An author and three visual artists are scheduled for April’s First Person Arts salon series.

Photographer Edward “Ted” Adams, who is also the curator of the Southwark Gallery, will present a digital slide show about the tugboat Nancy McAllister, of which his brother is captain. Portrait photographer Sarah Bloom will discuss her ongoing two-year project of taking one self-portrait every single day. Multimedia artist Colette Copeland will present her Abortion Dialogues project. And Samara O’Shea, blogger at Letter Lover and author of two books about the importance of the written word, on which she will discuss.

Every second Wednesday evening, First Person Arts hosts memoir and documentary artists in a multimedia and interactive salon series. Find out more at www.firstpersonarts.org. The series is presented in collaboration with The University of the Arts School of Theater Arts and with the benefit of artistic partnerships with Scribe Video Center, InLiquid, Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association (PIFVA), and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

First Person Arts Salon Series
April 8th, 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m
Laurie Beechman Cabaret at The University of the Arts

Philadelphia Arts Bank
601 S. Broad St, Avenue of the Arts, Philadelphia
(267) 402-2055
www.firstpersonarts.org

First Person Arts hosts plenty of events perfect for dinner and a show. But what about skipping the show and replacing it with five more dinners?

That’s what Philadelphia Inquirer food critic Rick Nichols is proposing. He’ll lead exceptionally hungry diners through Port Richmond’s delicious Polish eateries next Saturday afternoon, March 28th. The 12-block tour starts at Krakus Market and includes stops at Szypula’s Bakery, Syrenka Lunch Counter, Czerw’s, New Wave, and Tom’s Bakery.

This year’s focus is on traditional Polish winter foods like goulash, cheese and cherry babka, Lech Beer, borscht and kielbasa. Last year’s tour was through South Philadelphia’s Italian Market. And if last year’s tour is any indication, tickets for this year’s Port Richmond romp might be hard to come by.

First Person Arts Edible World Tour
Saturday, March 28 1:00 – 4:30
$85/person, $160/couple, $75/FPA members
http://edibleworld.firstpersonarts.org/

Krakus Market
3150 Richmond Street, Philadelphia, PA

An umbrella from Katie Sweeney’s blog, Better Off Soaked

First Person Arts announces the 2009 First Person Salons series, beginning tonight, Wednesday, February 11th. The multi-disciplinary and interactive monthly series, which began in February 2008, showcases cutting edge original works by local artists through a variety of artistic media, from the written word and documentary film to visual and performing arts.

The first Salon will feature several Philadelphia-area artists whose work pushes the boundaries of memoir and documentary arts including photographers Marianne Bernstein and Katie Sweeney, filmmaker Cecelia Smith, and author Daravann Yi.

The monthly series will be held on the second Wednesday of the month, from 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.) at the Salon’s new home – The Laurie Beechman Cabaret at The University of the Arts (Philadelphia Arts Bank, 601 S. Broad St., Philadelphia). Admission is $8.

Artists working in all media and from all levels of experience, whose work is based in real-life experience, are encouraged to apply to present their work at future Salon events. To apply, visit www.salons.firstpersonarts.org or email salons@firstpersonarts.org.

First Person Arts is a nonprofit organization guided by the belief that the sharing of personal experience is a powerful way for people to celebrate uniqueness, bridge differences, and find common ground.

For more information, please visit www.firstpersonarts.org.

First Person Arts
www.firstpersonarts.org

Author Lori Tharps has traveled extensively throughout the world and is a freelance journalist, author, editor, teacher, and mom that now happily calls Philadelphia home. She co-authored, with Ayana Byrd, the 2002 award-winning book Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America.

Tonight, Tharps will share selections from her latest book: Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love and Spain, her reflection on the complexities of roots, romance, and race. Her presentation is part of the First Person Arts Festival, held at The Painted Bride.

After graduating Smith College and Columbia University and traveling extensively, what brought you to Philadelphia?

My husband and I lived in New York City (Brooklyn to be exact) for 13 years. After our two boys were born, our “cozy” one-bedroom apartment felt way too cozy. We could never afford to buy a house in Brooklyn so we decided to look outside of New York. We picked Philly b/c it was close enough to New York, the real estate was affordable and the city had a lot to offer. It was kind of a leap of faith, but we ended up falling in love with Philly, especially our new neighborhood of Mt. Airy.

At what point did you realize that you wanted to write a memoir about your travel experience(s)?

I love memoirs. I love reading them and I’ve taught several memoir classes. I think the genre is so useful in getting people to understand the human condition and all of its permutations. It’s so much easier to understand and care about the plight of child soldiers in Africa after reading A Long Way Gone by Ismael Beah for example.

I wanted to write my memoir because I wanted people to know that the Black experience in America is so much more varied than the stereotypes portrayed in the mainstream media. I wanted to write the book I wish I had when I was growing up and looking for role models. Not to say that I’m a role model for anyone, I’m just saying my book can show people that they are not alone in their search for identity.

What initially attracted you to stories about “cultural cross-pollination and identity”?

That’s a good question. Because I grew up as the only Black child in most of my social circles, I always found myself attracted to “the other.” I wanted to hang with the Indian girl in my 4th grade class. In college all of my friends claimed Asian heritage and my husband is from another country. Cultural cross-pollination is my life. And many other people’s as well, yet we live in a country that seems to believe in the myth of segregation. The United States has always been a meltingpot and it is my personal mission to prove that point from the past to the present. Once we realize that there is a precedent for racial/ethnic/cultural mixing, it won’t seem so extraordinary.

Is there anywhere people can read your work online?

People can visit my website for updates about my writing life and they can read my blog. Right now I’m working on my first YA [Young Adult] novel. Fiction is my new frontier to master! Wish me luck!

The Painted Bride Art Center
230 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 925-9914
www.paintedbride.org

First Person Arts Festival is in full sing – that’s right full sing– with the Philadelphia’s first ever Complaint Choir. Modeled after the Scandinavian-born phenomenon, the self-made chorus of Philadelphians will gripe in song. Leading the self-made chorus of Philadelphians is local artist Shelley Spector of SPECTOR Projects and composer Evan Solot. Together, they will create an original musical composition and score based on the city’s most popular complaints. Visit the official Philly Complaint Choir blog for more!

Following the choir, stick around for Best Impressions, a nationwide competition that invited artists to tackle the first person story through three artistic mediums: the written word, video, and photography. Artists were challenged to find universality in the personal, make the exotic familiar, shock and amaze, or pause to reflect, all while crafting an engaging and true tale around a slice of real life. The top ten finalists in all categories were reviewed by a respected panel of independent experts in their respective fields. Best Impressions will showcase winners of the 2008 nationwide First Person Impressions competition for memoir and documentary artists in readings, film screenings and a photography exhibition.

Complete your Wednesday evening with promisingly provocative Underground America. Philadelphia actors and legal experts will bring the real voices of immigrants into the overheated debate about immigration. In Underground America, audiences will experience immigrants’ stories through an original dramatic reading based on first-person accounts from Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives, the third book in McSweeney’s Voice of Witness series. The reading will feature a cast of local actors directed by Philadelphia-based theater artist Jenny Jacobs. A panel discussion addressing the legal, economic, and humanitarian issues surrounding the immigration debate will follow the reading; with Peter Orner, editor of Underground America, and legal experts Judith A. Bernstein-Baker, Jaykumar Menon and Sarah Paoletti.

All events will take place at The Painted Bride, 230 Vine Street Philadelphia. Admission fees range from free to $15. View details and full festival line up at www.firstpersonarts.org

Painted Bride
230 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
www.paintedbride.org

First Person Arts
www.firstpersonarts.org

For seven years, First Person Arts has been finding new and innovative ways to honor and support memoir and documentary art. The only festival devoted to celebrating art based on real-life experiences, First Person showcases works by renowned local and national artists, while also encouraging emerging artists.

Festival topics range from competitive eating and sports, to family histories and the heated debate over immigration, to Philadelphia’s music legends and the next generation of rockers, creating an eclectic assemblage of personal stories. First Person Arts Founder and Executive Director Vicki Solot says, “More than ever before, this, our seventh festival, expresses our vision of a creative community – one that is built on the diversity and richness of our experiences and knit together through the stories we share.”

All Festival events will be held at the Painted Bride Art Center, located at 230 Vine Street in Philadelphia’s historic Old City neighborhood (with the exception of Festival preview events and tours). Follow Uwishunu as we cover and highlight this uniquely fabulous Philadelphia festival, with event highlights and artist interviews.

Tickets and a full schedule of Festival events are available online at www.firstpersonarts.org or by calling (267) 402-2055. Many events are free and ticket prices range from $10 to $15, with special events priced individually. Ticket packages and all-Festival passes are also available.

First Person Arts
www.firstpersonarts.org

Painted Bride Art Center
230 Vine St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 925-9914
www.paintedbride.org

Congrats to Ryan Barlow, Tuesday night’s winner of the First Person Arts Story Slam. Watch him talk about belonging at a James Brown concert. Have a laugh, and enjoy!

Be sure to visit First Person Arts’ official website to learn about future events, and to get updates on their next story-slam in October!

First Person Arts
www.firstpersonarts.org

Complaints Choir of St Petersburg

Post by Jonathan Wetstein /  Photo By Yuriy Rumiantsev

Complaints have been collected around town and local artist Shelly Spector of SPECTOR Projects will be launching the city’s first “Complaint Choir” performance with help from First Person Arts. Ms. Spector has been a Philly artist for quite some time and I love her work. I find her method of reusing old wood items in her work fun to observe and discover.

Composer and Arranger Evan Solot will arrange a musical piece and score that is based on the city’s most popular complaints heard. This is actually a collaborative effort on a global scale. That’s right, cities all over the planet have orchestrated “Complaint Choir” performances and now its time we had our own. The whole global phenomenon is modeled after a series of Scandinavian-born griping concerts. To start, we gotta get complaining to the right people. Over on 401 S. Broad Street this Thursday at the Gershman Y, Levitt Auditorium, there will be an introductory meeting and gripe session.

This is such a great way to make new friends while venting, and have a chance to be an element to a composition. Rehearsals for Solot’s arrangement will then follow through out the month of October and lead up to a live performance at Philly’s Painted Bride venue on November 12th during the First Person Festival.

Complaint Choir @ The Gershman Y
401 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
www.firstpersonarts.org

FPA is back! Head on down to L’Etage tonight to, as the First Person Arts folk like to say, hear stories, see life. Tonight’s theme is “Worst Ever” and has the potential to be the most hysterical slam ever.

As always, we’ll have a blogger on scene, jotting down commentary on the event, and you’ll be able to catch the winning slam here on Uwishunu. Last month’s winner, Ted Passon, told a fantastic story based on the theme Caught. Take a look!

First Person Arts @ L’Etage
6th and Bainbridge, Philadelphia, PA
www.firstpersonarts.org

Anyone who’s ever journeyed to L’Etage for their fabulous Story Slams knows all about First Person Arts, a Philly-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting culture through documentary art.

In the past, they’ve given us x-rated improv; they’ve given us alterboys gone wild; they’ve given us “Nobody puts Jesus in the back-seat!”, and much much more.

This Wednesday, they up the ante once more with their monthly First Person Arts Salon, featuring works in progress from local artists, storytellers, and filmmakers.

August’s line-up includes mural artist Eric Okdeh, sharing the details of his most recent ; comedienne Juliet Wayne, regaling audiences with her jocular tales; and multi-media artist Matthew Borgen, whose latest installation, The Wing Rack, has already garnered rave reviews.

But the piece I’m the most excited about is a pair of short documentaries on bike culture, from local film-maker (and longtime bicyclist) Andrew David Watson. The first centers on local cyclist Fred Edny, while the second covers biking in the small Italian village of Treviso, Italy.

It’s a perfect fit for the Watson, who can often be seen cruising down the streets of South Philly, camera on back. “I was one of the founding members of the “pretzel ride” and “Thrashin’ Thursday” ride,” he admits. “So it’s definitely something I’m interested in.”

First Person Arts Salon, Wednesday, August 13 at the Gershman Y
401 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
(267) 402-2056
www.firstpersonarts.org

Editor’s Note: Alas, the wireless at L’Etage was down, so John sent over his live blog this morning. Be sure to read up on it, and check out the videos of the performers he mentions. They’ll be up shortly.

8:02: The crowd is packed in, the fervor is palpable and the bar appears to have run out of chairs. I, loyal UWISHUNU Blogger John Steele have crept like a ninja into the DJ booth and am blogging from here until they kick me out. Let’s see how long I last, shall we?

8:08: People are still streaming in, giving the room a tight but very cozy feeling, circling up in story-hour fashion on the floor. I am reminded of the public library, listening to someone read “Where The Wild Things Are.”

8:17: From a strictly male perspective, good looking ladies abound at the First Person Arts Story Slam. I have seen a whole crop of eligible bachelorettes and even some pretty waitresses. Just make sure you have a good anecdote to open with.

8:26: And we’re off!

8:27: MC Dan welcomes the crowd, explaining the theme (this week’s is CAUGHT, being CAUGHT or CATCHING something), the judges and the prizes. MC Dan introduces me. I wave like an idiot. People clap awkwardly.

8:31: Wait, MC Dan is not the host? Kitanya Mosely, the winner from two months ago is in charge of hosting duties this evening. She opens with a joke. It kills. She is wearing a fanny pack, cool sneakers and a yellow t-shirt. The crowd loves her nonchalant, breezy delivery. She refers to “skinny people checkin’ out my biceps custard” and her sickness of people negatively checking out other “thick chicks” on their way to work. “Let that bitch be,” she says. It once again kills. I want to be friends with Kitanya Mosley.

8:38: Stories are judged on content and presentation. I am sure, since this is a monthly occurrence, y’all already know that but I have never been here before so you just have to bear with me getting things straight.

8:41: Angel Hogan, winner of the special Summertime slam, is the first reader. Our host suggests the judges use the story of a winner to “calibrate their instrument.” Angel confides her former use of a chat line, using the nom de plume of Bambi, as if Angel wasn’t funny enough. She decided to meet her favorite of the phone suitors, Mike, who was not as pleasant as he was on the phone. She didn’t want to even finish a cup of coffee with the guy. She walked down Main street with him awkwardly until she finally stopped and asked the man to let her walk alone. “Don’t you want me to know where you live?” he asked. She said no. “I already know where you live,” he replied. She turned and walked away (bravely, right!) and never heard from the man again. And she never went back on the chat line.

8:46: Samuel Reed starts his story about a cell phone, which he calls an electronic dog chain. Sam Reed’s cell phone story is a touch monotonous, but his commentary about how cell phones make you cool is relatable. But his electronic dog chain kept him on the leash with his wife. Until one night, Sam Reed went to a salsa club without his wife. And when his wife called him to come home, he got in the cab with her on the line, thinking he hung up. He thought wrong. Sam started doing Taxicab Confessions, telling the cabbie about how he was dancing with all the chicks at the club. His wife now knows all about his secret salsa dancing life. Poor Sam.

8:53: Michael Kid dresses the part of his name, with a Gap Kids t-shirt and some plaid pants. He prefaces his story by saying that if a story is equal parts offensive and funny. He begins to tell a story about a Jewish girl he once liked to take the piss out of. So a girl got angry at Michael for making Jewish jokes. His friend forgave him. And he responded “it’s a Christian thing you wouldn’t understand.” His Jewish friend got annoyed so to make it up to her, Michael wrote an apology note, an extremely offensive tome that he was caught passing IN COLLEGE! He had to read it in front of the class. He was later called Mel Gibson for the rest of the year.

9:04: Amani Gethers once had the opportunity to make love to two beautiful women and for some reason he didn’t do that and it led to him being caught by the LAPD. FOR JAYWALKING. Amani’s car had been broken in to. And it bothered him so much that when two women approached him flirtatiously, he didn’t reciprocate. So he went back to the scene of the crime. The Best Buy where the car got broken into was agitated with the loitering and Amani became convinced that Best Buy had stolen his girlfriend’s computer. Amani says he likes to smoke weed. I should have started the story with that. My opinion is that the cops were just trying hard to arrest a loud guy for being stoned and not for the old jaywalking ticket they got him for. But nevertheless, he got caught.

9:11: Erin Thompson has had a lot of bad relationships. One man told her he was afraid of macaroni and cheese, one told her her face looked perverted. One proposed to her even though she said she hated him. He followed her around, saying “it isn’t stalking if your schedule is so easy to predict.” This man stole books, wrote in them and then his best friend tried to get in her pants by stealing them back. It’s the best story of the night. The crowd and judges agree.

9:17: Danielle Lesoussa is short. There is a cute moment where no one can lower the mic for her. People are kind. She tells a story about Paris and being tourists in Paris. Some tourists from Hong Kong, in a thick accent, asks Danielle and her friend to buy her a bag. The tourist opens a book and points to a Louis bag and asks the girls to buy a very expensive bag. The tourists give the girls $1000 Euro’s which, at the time, was actually $1000. They go to the store and there is a line of many Asians and once they get to the counter, the sales woman will not let them buy the bag because she knows the money is not theirs. Danielle does not tell a very good story.

9:24: It is time for intermission. Who needs a drink?

9:44: The 10-minute intermission has turned into a 20. But we are back. Kitanya recognizes First Person Arts staff and gets things rolling once again.

9:47: Dan Short confesses that he usually tells untrue stories. He doesn’t drink or smoke or have sex with strangers but he buys interesting shoes to compensate (his line, not mine). He is at a wedding and the bachelor party is lame. Just a tub of beer and some cable. This will somehow lead to him being caught. He meets a girl and starts telling her about how he tells fake stories. The girl thinks he should tell her sister a fake story. So the girl tells her sister that they went to school together. The sister is confused. Dan uses this to hit on the girl. It totally works, everyone falls for it, Dan refers to his post-high-school personality explosion as to the reason for her not remembering him. Everyone at the wedding went to the same high school. Dan has no idea. Everyone thinks they just forgot him. So at the wedding, the girl is seeing daggers, pissed that her sister and this strange man tricked her. Decent story, I just wish the groom would have had Dan make a toast. It would have made the story into an Office episode or something. But nice work Dan. Great presentation.

9:56: Steve Skadudo (sorry Steve, I have no idea how to spell your name) transferred to Temple from Delaware. He was excited about the diversity. His roommate has a girlfriend over. He and the girlfriend have sex on the bottom bunk of Steve’s bed while Steve is having a conversation with his roommate, lets call him Joe. Joe and Steve later unbunk the beds. About two weeks later, it happens again while Steve is downstairs for 2 minutes getting food. Another few weeks go by and Steve’s family comes to visit. Entering the room, Steve’s father sees the live sexual stuff going on and calmly extends a hand “Hi, I’m Steve’s dad, please don’t get up.” Nice one Steve.

10:03: This guy looks like he has a story, Lou Ludovici is an older gentleman. He has worked at radio stations. One day, Lou turned on his computer but even before it could boot up, he gets a phone call. The station director called him, telling him that two planes just flew into the twin towers. The incidents unfold in front of Lou as he rushes to the station, scared to death. When he gets there, the station managers wonder if their towers could be next. So they take the two big station vans and pull them in front of the station entrances. The story ends. Lou has told the first serious story of the night. It is relatable, filled with fear and mystery but not entirely anything special. The judges are split.

10:09: Ted Pason used to be an alterboy on funeral teams, because you might be able to miss school because of it. Catholic school was full of duties that would allow you to miss class, the most perverse of which is funeral day. Ted is charismatic and energetic and skinny and the crowd likes him lots. His friend, wicked hungry before funeral teams have to be in, steals a bag of communion wafers. His friends are understandably concerned. But this bread is not blessed so his friends join in. They end up eating the whole bag. They later get called to the rectory and they have no idea why. Ted is convinced he set the garden on fire by burying the insence. This is no shock to me, as a catholic. But it turned out Ted’s friend had a hole in his pocket leading all the way to Jack, Ted’s friend. One of the young children found them and asked the Nun what Jesus was doing lying on the ground. One of the priests would later ask Ted what Satan worshipers would do if they got their hand on the communion wafers. This story is excellent. All the humor and reaction of a David Sedaris piece. Nice work, Ted. Best of the night.

10:23: Kitanya is ready to pick a winner for the raffle. Some bald guy wins. I don’t care because I thought it a conflict of interest to enter. But you didn’t know there was a raffle because I didn’t tell you. So you don’t care either.

10:26: Kitanya has another story. It is a killer. Her voice quivers as she tells it. She has issues with men. She wanted to get with a guy but then decided that she didn’t and was a bit afraid that he might beat her up if she said no. Kind of like rape but not really. This is kind of a rambler but Kitanya keeps the people in it. She makes it out of the apartment and then hangs with him again and they are at a bar fight but Kitanya stays in the car. She doesn’t want to stay but, again, is a little afraid of the man. She gets with Cory, the dude. But the next morning, a woman bursts in that Cory says is his mother, but its not his mother. She tells it extremely well.

10:34: Ted’s story about the communion hosts wins as I knew it would. Everyone is pleased. No one is sore. Awesome work Ted. Great work judges. Great work participants. It has been a long day so I am going to head home. Thanks for reading and be sure to check out the Story Slams every 4th Tuesday at L’Etage if you have a story. Thanks for reading.

First Person Arts
www.firstpersonarts.org

It’s the fourth Tuesday of the month, which means… First Person Arts Story Slams at L’Etage! Hooray!

This month’s theme is “Caught.” Head over to L’Etage to participate in the storytelling competition, and tell your best five minute true story. Winners move on to the Grand Slam in November and get their video featured here on Uwishunu! We’ll also be featuring several of our favorites up here on the site, so check back!

Katonya Mosley, winner of May’s “Secrets” theme, will be hosting the slam. Check out her winning story slam here!

As always, we’ll have a live blogger (what’s up John!) posting from the event, so make sure you say hi to him if you’re there. Or buy him a drink. He’d like that. Doors are at 7:30PM, slams start at 8:30. Get there on time, cause these events always sell out!

First Person Arts @ L’Etage
6th and Bainbridge, Philadelphia, PA
www.firstpersonarts.org

Last week’s story slam winner, George Dougherty, hit the stage at L’Etage with what is hands down, my favorite slam so far. Give it a listen as he tells a story about being on the road and how nobody puts Jesus in the backseat.

You can catch up on all the other story slam winners here on uwish, including Kevin Lee, Kendra Gaeta, Katoyna Mosley, and Ingrid Wiese.

We’ll have some more videos from the other participants online shortly. Til then, you can always read about them. Mike was our live blogger last week.

You can check out the First Person Arts’ official website for more information on the slams, as well as their other great events. They’ve always got something going on.

First Person Arts
www.firstpersonarts.org

8:18pm Okay, i just consumed some delicious crepes from downstairs and climbed up the stairs at what i thought was a punctual time- not the case. I guess the good company and nice weather distorted my sense of time a bit. So here we go- live blogging from First Person Arts “Story Slams” at L’Etage. Tonight’s theme: On The Road. The lights are being tested, darting on and off, and hundreds of little conversations happen at all once, creating that all too familiar symphony of social noise. The place is pretty crowded. I have been trying to come out to these story telling events, but have failed to make it thus far. So tonight is my first one, and i am psyched. It should be starting any second now.

8:37pm Introduction is starting. I’m sure readers are probably familiar with the format, but here it is in a nutshell- any one can tell a story. They write their name on a piece of paper and put it in a bucket (one is red and one is blue). Ten story tellers will be chosen at random to relate their tale in front of the crowd in only 5 minutes. And the judges will chose which one is the best.

Kendra is telling a story about a hotel party she had that invovles buying some depends adult diapers and drinking all night til you piss yourself. Lots of laughs.

The Judges are being chosen. And i’ll start the next post with the summary of the first story.

8:50pm Katanya Mosley kicks it off as the guest story teller, and it’s obvious why she’s been invited here- she’s eloquent and captivating and entertaining. She doesn’t so much tell a story as she does relate her quirky eccentricities about driving and roadtrips. Great stuff.

8;56 George Dougherty has a story about willing God into existence- to appear next to him in the passenger seat as he’s on a late night drive- so much so that he is scaring the crap out of himself. Foolishly, he has left his duffel bag in the passenger seat. Where was Jesus going to sit, in the back seat? As he’s reaching over and putting the bag in the back seat, the car is filled with a great light. His heart leaps into his throat and the thought of his spiritual encounter. Oh- he just bumped the dome light switch.

9:03 Jamil Gains is at a party. He drank a lot, and wasn’t in the best of moods- just feeling surly and low down. He foolishly gets in his car for some illegal drunken driving. The rest of the story, more of a moral tale, involves the details of his accident on a crazy curve.

9:11 The next name scrawled on the paper plucked form the bucket says “Gary ‘The Storyteller’”. He ignored the mic, and he’s loud, animated, jittery and intense. His story is pretty heavy- about getting high leading to drug addiction. He gets low scores in the story telling category, and high marks for presentation.

9:18pm Bill is a merchant marine, and his road is the ocean. He works below the decks, in a machine room. To sum up his story- him and a buddy get pick-pocketed by some beautiful girls in Brazil, whom they foolishly thought were just lavishing them with attention because of their good american looks.

9:25 Joe’s got some trim grey hear, wearing a woody guthrie shirt and some khaki shorts. He’s got a true road story- about hitching with his buddy back in the day. Spoon playing fiddler, herion addict, someone named Puppet- good characters abound in this story. The story bloats with life as he rambles on and on- someone gets kidnapped with an axe. There’s some acid bought. A pot dealer from Juarez. Sleeping in the desert. It just keeps going.

Time for the intermission!

9:57 Okay, the next story teller is named Diva. She is pumped and talking really really fast. Her story takes place in Japan. A bunch of girlfriends are out for a night of partying, and one ends up disappearing. Craziness ensues. And i think this is the best story of the night. Super good. Two 9/10’s and… the crowd oohs and boos at the 7/7.5. She’s got my vote so far.

10:03 Another older gentleman, talking about his first trip out west- a college road trip in the 1970s. Antother tale filled with tons of adventures and mishaps. Picking up hitchhikers, staying with a religous cult in St. Louis, exploring abandoned missle bases- he is a great story teller. When he’s finished, Kendra invites him to come to dinner at her house- i was thinking the same thing. I think i’ll go talk to this guy when this is all over.

10:11 Kate didnt think she would get her turn at story teller, so she is a bit tipsy. This story is about her first real boyfriend Tommy and his dream to own a white Ford pick-up truck. After saving up all his money from working at the car wash, he finally gets his dream car, only to have it smashed by a deliquent little kid dropping boulders off a ledge. The story ends with Tommy beating the crap out of the kid.

10:19 In this next story told by John, the following line is uttered: “i’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” This is a story of adolescent exploration. Up in a hay loft, this exchange takes place. And the girl ends up getting crapped on by pigeons!

10:26 Ben Allen is the last story teller of the night. He has a great tale of getting scammed in New York City by a “college art student” who is shy $80 for his train ticket.

10:33 Sandy Beaches is another guest performer. She talks about her crazy mother who continually tries to swerve the car and kill the whole family.

And the winner is..George Dougherty! The very first story teller of the evening. Second place: Richard Gillman (the 70s road trip story) and third place was Divan (fast talker with the crazy night in Japan).

So there it is! I encourage you to check out the videos of tonight’s stories- my snippy, on the fly summaries don’t nearly do them justice. That’s it for me, signing off!

Congrats to Katonya Mosley for winning last night’s story slam! The theme was Secrets. You can watch her story, where she talks about her experiences growing up, but be warned, there’s some adult language. You can catch up on all the other story slam winners here on uwish, including Kevin Lee, Kendra Gaeta, and Ingrid Wiese.

We’ll have some more videos from the other participants online shortly. Til then, you can always read about them. Meg was on the set at L’Etage live blogging.

Be sure to visit First Person Arts’ official website for more information on upcoming slams, and check out all their other great events.

First Person Arts
www.firstpersonarts.org