First Person Arts

Okay, here you go.  Worst Ever StorySlam Podcast.  Let us know how it works!

Who among us hasn’t dreamed of being the target of a Craigslist Missed Connection?  Well, here’s one from our very own StorySlam this week:

Bringing people together to share their stories, that’s what we’re all about at First Person Arts.  Perhaps we could devote an entire StorySlam in 2009 to “Missed Connections.”  Let’s hope, of course, that this isn’t fodder for a future “Worst Ever” story…We want a follow-up!

Last night’s slam saw some of the stiffest competition we’ve ever had at one of the monthly StorySlams, with tellers pulling out all the stops with their best Worst Ever stories!  Uwishunu should have the blogger’s report from last night up sometime this morning and the videos should be up in the next couple of days.  We recorded some audio last night, and we’ll see if we can’t whip together some kind of a podcast, so watch this space.  In the meantime, here are the collected, if disjointed (and loosely reverse order)  livetweets from last night.  As you can see, I only broke my promise of 12 tweets by 8:

Next StorySlam is TONIGHT!!!

Time: Doors at 7:30 and the Slam begins at 8:30. Get there early if you want a seat!
Location: L’etage Cabaret (above Beau Monde) at 6th and Bainbridge
Theme: Worst Ever
Host: Beth Nixon
Cost: $5-$10 sliding scale

Check out this unique take on the classic love (or lack thereof) story from last month’s slam on “Getting Caught”:

Steve really touches upon our shared experiences as he recounts this story with two things that should never really mix– college, and parents. Then again, maybe this story can be the exception.

Next StorySlam:
Tuesday August 26th (TOMORROW!)
Time: Doors at 7:30 and the Slam begins at 8:30. Get there early if you want a seat!
Location: L’Etage Cabaret (above Beau Monde) at 6th and Bainbridge
Theme: Worst Ever
Host: Beth Nixon
Cost: $5-$10 sliding scale

What do two college girls, Paris, Louis Vuitton, and an Asian couple all have in common?… Getting caught!

Next StorySlam:
Tuesday August 26th
Time: Doors at 7:30 and the Slam begins at 8:30. Get there early if you want a seat!
Theme: Worst Ever
Host: Beth Nixon
Cost: $5-$10 sliding scale

Remember that guy in high school? You know, that guy… the one that sat in the back of class… come on, you don’t know who I’m talking about? Maybe Dan can refresh your memory in his fictional, non-fiction tale from the “Caught” story slam!

Next StorySlam:
Tuesday August 26th
Time: Doors at 7:30 and the Slam begins at 8:30. Get there early if you want a seat!
Theme: Worst Ever
Host: Beth Nixon
Cost: $5-$10 sliding scale

Here’s the trailer for a short documentary about urban fishing in Philadelphia that will screen for the first time at the First Person Salon at the Gershman Y on September 10th:

In addition, this final Salon before the 2008 Festival will feature poetry from Robert Wright, autobiographical comedy from Steve Gerben and Pat Barker, and a short memoir reading and documentary film from Angel Hogan about her life as an adoptee.

First Person Salon at the Gershman Y

401 S. Broad St (Broad and Pine)

September 10th, 7-9pm

Cost: $5-$10 sliding scale

Beer available by donation from our friends at Flying Dog!

Michael shared his hilarious “Caught” story at last month’s story slam… before you watch, it’s important to understand his theory that something offensive is OK as long as it’s as equally funny.

Next StorySlam:
Tuesday August 26th
Time: Doors at 7:30 and the Slam begins at 8:30. Get there early if you want a seat!
Theme: Worst Ever
Host: Beth Nixon
Cost: $5-$10 sliding scale

Phawker’s got a nice excerpt of some memoir writing from 19 year-old Colleen Reese, a barista at the Starbucks in Montgomery Mall.  It’s called “How I got to Starbucks: A Teenage Memoir of Midlife Crisis”

BY COLLEEN REESE By the time it was over, high school finally made sense to me: Clean lines were drawn between the extraordinaires bound for leafy private colleges and the Joe Regulars headed to state schools; between the part-timers headed to community college and the free spirit do-gooders who would travel the world and eventually settle down for a little missionary work in Uganda or whatnot; and let us not forget the sons of working class shlubs doomed to endless summer apprenticeships with their neighbor’s landscaping companies. And, as predicted, they all moved on in logical directions.

…

Read the rest at Phawker.

Mathematically speaking, it’s true, a 19 year-old’s midlife crisis would be about age 9.  Keep your chin up Colleen.  Some of us make it out of Starbucks alive.