillary: Well, I guess that’s everything.

Adam: I’m really looking forward to coming back to Philly, and to working with you.

See Adam perform in The Adam Wade from NH Show as part of the First Person Festival at the Khyber Upstairs Friday, November 11th and Saturday, November 12th. I will also be performing a special opening set of stories on childhood, crushes, and other uncomfortable experiences.

Tickets available online here or by phone at 267-402-2055.

-Hillary Rea