First Person Festival
Amanda won our “It’s In the Mail” StorySlam when she told the story about her attempt to seduce her dream man, her boss. Watch her tell the full story below! Amanda will be competing alongside our other talented storytellers on November 10 at the Fall Grand Slam and Soiree.
You can also read up on our previously featured winners here.
Name: Amanda
Age: 31
Location: South Philly/Italian Market
Slam won: It’s In the Mail
What was the last thing you won (StorySlam not included)? South Philly Food Co-op Raffle (Gift Certificate to SPTR. Woo Hoo!)
In honor of FPA’s 10 year anniversary in 2011 – Tell us a story in 10 words. Birthday brunch last Sunday. Made homemade pop-tarts. Gained foodie cred.
What would your dream theme be for a StorySlam? What story would you tell? I wish I had been in town for Epic Fail. I think I would have told the story of my senior year of high school, aka the year that all of my high school-y dreams were destroyed and I got really fat and depressed. It was awesome.
Who do you know that tells the worst (or best) stories? Ummm…easily Katonya Mosley is the best storyteller on the planet. Storytelling needs to be a job that pays a lot of money so that she can do it for a living and bring joy to the world. Everything she says has layers. She is crazy subtle, but always makes her point. She can win over and inspire any audience. Did I mention that that the whole reason I entered the StorySlam was (indirectly) because I (friendly) stalk Katonya? I took the class she was teaching because I’ve seen her host many slams and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take lessons from the master. I entered the StorySlam I won as a result of the class. We’ve been going to slams for years, but I never entered one as a storyteller before taking the class.
Why are you a good storyteller? (aka why should your competitors be scared?) Yikes, gnarly question. I’m a better storyteller because I took the FPA Tell It! course, and, uh…I enunciate? 
. My competitors should not be afraid of me, because I am friendly and I only like to compete with people I really dislike. Also, if previous Grand Slams are any indication. I should be very afraid of at least most of them….and I am! As long as I don’t completely bomb, though, I’ll be super happy to have participated in this iconic Philly event.
When Andrew was a sophomore at Temple University he experienced what he considers a Philadelphia rite of passage. He was robbed. (Don’t worry, he was allowed to keep his Redbull.) You can watch the full story below.
Andrew will be battling with other favorites at our Fall Grand Slam on November 10. Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
You can read about some of the storytellers Andrew will be competing against here.
We’re especially glad to have Andrew in the Grand Slam since he recently moved to Santa Fe for a job and is flying in for the Slam. Welcome home Andrew!
Name: Andrew Thompson
Age: 24
Location: Various
Slam won: Dates to remember
What was the last thing you won (story slam not included)?
A four day vacation from work.
In honor of FPA’s 10 year anniversary in 2011 – Tell us a story in 10 words.
Thought gold stars were worthless until I stopped getting them.
What would your dream theme be for a Storyslam? What story would you tell?
It would be called “New beginnings,” and it would be about the time my boss was eaten by wolves.
Who do you know that tells the worst (or best) stories?
The best stories are from my former colleague at City Paper, Isaiah Thompson.
Why are you a good storyteller? (aka why should your competitors be scared?)
Two different questions. I’m a good storyteller because people pay me to do it professionally. They should be scared because I’ve killed 12 men.
For the past week we have been featuring our previous Storyslam winners who will be competing in our Fall Grand Slam on November 10! Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
For our “Song and Dance” StorySlam at the Kimmel Center Solstice Celebration, Michael told a very touching story about his experience dancing at his sister’s funeral. We unfortunately don’t have any video from the Kimmel Slam, so you’ll have to trust us that the story was great. We cannot wait to see him take on our other storytellers in November! Until then, check out what he has to say about stories!
You can also check out our previously featured storytellers here.
Name: Michael Molina Minard
Age: 35
Location: Philadelphia
Slam won: Summer Solstice Slam
What was the last thing you won (story slam not included)?
Won the heart of my girl Kristen, just this summer.
In honor of FPA’s 10 year anniversary in 2011 – Tell us a story in 10 words.
Nighttime. Sleeping alone in a flimsy tent. Grizzly country.
What would your dream theme be for a Storyslam? What story would you tell?
Dream theme: Exclusive Clubs.
Would you join a club that wanted you? After 5 years of denials from MFA Film programs, that included interviews at UCLA and FSU, I finally get an acceptance to Montana State U. The only problem, like most poorly matched transplants, I was rejected.
Who do you know that tells the worst (or best) stories?
Best Storyteller: Uncle Mark’s endless subversive tales.
Why are you a good storyteller? (aka why should your competitors be scared?)
I do what others can’t do for themselves – I share.
For our “Off the Charts” slam, Natalie told a hilarious story involving her beloved dog, Bam Bam, and the day she thought her ex-husband lost him. Watch Natalie tell the story below!
Natalie is just one of the many talented storytellers that we are featuring as we get ready for out Fall Grand Slam on November 10. Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
Don’t forget to also check out our previously featured here.
Name: Natalie Tullie
Age: 41
Location: Media, PA
Slam won: “Off The Charts”
What was the last thing you won (story slam not included)?
Silent auction item at charity event..tickets to Longwood Gardens along with a bunch of gardening items..lol
In honor of FPA’s 10 year anniversary in 2011 – Tell us a story in 10 words.
Girl Loves Boy, Boy Lies, Girl Now Hates All Boys
What would your dream theme be for a Storyslam?
Horrible Mom/Mother-in Law Stories
What story would you tell?
Wedding Day
Who do you know that tells the worst (or best) stories?
My Dad is the best, my Mom is the worst!!!
Why are you a good storyteller? (aka why should your competitors be scared?)
I’ve been a hairdresser for 20 years and thousands of clients and co-workers from all backgrounds have told me I need to be on stage and asked if there is an extra charge for entertainment..I was spitting out one-liners at 5yrs old. I was born funny; you can’t teach funny. It’s the one thing I know I’m good at!!
Storyteller Bernardo is next on our list to be featured in preparation for our Fall Grand Slam on November 10.
Bernardo won us over with his story about growing up in Colombia with his friend Juan and you definitely won’t want to miss him this November. Until then, watch his “bad company” story below.
Don’t forget to read about our other featured competitors here.
Name: Bernardo Morillo
Age: 43
Location: Philly
Slam won: Bad Company in August at L’Etage
What was the last thing you won (story slam not included)?
A dvd player at office party in 2004.
In honor of FPA’s 10 year anniversary in 2011 – Tell us a story in 10 words.
The world keeps changing. I am happily left behind.
What would your dream theme be for a Storyslam? What story would you tell?
Free style + no time limitations. Or let’s say 15 minutes!
Who do you know that tells the worst (or best) stories?
Both my Mom and my Dad.
Why are you a good storyteller? (aka why should your competitors be scared?)
I like telling stories, no one should be scared of anyone anywhere, but certainly not in a creative enterprise unfolding on a stage … because the stage is Sacred! Is it fun to win? I sure like it. It’s also fun to be defeated by someone better, then, you get to learn something. It applies to everything except boxing.
I know November 10 is marked in your calendars because it’s the date of our Fall Grand Slam and Soiree!
To get you all caught up, for the next two weeks we are going to feature all of the former champs who will be competing!
Remember when Meghan ate a paper plate because she thought it was a Pita? Well, come out on November 10 and hear her battle it out for the Grand Slam title. (Watch her original story below.)
Name: Meghan
Age: 27
Location: Bella Vista. Make a left at the blinking police camera.
Slam won: Epic Fail (I accidentally tried to eat a paper plate thinking it was a pita triangle.)
What was the last thing you won (story slam not included)?
A ping pong game around 2:30 AM in my basement. At least I think I won…
In honor of FPA’s 10 year anniversary in 2011 – Tell us a story in 10 words.
When I was young I chased my imaginary friend “The Future”.
What would your dream theme be for a Storyslam? What story would you tell?
Epic Fail, and I would tell my pita/paper plate story. But that already happened, so I guess the theme could be “Change of Plans” and I would tell this story about the time my friend and I were driving to South Dakota for a Native American reservation spirit quest, but the car broke down at Chicago and we had a weeklong Chicago bender instead.
Who do you know that tells the worst (or best) stories?
My friend Adam Woods tells the best stories. Not only does he have a charming Tennessee accent, he has an incredible ability to take his time setting up a good story and hit you with a climactic ending. Being from Tennessee he also has a great cast of characters- like Popcorn Sutton, the moonshine maker.
Why are you a good storyteller? (aka why should your competitors be scared?)
I’m short and to the point, with a healthy amount of self-deprecation. Seriously though, I’m going to lose.
Continuing our series where First Person RAW artists interview a Festival artist working in a similar field, Wienermobile hot dog Robin Gelfenbien chatted with The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance writer and performer Elna Baker. (Read Heather Metcalfe’s interview of Heather Ross here.)
Elna Baker
RG: What’s The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance about?
EB: It’s a compilation of all the stories that I’ve done before on the radio, The Moth and that are in the book. It begins when I’m a Mormon in New York, and the later part deals with me seeking a break. It’s about losing that identity and finding it again. I spent a lot of my career as a practicing Mormon and virgin. I took a break at the height of that because it wasn’t truthful to what I wanted anymore. I thought it was what I was supposed to do. It was a very challenging time, and there were panic moments when you realize you thought you knew yourself, but you don’t and then you have to figure it out. It happens over and over again, which is both exciting and totally terrifying.
RG: How have you transformed your identity
EB: A lot of the piece is about being Mormon – what that was and what that means. The turning point of the story is not being Mormon and learning what that is and what that means. Trying coffee, alcohol, sexual exploration and drugs. Well, ok, not drugs. Not yet at least. [laughs] Two years ago I took the first step to changing, but it was very gradual. I still feel like I’m a Mormon. It’s always a part of my identity.
RG: What made you decide to make that change?
EB: I was in New York City for ten years. At the seven year point, I was dating a Mormon, and he wanted to get married. I had always been taught that’s what I wanted in life – to get married. I moved to Utah for him, and we almost got married. It was getting close to what I thought would make me happy that showed me I wasn’t happy. He saw that I would never change and become the things he wanted me to become – cooperative and obedient. That’s when he broke up with me. I remember driving up to the mountains, and I was trying to figure out this decision. Either I was going to marry him, have kids and live here or I had no idea what was next. That idea of the unknown felt like being alive and the marriage/kids thing didn’t. When I got back to New York, it took another year for me to take a break, but it was in that year where I spent every moment questioning it.
RG: How did you come to write the book?
EB: I did The Moth for Elle magazine, and one of the editors came into Nobu where I was working at the time. She said, “Yours was the favorite story of the night. Where are you sitting?” Sometimes people forget that you actually have to do other jobs to support yourself, so I told her I worked there. On her way out, she said, “Thanks for saying hi.” I pitched her an idea, and she said, “Email me. We’d love to work with you.” I wrote a feature, and it was through that feature that there was interest in a book.
I didn’t want to write in any of the genres. I tried to write a teen fiction book, but that didn’t work. I realized that in order to tell the stories I knew how to tell that I needed to finetune them. I got an agent, went up to Yaddo [the writer’s colony] and spent the next two years writing the book.
RG: What was it like to write the book?
EB: When I got the opportunity to write my memoir, it was a chore to type it and then it wasn’t. There was all this discovery – so much that added to this situation. Writing a memoir gave me a bird’s eye view of myself. Things were revealed to me that are richer and surprising in a way that makes it a deeper experience.
RG: What was it like the first time you saw the book in print?
EB: When I was working on the book, I used to go into the Strand, and I’d panic. When they sent the font and layout, it became real. Up until then, it just looked like a word doc of me rambling. But when they clean it up and put it in the font and put two pages on one page, I thought, “Oh, my goodness. I wrote a book. I never thought I would.”
I was in an antique shop once, and I found a book called “Let’s Make a Book.” I framed it because it has helpful tips in there like “making a book can be fun and easy” and it’s “something to do on a rainy day.” [laughs] It’s totally not the experience of writing.
RG: Is there a difference in memoir writing for the page and the stage?
EB: When I did it for the stage, I did it the hard way. I did it in my head. I did it so many times. I learned it visually. I had the general shape or flow of the story. It’s like a math problem on a chalkboard. You’re piecing things together without paper. I did it with shorthand piecing it all together on stage. I did an hour and a half and never wrote it down. I just bullet pointed it and remembered it.
When I transitioned to writing the book, I needed to get confidence to believe I was a writer. When I was on stage, I was writing. I just wasn’t writing it down. I had to learn how to trust good storytelling – that what I was doing on stage was enough and not get bogged down with the detail. But then I wondered, why did people laugh at something? I may have shrugged. It was the gestures. So if I was confused [in the book], I need to indicate confusion without facial and hand gestures. Initially, I was overcompensating. ‘I met him at the top of the stairs,’ but I got lost in the stairs and that part wasn’t important. On stage the whole story is what happens at the top of the stairs. I don’t need to get flowery with the language. The action takes place at the top of the stairs.
I think it’s important for me to practice on stage before I write. I get a great sense of understanding. You know when they’re into it and when they’re not. You know what works and what doesn’t. It works the same on the page. You also get to go into your own head and be a lot more personal. On stage you think, “Am I getting too personal?” I don’t want to be that girl. Don’t want to be…what’s it called?
RG: TMI?
EB: Yeah, sometimes it comes across that way on stage. There’s nice anonymity to writing a book – you’re in the room, but you’re not actually there. By putting it out there, you don’t mean to change things. If you write about what you thought about loving someone when you were in love with them, you let them know things they don’t know. You change the game in ways that can be detrimental. I remember editing the final pages of my book, and I was panicked. I thought, “I don’t know if we’re meant to do this. To put ourselves out there to criticize, be this honest.” It’s by being that honest though that I know how to connect to that feeling that you are part of something that others can relate to. The human experience. The more specific I am, the more universal it ends up being. If I sugarcoat it or if I’m vague, it fails. But if I just tell the story with absolute detail, with truth, if I make myself look bad, it’s the most scary, and it motivates me to do this type of work. I’ll learn a lesson. The only way to learn is to communicate the steps of how you learned it.
RG: We seem to both be late bloomers. Your first kiss was at 22, and mine was at 16. In what other ways do you think we’re alike?
EB: When you were talking about pretending to be a fortune teller at the dinner table with your family, that’s my childhood. I was always doing weird things to make my family laugh. I connected to laughter as a way of approval. A lot of comedians feel deprived and need to find a way to satisfy that. I look at how fun it is to make people laugh, how fun it is to be a catalyst, and I really experience the process and the joy of making someone laugh. I also think, like you, I try to be positive in the face of “that didn’t go the way I thought it would go.” You see things like “this is worth being positive about when everything around you has gone to shit.” When you are a very hopeful person, you really expect things to go well.
RG: What has been the biggest difference between playing characters to playing yourself?
EB: Playing characters explores different facets of my personality. Weird people used to come out of me. It wasn’t like I was using them to say what I wanted to say. I was always telling stories to friends and repeating them. That’s how I made friends. When I was bullied or teased, I told funny stories to win them over. I had no awareness that it would be a career or my career. You do the things you’re talented at – you write, sing, dance, do characters and then you spend a lot of time doing one or two things.
I feel like I live and breathe stories, and I continue to be truthful. I explore how to be a person. How from these experiences did I learn how to behave and how do I keep figuring that out? And not standing still too long. I feel very lucky to be working at a time when there is so much passion for storytelling. I feel like I’m at the avant garde of it. People everywhere are getting excited about it as an artform. Everyone has their own story. It’s accessible in its own way because it’s so individual.
RG: You mentioned being bullied. My show deals with bullying as well. Were you bullied because you were heavy or was it something else?
EB: It was mostly because I was heavy. I went through it in college – not by people I knew. It was by people who felt the need to bully someone, people on the street. It was just the way they looked at me. It was a big part of my childhood – not the experience of it – nothing too terrible – but it was fear that it could or would happen. I was always afraid of being teased, so I ended up not totally being myself around anyone but my family.
RG: Are there any new stories that First Person Arts audiences will be privy to that aren’t in the book?
EB: Yes, the newer stuff that deals with taking a break from being Mormon. There are two pieces that are not in the book. They tell what happens next.
RG: Your show is titled, The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance, so what are you going to be for Halloween this year?
EB: A 60’s blue martian. Well, an alien, but in a 60’s costume. I’m going to Arizona to do a piece on alien abduction, so I’m going to paint myself blue and be a sexy girl alien.
-Robin Gelfenbien
See Robin’s piece, My Salvation Has a First Name: A Wienermobile Journey, November 12 and 13 at the PhillyCAM studio at the Painted Bride Art Center. Elna performs The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance November 11 and 12 at the PhillyCAM studio at the Painted Bride Art Center, is the host of the Grand Slam and will lead a storytelling workshop on November 13.
More about Robin: Robin Gelfenbien is a writer, storyteller and comedian. Her solo show, “My Salvation Has a First Name: A Wienermobile Journey” premiered at the 2008 New York International Fringe Festival where Time Out New York gave it “four stars” and New York Magazine hailed it as “the highlight of the Fringe.” She’s been a joke writer for Rosie O’Donnell, been featured in Marie Clare magazine, and her original comedy songs have been played on Sirius Satellite Radio. www.robingelfenbien.com,www.wienermobileshow.com
Director Kerthy Fix
Kerthy Fix made her directorial debut with First Person Festival flick Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields and has more recently directed Le Tigre: On Tour, a concert documentary about the ultimate crush-worthy electronica punk band from New York.
What is the rock-doc director tuning into when she’s not listening to The Magnetic Fields or Le Tigre? Well, we had her put together a playlist for us with essential picks for getting through the day…
(During Breakfast for Overnighters)
Billie Holiday, Stay With Me
The XX, XX
Listen to “Heart Skipped A Beat“ by The XX
(For cleaning the house)
Tammy Wynette, Tammy’s Greatest Hits
(When having a Countrypolitan nostalgia moment)
Charlie Rich, Behind Closed Doors
(While reading)
Morvern Callar Soundtrack
(When organizing her desk)
Ethiopique Vol. 2
(On the bike ride to Manhattan)
The Men, Four Good Men and True
(When missing Sxip)
Sxip Shirey, Sonic New York
(While enjoying her early morning tea)
Labradford, E Luxo SO
(When talking on the phone to her nieces)
Rachel’s, Music for Egon Schiele
Listen to “First Self-Portrait Series” by Rachel’s
Hear Kerthy and Claudia Gonson, member and manager of The Magnetic Fields, discuss Strange Powers and the impact of The Magnetic Fields after the Philadelphia premier of the documentary on Saturday, November 13 at 5:30 PM. Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
- Laura Reeve
Image from Voices of Afghanistan
As the First Person Festival draws near, First Person RAW artists will be interviewing other Festival artists working in similar fields for the First Person blog. We’ve paired funny ladies Robin Gelfenbien and Elna Baker and actors Justin Jain and Dan Hoyle. For our first interview, Heather Metcalfe from Voices of Afghanistan interviews Heather Ross, director of Girls on the Wall.
Both Heather M. and Heather R. allow the stories of marginalized and forgotten women to be heard. In June 2009, Heather M. traveled to Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan where she photographed and interviewed the men, women, and children whom she met along her travels. Heather’s photographs and film depicting the strength, beauty, and struggles of the women of Afghanistan make up the film and book titled Voices of Afghanistan, which she’ll be presenting at the First Person Festival. Heather Ross is the director of Girls on the Wall, a documentary about the young women of an Illinois juvenile correctional facility as they tell their stories through the creation of a musical about their own lives. (watch the trailer below)
Girls on the Wall
Heather M: Why is storytelling important?
Heather R: I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. I grew up as an escapist and always liked to lose myself in other people’s stories. Film is a powerful medium in terms of getting absorbed and losing yourself to the story, and in a documentary, you can lose your self in a real person’s story. That’s an especially powerful thing, particularly when the subject or the character is nothing like you. And I really like that moment of realization for a viewer when they realize their story is similar to the one in the film, especially when they had not expected that. Stories help people, at least briefly, come up with a new way of looking at the world.
In my film Girls On the Wall, the theme of storytelling is central. Ms. P, the director of the program, gets the girls to realize that they can’t change their life, their story, until they understand their story.
What drew you to making a movie about teenage girls who were incarcerated?
I didn’t have a particular interest in teenage girls living in prison originally. I wanted to do something about teenage girls and their stories, but wasn’t sure what exactly. However, I then heard a story on the radio about about a musical program for teenage girls, who were in prison and was instantly interested. The fact the girls were doing a musical made it funny and creative, yet the girls were in prison. So it had important stories, voices you haven’t heard before and a crazy way of bringing an audience into that world.
Based upon your work on the film, are there any policies you would like to see changed regarding juvenile delinquents and the criminal justice system?
My focus was entirely on the stories of the girls. Nothing in the film has anything to do with the policies. However, through hearing the girl’s stories, you can form your own opinions about whether the system is working for them. I personally think it did, many of the girls lived better in jail than they did outside, which in itself is pretty tragic. In the facility, people cared about them, they were in school, they were fed, they weren’t getting hurt. Then again, you do see how kids get locked up for something very minor, and then it snowballs into a pattern of getting in and out of jail.
Overall, the film is not a social justice piece. There is no agenda other than telling the fascinating stories of these girls.
What will your presentation at First Person Arts Festival entail?
My film Girls on the Wall will be shown in the Prison 101 program, together with a live performance of stories written by men in a local prison. It should be interesting for people to see live theatre written by men who are in prison and compare to the lives of teenage girls in prison. We’ll also have a Q&A afterward.
What do you think viewers will be surprised from Girls On the Wall?
Viewers are typically surprised by how smart, funny and charismatic the girls are. That is huge and important to me. Girls On the Wall is not a sob story about bad kids who made bad choices. It is about kids who clearly have a lot of potential. And if they are tough, you love them more, because you can see the pain, which the toughness is covering up. Viewers typically are surprised by how much they love and care for the girls, as well as how much they root for them.
Other thoughts?
I’m really excited for Girls On the Wall to be shown in the First Person Festival. It has been shown at theaters and film festivals, but the festival is a really ideal place to show the film because that is what the movie is about, the power of the girls telling their story. The film will demonstrate how powerful it is for people to tell their story for the first time. I hope viewers will watch Girls On the Wall, have fun and be moved.
From Afghanistan to our own back yard, come learn about the strength and beauty that exists within these two extraordinary groups of women. Heather Ross will be doing a Q&A after the premier of Girls on the Wall Saturday, November 13 at 2:00 PM, as part of the three-part program, Prison 101. Click here for more information and to buy tickets. Heather Metcalfe will be presenting Voices of Afghanistan on Saturday, November 13 at 6:30 PM. Click here for more information and to buy tickets. Both events take place at the Painted Bride Art Center.
Girls on the Wall Trailer
This week I got to sit down with Elna Baker, a writer and performer that will be hosting the Grand Slam, performing her one-woman show and leading a storytelling workshop in our 2010 First Person Arts Festival, to talk about “Babies Buying Babies.” It is one of her most popular stories that has been featured on This American Life and in her memoir, The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance.
“Babies Buying Babies” is a story about Elna’s first job after college as an FAO Schwarz toy demonstrator in the Lee Middleton Doll adoption center (and more importantly, what happens when the adoption center sells out of all the white baby dolls three weeks before Christmas).
What is a “toy demonstrator”? “What they do at FAO Schwarz is sell [the dolls] as an experience,” Elna described, “They had a white picket fence and incubators set up.” The illusion of this world had to be constantly kept up, so the “nurses” were constantly rocking a sample baby. Well, more like a factory reject baby, Nubbins.
Nubbins’ hands looked more like flippers and his head (covered with scary red hair) was so much heavier than the other dolls that the nurses would complain of back pain because they had to rock or hold him constantly.
A Lee Middleton Doll
In the story, Elna describes the reactions of the white moms when they discover that the incubators only have minority babies “sleeping” in them. “Where are the white babies?” one mother demands. Some of the mothers even show interest in Nubbins, a white baby, until they see his green eyes, red hair, and flippers.
Still, the question remains, who will go first? Nubbins or all the perfect minority baby dolls?
As Elna and I talked, we began to feel nostalgic for our own dolls (we were both die-hard Barbie fans). “They were so beautiful, I always wanted to look like a Barbie,” she said.
Elna’s favorite Barbie is one that she described as a Mexican Princess, “She looked like Penelope Cruz and I wanted to look like her so bad. Already you’re trying to look like something that’s impossible — 6 foot, big boobs, tiny waist, but I wanted my skin complexion and hair color to change.”
Princess of Ancient Mexico Barbie
Neither of us looked like our Barbies, even though Elna is half-Mexican. I’m half-Asian, and to me, Barbie will forever be burned into my memory as a blonde. However, my parents never found it odd that most of my toys did not resemble me in the least. (A complete 180 from the mothers that inhabit Elna’s story and find it incomprehensible that their child might be associated with a “dark” baby doll.)
Elna went on to say, “I think that in some ways, that having a doll of a different ethnicity and treating them like it’s your own baby, [...] fosters a sense of attachment to how that doll looks too. I think it’s a positive. I don’t think it’s that important for kids to have dolls to look exactly like them…I think it’s good, just for a sense of imagination. When I had that Hispanic Barbie, I remember I’d look at her and imagine where she was from and what it was like in Mexico. I invented this whole castle…It was exotic and intriguing to me, to have a doll that was different. I did grow up overseas when I was little bit older, but when I was young, I was living in Washington state and it was in the suburbs and more homogenous.”
Most people would probably agree with Elna. The son of late Lee Middleton even e-mailed her. No, not to inform her of an impending law suit, but to tell her how much he enjoyed the story and how much he thought his mother would have loved the message behind it as well. “I was really touched that he wrote me,” Elna said.
To be sure, the story of Nubbins and the poor minority babies at FAO Schwarz is a memorable one. “It’s about something bigger than me,” says Elna, “It’s hard to stumble into those life experiences when you get to tell a greater story that’s bigger than your own.
You can listen to “Babies Buying Babies” at Elna’s website here.
Make sure not to miss Elna during the First Person Festival!
The Grand Slam Soiree
Wednesday, November 10th
Slam Soiree: 6 – 8pm
Grand Slam: 8:30 – 10:30pm
Main Stage / Painted Bride Art Center
$30 for Grand Slam and Soiree ($24 for First Person Members)
$15 Grand Slam only ($12 for First Person members)
Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance
Thursday, November 11, 9:30pm
Friday, November 12, 6:30PM
Raw Space / 60 minutes
$15 ($12 for First Person members)
Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
The Philadelphia Nondenominational Anyone Can Tell A Story Workshop: Storytelling With Elna Baker
Saturday, November 13
1-3pm
$35 ($28 for First Person Members)
Click for more information and to enroll.
- Laura Reeve
