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On January 20, 2012, The Monti joined forces with ScienceOnline2012 to showcase a night of storytelling. ScienceOnline is an annual meeting exploring science and the Web. It’s a community-driven event that facilitates conversations and strengthens the connections among scientists, journalists, librarians, educators, students and anyone who likes science. The theme for the evening of stories was ‘Connections‘, and each of the storytellers chose a unique and interesting interpretation on that word. In all, seven people took the stage, and by the end of the night, we all walked away feeling inspired, informed, engaged, and connected.

The clips below represent the stories told at our ScienceOnline show. We present them to you in the order in which they were told. Enjoy!

1. Chris Gunter, Owner of Girlscientist Consulting (@girlscientist) 

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2. David Ng, Molecular Geneticist (@Ng_Dave) 

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3. Janet Stemwedel, Ethicist and Philosopher of Science (@docfreeride) 

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4. Scott Huler, Writer and 2011 Piedmont Laureate (@huler) 

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5. Marie-Claire Shanahan, Assoc. Prof. of Science Education (@mcshanahan) 

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6. Bug Girl, Entomologist and Student Advisor (@Bug_Girl) 

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7. Ben Lillie, Director of The Story Collider (@Ben_Lillie) 

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Frank Stasio, Host of The State of Things on WUNC

On-Air StorySLAM on The State of Things

This Thursday, November 17th at noon, we are having a full-day of SLAMming to kick off our debut StorySLAM at Triad Stage‘s Upstage Cabaret. First, at noon, we are getting together with Frank Stasio and his team for an on-air SLAM during The State of Things broadcast.  Come on down to Triad Stage at noon for all the live radio madness! If you would like to tell a story, let me know (jeff@themonti.org) and I’ll put you in the pool. The theme is Home for the Holidays.

 

Debut StorySLAM in Greensboro at 8pm

That night, at 8pm, we’ll be having our first actual Monti StorySLAM at Triad Stage. We are so excited to launch this format up in the Upstage Cabaret. For those new to the SLAM scene, here’s how it works:

1. We publicize a theme (this month is Family Gatherings.)
2. You decide if you have a 5-minute story that fits that theme.
3. You buy a ticket.
4. On Thursday, November 17th, you come to the show. If you want to tell a story, drop your name in the hat; if not, sit down and enjoy. Eight names will be picked at random from the hat and stories will be told.
5. Each story is judged and one teller will be crowned The Monti StorySLAMpion.

Family Gatherings:  With Thanksgiving only weeks away, we thought it appropriate to get together to

Robert Bland, Four-Time StorySLAM Winner

commiserate over our feelings regarding those occasions where we cummune with the people who know us the best–for better or for worse. We know you have at least one story, probably more. C’mon and tell us, don’t be shy! For tips about telling great StorySLAM stories, CLICK HERE!

And don’t forget…tickets are on sale NOW! CLICK HERE for INFORMATION and TICKETS.

Photo by Jessie Gladin-Kramer - jgkphotography.com

Are you searching for an audience for your amazing story but unsure of how to craft it? Well, now is your chance to build your skills and confidence with an intensive weekend workshop!

This Saturday, November 12, the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke will be holding a one-day ‘Performance Storytelling‘ workshop with Monti Executive Director Jeff Polish. Officially, the workshop runs from 10am to 5pm; unofficially, it extends until our next StorySLAM on November 30th where the participants will tell their stories onstage at The Monti StorySLAM in Durham.

The workshop will focus on two things: constructing effective oral narratives and bringing them to life onstage. We will achieve these objectives by:

1. Learning the essential components to great storytelling with specific instruction.
2. Discussing notable performances by watching videos and developing a vocabulary to evaluate aspects that are working and aspects that are not.
3. Listening to other students as they develop their own stories and giving your own feedback as well.
4. Distinguishing between Giving and Taking.
5. Learning how to be a natural performer by understanding the difference between memorizing and familiarizing.
6. Analyzing and avoiding the pitfalls of selective recall in developing authentic non-fiction narratives.

AND MORE…

Once the official CDS workshop ends, students will be able to check in and consult with Jeff on their progress while preparing for their live performances. The workshop does not truly end until after the November 30th StorySLAM!

So c’mon, we know you’ve been wanting to hone your skills and get on that stage. Now, here is your chance. ENROLL NOW!

On Saturday, October 23rd, seven students took part in a Performance Storytelling workshop at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke.  The workshop was led by Jeff Polish and involved a mixture of instruction, critical review, and active creative workshopping of stories.  The workshop ran for most of the day with each student’s story being analyzed and discussed at length.  But the workshop didn’t end on that Saturday.  Students continued to craft their narratives until the following Tuesday, October 26th at The Monti StorySLAM.  At this event, each of the seven students performed their stories LIVE in front of a packed audience at Casbah in Durham.  The night started strong with a heartwarming story from Marty Belin about one of her great influences, her grandmother; the next story took a serious turn as Jenny Lewis told a story about learnng to accept the role as caretaker of her ailing and domineering mother; Napoleon Wallace lightened things up with a hilarious story of an unrequited love; and to finish the first half of the show, Aggie Stachura told a story about friendship and baking. 

At the halfway point, Napoleon and Aggie were tied for first place.  There were seven workshop participants in all and eight spots at our StorySLAMs.  What the students did not know was that I had three-time StorySLAM winner, Robert Bland, all set to tell a story at this event.  All of the students knew of Robert’s storytelling ability (we had critiqued one of his winning stories at Saturday’s workshop.)  After the break, Robert killed it and took the lead with a story about Easy Cheese and hash.  Next up was Eric Hale who delivered a showstopper with a story that proved that despite good intentions, it is sometimes impossible to go home.  His story surpassed Robert’s lead by 0.1 point.  Then Paul Deblinger told a hilarious story about one of his many traumatic childhood Hannukahs and a cheap robot named Big Lou.  The final storyteller of the night was Alice Sallins.  Alice hit us with a sometimes funny drama about her abusive stepfather known as Big Hook. 

This was practically a perfect night of StorySLAMming.  It had it all – laughter, tears, more laughter.  In the end, the winner was Eric Hale.  Congratulations to Eric and all of the workshop participants.  It was a great experience!

Jeff