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

Last week Liz Green, FPA’s Programming Coordinator, gave us a behind the scenes look into how this year’s Festival is bigger and better than ever before. In this week’s interview, she’s giving us an glimpse into some of the exciting performances set to take place at the 10th Anniversary First Person Festival.

There are more performances and one person shows hitting the stage this year. What can you tell us about these specific programs and why they were chosen? How will it change the dynamic of the Festival?

We chose to do more live performances this year because they were the most popular events of last year’s Festival, and there’s some great stuff out there right now. Liberty City is about growing up in a turbulent environment and during a movement that doesn’t always get a lot of attention, the Black Power movement of the 1970’s. Exit Cuckoo is based on the experiences of actress and writer Lisa Ramirez had working as a nanny working in New York. Both are about big ideas and address important issues, with a lot of personal humor and reliability.


Left: April Yvette Thompson plays in Liberty City; Right: Lisa Ramirez plays in Exit Cuckoo.

That’s only two of ten full performances we’ve booked. Watching live performances is a communal event, and I think having more of it will create a more experiential and “all in this together” dynamic. I hope people will talk to the person sitting next to them after the show, and either argue in the lobby all night, or be new best friends forever.

Tell us about the latest First Person RAW performers. How were they chosen? How many people applied? What was the selection process like?

We had around thirty applicants for this year’s season of RAW from around the country. Most were performers of different kinds – dance, theater, storytelling, and poetry. We looked closely at who was really thinking outside the box. Memoir and documentary art have some tried and true forms – one person theater shows, documentary film, poetry, and memoir in reading settings, etc. RAW is an opportunity to take big risks on untested ideas, and we wanted to see artists pushing boundaries. Beaut features two one-person-shows separated by a screen, and the stories intersect and bounce off one another. The SHE Project is poetry performed in a blend of traditional and slam poetry styles and incorporates music from both Hmong and hip-hop traditions. Will You Accept This Friend Request? is performed by R. Eric Thomas, and is half theater, half comedy routine, but all in the storytelling style of the StorySlam… and might even include food. These artists are mashing up genres so much it’s hard for us to define what they are doing. That’s what RAW’s about.

The Grand Slam is definitely a crowd favorite. What kind of stories and/or storytellers can we expect this time around?

The Grand Slams get more competitive every year. Some storytellers in Philly have really stepped up and taken a professional and serious approach to this work, and that has raised the bar for everyone. Our hosts are amazing – Margot Leitman and Guilia Rozzi are both Moth Grand Slam winners, and their show Stripped Stories is being featured in the Festival. This event is always packed, and I can think of no better pair to get the crowd pumped. I’m pumped already!

For more information about these and other 2011 Festival programs visit the First Person Arts Festival page. Tix go on sale September 28.

-Laura Reeve & Whitni Rouse

First Person Arts is celebrating 10 great years of stories! How? For our 10th year anniversary we are expanding this year’s First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art to an unprecedented eleven days. In preparation for the Festival, Liz Green, FPA’s Programming Coordinator, decided to give us a behind the scenes look at what’s in store for the 2011 First Person Festival and what makes this year’s Festival so special.

What is First Person Arts doing to make the 2011 Festival even better than last years?

It’s been ten years, we have a great network of artists, and we are celebrating this by going big! More venues, more performances, more artists, more variety. Our StorySlam audiences at L’ETAGE and World Cafe Live have grown a lot this year, so we have brought in even more shows that we think they’ll like (Stripped Stories, Adam Wade from NH, Will You Accept this Friend Request?). We want the Festival to be somewhere that people hang out and meet cool people. We have created spaces for people to talk about what they’re seeing – some are more structured (talk backs and panels) and some are informal (we are setting up a cafe in the Christ Church lobby, and holding happy hours at the Khyber Upstairs everyday).

This is the biggest festival FPA has ever had. What does that mean exactly? More days, more programs, etc?.

We have expanded the festival to eleven days this year, in honor of our 10th Anniversary. There will be over thirty performances, workshops, and special events in venues across Old City. It means we get to feature the work of a larger range of artists – from award winning performers and writers… to emerging artists working on something brand new… to folks who won over the judges at a Slam sometime this year, and will find themselves onstage in front of hundreds of people at the Grand Slam. The bigger our Festival is, the more we can fulfill our mission – to give every person’s story an opportunity to be heard.

You’re pretty new at First Person Arts. What was it like coming into a new job and having to spearhead a huge project like a eleven-day festival?

It’s a great way to start! This is a big undertaking for an organization our size, and we (Board, staff, FPA artists) are grateful that we’re in Philly, where people actively engage in what goes on in their city. We are working with more partners than ever before – restaurants, organizations, universities, churches – to bring this Festival together. Large scale undertakings in which everyone has a piece of the ownership is so Philadelphia, and we just couldn’t do it otherwise.

Stay tuned to the First Person Arts blog for more from our interview with Liz Green. Check out our First Person Festival page for updates on this year’s Festival programs.

-Laura Reeve & Whitni Rouse

This Sunday I made Crustless Quiche Clafoutis with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, and Olive Oil with my friend Moira (she graduated from my school last year and now lives in a house in Philadelphia – with a kitchen and everything). I should thank her now for helping me make the quiche. I don’t think it would have worked as well in my dorm’s microwave.

The recipe comes from Joan Nathan’s newest cookbook, Quiches, Kugels and Couscous, the result of Nathan’s exploration of Jewish cuisine in France. On November 13, during the First Person Festival , you can brunch with Joan Nathan and hear all about her culinary adventure while munching on delicacies from Argan Moroccan Cuisine, Hershel’s East Side Deli and Zahav. Click here for more information and to buy tickets.

After taking the short train ride from Bryn Mawr to Market East, I joined Moira and headed over to 10th and South to Super Fresh. There we bought crumbled goat cheese, grated parmesan, cherry tomatoes, eggs, and fresh basil. We only had a problem finding creme fraiche (probably because we were unsure of what it was); luckily, the nice man at Whole Foods (conveniently right across the street) pointed us in the right direction.

I’m not going to lie, I was really nervous for this assignment. I had never made a quiche before and am not the greatest culinary talent (except for my morning bagels which I toast and spread cream cheese on myself). Fortunately, I had two important tools with me: Moira and Joan Nathan’s cookbook. The recipe was easy quick and easy to follow. It only took about 15-20 minutes to prep and 45 minutes to bake. I feel like Julia Child, only Asian and in Philadelphia.

After only 5 minutes in the oven, the quiche already smelled great. The recipe said to serve the quiche immediately after coming out of the oven. So, after (im)patiently waiting for the timer to go off, Moira and I quickly gave ourselves generous portions. “This is the kind of thing you would make if you were going to a dinner party with a cute boy and you want to impress him,” Moira said gleefully. I was definitely impressed with our efforts, the quiche was light and airy. Plus, anything with tomatoes and basil gets an A in my book. The fact that the quiche tasted great this morning after heating it up for breakfast was the cherry on top.

In the end, it was a great way to spend my Sunday afternoon, and I hope I will be able to make more of Nathan’s recipes before anyone finds out that I have a copy of the cookbook in my dorm.

Here’s a sneak peek at the recipe I used: 

Ingredients: 
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for greasing pan
1/4 cup whole fresh basil leaves
6 large eggs
3 heaping tablespoons creme fraiche
1 cup of milk
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly round pepper to taste
2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes

Instructions:

1. Grease and line the bottom and sides of a 10-inch quiche mold or springform pan with parchment paper 
2. Put the basil leaves in a small cup, and coat with the tablespoon of olive oil, letting them macerate while you prepare the quiche
3. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl. Then stir in the creme fraiche, milk, goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, flour, salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste, making sure there are no lumps of flour. 
4. Put the cherry tomatoes in the prepared pan, cover with the egg mixture, and poke the basil leaves in throughout 
5. Put the quiche in a cold oven, then turn up the heat to 350 degrees. Cook for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the quiche starts to turn slightly golden on top. Serve immediately or at room temperature. 

Don’t forget to hear all about the stories behind this recipe and many others at Nathan’s event. (Besides, you never know when you’ll need one of the recipes to impress a cute boy).
- Laura Reeve

Here’s our latest featured StorySlammer! Don’t miss all of our wonderful contestants compete in our Fall Grand Slam and Soiree! on November 10!

Aaron won our hearts when he won our Criminal Intent StorySlam when he told us a humorous and really embarrassing story about, well, in his own words, “involuntary public nudity while defecating.” Watch Aaron perform his story below.

You can also read up on our previously featured winners here.

Name: Aaron Stella
Age: 25
Location: Philadelphia (Newbold Area)
Slam won: Criminal Intent

What was the last thing you won (story slam not included)? A laptop computer at a raffle.

In honor of FPA’s 10 year anniversary in 2011 – Tell us a story in 10 words. Went to the park, killed a bird, and ate it.

What would your dream theme be for a StorySlam? What story would you tell? Cults. I would tell the story about my life living in a crazy Christian cult in Georgia.

Who do you know that tells the worst (or best) stories? My friends Gavin McMonigle, Andrew Thompson (previous Storyslam winner) and Ryan Briggs tell the best stories.

Why are you a good storyteller? (aka why should your competitors be scared?) Because I wear thongs. Because I drink whiskey. Because I cry to cathartic, frenetic, anime. Because I use my hands to accent my images. Be afraid. My hands are comin’. (Not in the bedroom fondler sort of way)

Here’s another Fall Grand Slam and Soiree contestant who will be brawling on November 10!

When Erica moved from the west coast to Philadelphia, there was only one thing missing…good weed. So she went where most people go to find special friends. Craigslist! Hear the rest of her saucy story below!

Don’t forget to check out our previously featured contestants here.

Name: Erica Slate
Age: 32
Location: Germantown
Slam won: Friends with Benefits

What was the last thing you won (StorySlam not included)?
An award for “Best Style” at a staff bowling outing in NYC.  I count my approach out like dance steps and do a little hop between beats 3 and 4.  I really can’t bowl without the hop.  I believe the prize was two tickets to the movies.

In honor of FPA’s 10 year anniversary in 2011, tell us a story in 10 words.
These scars are bites from a 750 pound pig, Hilda.

What would your dream theme be for a Storyslam?
Scars.
What story would you tell?
A story about one of the surgical scars on my body.

Who do you know that tells the worst (or best) stories?
My Bedouin father in the Peace Corps, Dakhilallah Gublan Al-Fikur, told the best stories around the dinner fire pit.

Why are you a good storyteller? (aka why should your competitors be scared?)
I’m an adventurous person.

When Chris brought out his top secret plans to defeat his friend Chuck (he wrote them when he was sixteen, by the way) there was no way he wasn’t going to become an audience favorite. His diabolical plan included subscribing Chuck to Playgirl! You can watch the full story below.

Don’t forget to read about our other featured competitors here

I know you want to see all our featured performers compete on November 10 at our Fall Grand Slam.  Click here for more information and to buy tickets.

Name: Christopher Granville Oberlin
Age: 36
Location: Drexel Hill, PA
Slam won: It’s in the Mail (audience favorite)

What was the last thing you won (StorySlam not included)?
Four free tickets to the Battleship New Jersey in a raffle at my step-son’s Cub Scout banquet.  Score!

In honor of FPA’s 10 year anniversary in 2011 – Tell us a story in 10 words.
Got lost in Brazilian rainforest. Sadly, no monkey rescued me.

What would your dream theme be for a StorySlam? What story would you tell?
My dream theme would be “Any Story Told With A Scottish Accent” and I would tell a sad story about my cat dying but it would still be hilarious because it would be told in a Scottish accent which makes everything awesome.

Who do you know that tells the worst (or best) stories?
My 85 year-old grandparents tell horrible stories because they tell every story together yet can never agree on a single detail.  They’re also the best because they’re 85 years old and when they argue with each other about which restaurant they were eating at yesterday, it’s kinda cute.  But also sad.

Why are you a good storyteller? (aka why should your competitors be scared?)
I like to think I have a knack for details.  And I can totally do different voices and stuff.

Bill might not have won his original slam; however, he did walk away with the audience’s heart when he and his friends drove from Florida to North Carolina to go skiing. They are poor college students and cannot afford a hotel room. So, what does Bill promise to do? Seduce snow bunnies so that they can have a place to sleep. Watch Bill fake his way through his stories below! 

Bill will be competing in our Fall Grand Slam on November 10. Click here for more information and to buy tickets.

You can read about some of the storytellers Bill will be competing against here.

Name: Bill Tortorelli
Age: 36
Location: South Philly
Slam won: Faking It  (audience favorite)

What was the last thing you won (StorySlam not included)?
I wont the three-legged race in 5th grade on field day.

In honor of FPA’s 10 year anniversary in 2011 – Tell us a story in 10 words.
My cat lost a tooth. Mortality is for real, kids.

What would your dream theme be for a Storyslam? What story would you tell?
School days. My story would be about seeing the classroom from the
other side, and how I now realize how unimpressive I must have looked
back then.

Who do you know that tells the worst (or best) stories?
My father tells terrible stories about how tough retirement will be if
one doesn’t properly allocate funds to one’s IRA portfolio.

Why are you a good storyteller? (aka why should your competitors be scared?)
Storytelling is about style, yeah, but experiences are important too.
I have done more dumb things than anyone else I know.