First Person Arts Blog

As it happens, April is National Card and Letter Writing Month!  So it’s fitting that we’ll be joined at the April 8th Salon by Samara O’Shea of Letter-Lover.net.  Samara will read from For the Love of Letters: A 21st-Century Guide to the Art of Letter Writing and her follow-up, Note to Self: On Keeping  a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits.   Meet Samara:

Hear her read at the April 8th Salon along with these memoir and documentary artists:

Photographer Ted Adams, art & documentary photographer, Director of Southwark Gallery, and Curator of online Abandoned Photo Museum. (link)

Photographer, intrepid blogger and self-portrait artist Sarah Bloom (link)

Colette Copeland, a multi-media visual artist whose work examines issues surrounding gender and contemporary culture. (link)

EVENT DETAILS

First Person Salon
April 8th, 2009 7:30-9:30 (Doors at 7pm)
Location: Laurie Beechman Cabaret at The University of the Arts
(Philadelphia Arts Bank, 601 S. Broad St., Philadelphia)
Admission: $8  The March Salon sold out, so buy your tickets in advance! (No fees)

In a nearly unforgivable omission from the 2008 Grand Slam, I’m finally getting around to putting George Dougherty’s hilarious and moving story up on the electonic habitrail.  If you were there, you’ll remember this one. Possibly unfairly singled out for going a bit over the time limit, George shared his ambitions and aspirations for the hamster Jack Dawson, and had them dashed by a trick of biology.  Watch it:

And as a special bonus, returning to the internet from brief exile, it’s Juliet Wayne’s hilarious babysitting story with it’s memorable coda. A double-shot of the 2008 Grand Slam for your lunchtime viewing pleasure:

All of the 2008 Grand Slam stories are available in this playlist. Come help us pick another storyteller for the 2009 Grand Slam at the next monthly StorySlam on March 24th at L’Etage, when the theme will be “On My Street.”

“On My Street”
Date: March 24th
Time: 8:30pm-10:30pm (Doors at 7:30)
Host: Victor Fiorillo
Location: L’Etage (6th and Bainbridge)
Cost:$8

It should be available at iTunes fairly soon, but if you just can’t wait, you can get a podcast of Saturday night’s StorySlam right here.

The winner of a golden ticket to the 2009 StorySlam was none other than Ira A!  And, after tabulating the audience votes, you agreed with the judges…The audience favorite was ALSO Ira A:

Here’s Angel from the 2008 Grand Slam:

Revel in Tre’s masterful story from the 2008 Grand Slam at the First Person Festival:

The 2009 StorySlam season kicks off with a Special Event StorySlam on Saturday, January 24th at the Kimmel Center  and then swings into high-gear the following Tuesday, January 27th at L’Etage.  Details on each here below:

Just to make up for the hiatus since the frenzy of November’s Grand Slam, we’re giving you a double shot of StorySlam to ring in the New Year:

January 24th
Theme: Broke
Host: Robert Drake
Location: Commonwealth Plaza at the Kimmel Center, 260 S. Broad St.
Time: 6:30pm-7:30pm
Cost: FREE

January 27th
Theme: Bad Idea
Host: Victor Fiorillo
Location: L’Etage Cabaret at 6th and Bainbridge (above Creperie Beau Monde)
Time: Doors at 7:30pm and the Slam begins at 8:30pm
Cost: $8 (or get your six pack of passes for $40 here!)

No guarantees, but Donald Carter, who confidently asserts he’s the only gay, black Republican in Philadelphia, might very well make an appearance.  Here’s his 2008 Festival Grand Slam performance in all its splendor:

The final participant in the First Person Festival Grand Slam, Tree! Tree won the “Strange Coincidence” Story Slam on October 28th at L’Etage. He’ll join the other Heroes of Grand Slam on Saturday Night, November 15th from 9-11pm at the Painted Bride. We’ve sold well over half the seats for the Grand Slam, so get your tickets now!  Take it away, Tree:

The Grand Slam theme is “Champs and Chumps”

Heroes of Grand Slam brings you the cast of Story Slammers you’ll see go head-to-head at the 2008 First Person Festival Grand Slam on Saturday November 15th from 9-11pm.  This one will sell out, so buy your tickets right away! You can make a day of it and check out Girls Rock from 3-6 pm and Doubletime! from 6:30 to 8:30pm.

Here are our heroes, and these are their stories:

Ted Passon won the “Caught” slam back in July with this story:

If you were at Tuesday’s “Strange Coincidence” Story Slam, you learned that the Grand Slam theme for 2008 will be “Champs and Chumps.”  And speaking of strange coincidences, it turns out that while everyone was out last night celebrating the hometown Champs, some Chumps went and destroyed Ted Passon’s car where it was parked at Broad and Ellsworth.  Get the full picture and maybe help him out a little here, especially if you were one of those chumps! You have to admit, that Champs and Chumps story is tough to beat.  Come cheer him on, along with the other Heroes of Grand Slam as they go head to head on Saturday night, November 15th from 9-11pm.  Tickets are going fast.  Get ‘em here.

Heroes of Grand Slam brings you the cast of Story Slammers you’ll see go head-to-head at the 2008 First Person Festival Grand Slam on Saturday November 15th from 9-11pm.  This one will sell out, so buy your tickets right away! You can make a day of it and check out Girls Rock from 3-6 pm and Doubletime! from 6:30 to 8:30pm.

Here are our heroes, and these are their stories:

Sam Malissa, winner of August’s “Worst Ever”

Unfortunately for Sam, he’ll be leading a tour of Japan with the Japan America Society during our Festival, but fortunately for you, the second-place finisher that night, notorious gadabout and self-proclaimed diva, Donald Carter will be filling his shoes:

Ryan T. Barlow won September’s “Belonging” (and is a guest storyteller tonight!)

You’ve got one more chance to join this pantheon of Philadelphia storytellers TONIGHT at L’Etage.  The last regularly scheduled slam of the season is “Strange Coincidence”.   Doors open at 7:30 and the slam begins at 8:30.  We’ll be announcing the Grand Slam theme to the audience!  See you there…

Heroes of Grand Slam brings you the cast of Story Slammers you’ll see go head-to-head at the 2008 First Person Festival Grand Slam on Saturday November 15th from 9-11pm.  This one will sell out, so buy your tickets right away! You can make a day of it and check out Girls Rock from 3-6 pm and Doubletime! from 6:30 to 8:30pm.

Here are our heroes, and these are their stories:

Angel Hogan, winner of the special Summertime StorySlam, part of the Kimmel Center’s Summer Solstice Celebration.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any video from that slam, and that’s a shame, because it was a real doozy.  Fortunately, if you’re not in the Complaint Choir, you can join her tonight for a Fiction Slam at the Standard Tap, with the Liberties Scribblers:

LIBERTIES SCRIBBLERS PRESENTS:
HALLOWEEN STORY SLAM
“The Stranger”
Monday October 27th 2008

THE STANDARD TAP
(901 North 2nd Street Philadelphia)
BRING IN YOUR 5-MINUTE REVELATIONS!

Ten contestants, five-minute time limit
(~600-800 words),  $5 registration to read.
Proceeds go to cash prizes for the top performers. Contestants will be judged on delivery and substance. Prose please.  Sign-up starts at 7pm, show starts 7:30. Presented by the Liberties Scribblers, a Northern Liberties writing group.

Tell your friends! SEE YOU THERE!
FREE to listen
$5 to read
For more information, visit:
www.myspace.com/libertiesscribblers

Katonya Mosley, winner of May’s “Secrets”

George Dougherty, winner of June’s “On The Road”

You’ve got one more chance to get into the pantheon of Philadelphia storytellers this week at L’Etage.  The last regularly scheduled slam of the season will be “Strange Coincidence” on Tuesday, October 28th.  Doors open at 7:30 and the slam begins at 8:30.  And don’t forget your Grand Slam tickets…