Archive for June, 2010

Friends in the Fest 2010

Monday, June 28th, 2010

We know a lot of folks doing shows in this year’s Capital Fringe Festival. Be sure to check them out.

100504_VijaiNathanCosmoPOR_A0090-600x450px Give Them Vagina: Tips from Mom, Dad, & Cosmo with Vijai Nathan.  A one-woman comedy boobs, Barbies, Spanx, and porn. Info | Tickets
logiclucklove Logic, Luck & Love with Molly Kelly, Jennifer Howe, Dustin Fisher, and Kevin Boggs. Directed by Amy Couchoud and Joseph Price. Info | Tickets
ARTCWAO-ERA-MArch-on-Mal-adj Pushing Boundaries with Ellouise Schoettler. Info | Ticket
nickfringeshow_ Nick Newlin will be performing at the Baldachinno Gyspy Tent as part of Fabulous Variety & Vagabond Amusementsw/Full Service Cabaret Dining. Free | Info
_nickfringemusic_

Nick Newlin can also be seen performing in the Baldachinno Gyspy Tent as part of Provessor Burgestic’s Musical Experiments. Free | Info


Baltimore’s Stoop Storytelling is looking for storytellers

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Baltimore has a Speakeasy-esque show, too, and they need storytellers. Below is a list of themes and dates for their next 4 shows. If you’d like to get in the show, send a few sentences about your idea to info@stoopstorytelling.com. If they do invite you to tell, please let us know, tell them SpeakeasyDC sent you, and include us in your bio.

Monday / October 18, 2010
Haunted: Stories of ghosts, regrets, and things from the past that won’t stay in the past

Monday / November 15, 2010
War Stories: Stories of skirmishes, battles, victories, and defeats

Monday / February 07, 2011
Gimme Shelter: Stories about finding, creating, and losing a home

Monday / April 25, 2011
Culture Shock: Stories about confronting the new, strange and often scary

Listen to stories from the first National Story Slam on WBEZ radio

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Windy City Story Slam hosted the first-ever national story slam in Chicago, IL during the Printer’s Row Literary Festival on June 13, 2010. Ten cities were represented — Portland, OR; Minneapolis;  Philly; Boston/Providence;  Westcheser, PA;  Chicago; San Francisco; Greenville, SC; Baltimore, and of course, DC. Each city brought one storyteller. Regie Cabico represented well for DC with a shortened version of his story from “Wetbacks, Aliens & Towelheads: Stories from the First Generation”. He came in second in both the judges favorite and audience favorite (beat out only slightly by the local Chicago teller).  The winning story by Nancy Donavan was aired on WBEZ (Listen) Chicago and and two stories were posted on their website — Regie’s story and Michelle’s (Greenville) story about a “goat incident”. Both are hilarious.  Listen.

Watch DC’s winning team at the First Person Arts Story Slam in Philly

Monday, June 21st, 2010

This took place on April 17 2010. SpeakeasyDC went head-t0-head, toe-to-toe, story-to-story with Philadelphia’s team and we won! A Philly storyteller took home the prize of best individual story, but we one the team prize with Twain Dooley, Meredith Maslich, Christopher Love, and Stephanie Garibaldi. Watch the video here.

Who’s Your Daddy: A Father’s Day Special

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Stories about Men, Masculinity, and Fatherhood

Friday, June 18, 2010 at The Atlas Performing Arts Center at 1333 H St. NE, Washington, DC 20002. Doors open at 7:30p, show starts at 8:00p. General seating.

H Street has lots of cool places to eat and hang out. Find out more about how to get there and where to go before and after the show. Parking can be challenging, so you may want to consider the shuttle from Chinatown or Union Station (or a cab).  Email info@speakeasydc.org if you have any questions or visit www.speakeasydc.org.

WhosYourDaddy

THE CAST (members of our advanced Story Performance Workshop)

Geraldine

Geraldine Buckley is a speaker, writer and award winning performance poet who took part in this year’s SpeakeasyDC production for The Big Read.  She particularly loves telling stories and gathered much new material while working – until January this year – as Chaplain at the Maryland Correctional Training Center, Maryland’s largest men’s prison.

david David Hallisey spent over 20 years in the navy where he learned the
importance of a good sea story. He is most proud of being the father
of two terrific boys, Marcus and Daniel, which makes him MaD Dad.
Julie-cropped Julie Hantman appeared in last year’s Fringe Festival ensemble production “Not Your Granny’s Revolution” and she is a veteran of the SpeakeasyDC stage. By day she works to improve the nation’s preparedness for public health threats.
sofia-cropped Sofia Javed spends her days policing the use of commas, dashes and meaningless adverbs in government documents. She believes active voice, short sentences and proper subject-verb agreement can change the world. Sofia is a grammar nerd in at least four languages.
Kriya-cropped Kriya Kaping is the Creative Director for the Modeling and Simulation Information Analysis Center (MSIAC),  and an Editor for the M&S Journal. She comes from a long line of storytellers, with the family motto of “if it doesn’t kill you, it makes for a great story!”
Lynda-cropped
Lynda Laughlin’s main quality is that she is a sociologist and enjoys counting people. She prefers cats over dogs and stoves over microwaves.
Laurie-cropped Laurie Frederik Meer is an anthropologist and professor at the University of Maryland. She has a three month old baby named Fénix Kurush and is coming to terms with domestic chaos and a new definition of “normal.” In her spare time she competes in Ballroom Dancing.
Anne-cropped Anne Thomas A recovering lawyer probing her creativity now.  Fundamentally, Anne likes to play which is why she has been studying Improv and Storytelling the last few years.

Storytelling 101 – Discover, develop, and perform your life stories (class is full)

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

Tuesdays, June 15, 22, 29 and July 6, 7-10pm
(
Tuesday, July 13 is SpeakeasyDC’s open mic. You will be given a free pass to attend as part of your tuition. Seating will be reserved for students on that night, as well.)
1525 Newton , ST, NW 20010 See map

Note: SpeakeasyDC does not give refunds (full or partial) for voluntary withdrawal from the class. There are limited slots in the class so that we may give sufficient attention to each student. Because of this, we typically have to turn people away. Should you choose to withdraw, we will have a vacancy that we can no longer fill.

DESCRIPTION:

This class is designed to teach the art of developing and performing an original, personal narrative drawn from real-life experience. We facilitate the storytelling process from beginning to end with each session centering on a step in the process. Students who join the class come from varied backgrounds and have different goals and applications. Some hope to perform on a SpeakeasyDC stage, others have found storytelling useful in the work they do, and others just enjoy the creative process and the community.

Comments from students:

I learned so much — especially about how hard it is to craft a compelling story — and really had great fun along the way.

There was no doubt that I really liked this class… I appreciated the many little tips you provided on how to make a story and how to make that story work…

I took away a clear understanding of what makes a good story and confidence that I can develop and tell a story competently.

IN THIS CLASS, YOU WILL:

  • learn how to find raw story material from your own memories and experiences
  • discuss the fundamentals of story structure
  • discover effective storytelling techniques
  • apply story techniques and structure to your own story
  • receive honest and thorough feedback from instructors and students
  • have the opportunity to practice your storyelling and perform in front of an audience
  • learn how to coach and support your peers in the story-creation process
  • hear a lot of great stories and watch yours and your classmates’ stories take shape over the four weeks
  • become part of a wonderful network of people with shared interests and knowledge

GETTING THERE:

Street parking is available, but we are not permitted to park in the lot. You can also take any S bus up or down 16th Street or walk about 6 blocks/10 min from Columbia Hts. Metro (Green/Yellow). Walk north on 14th St 3 blocks, turn left on Newton and walk one long block. Just before you get to 16th St, turn right into the parking lot. Enter through the red doors that opens onto the parking lot and faces 16th St. This facility is wheelchair accessible. Please let us know in advance if that is something you need so we can make proper arrangements.

Ranger Rick: Stories about animals, wildlife, and nature

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

June 8, 2010 at Town Danceboutique

A night of true tales told live

  • Doors open at 6:30pm
  • Show starts at 8pm
  • Must be 21 and must have ID.
  • 2009 8th St, NW,Washington, DC, 20009 near corner of U Street
  • $10 cover at door – cash-only
  • $10 cash-only additional for all-you -can-eat buffet provided by Nellie’s Sports Bar.
  • Full bar – cash only
  • Street parking or paid lot next door $10 or take Green or Yellow line to U St/Cardozo and exit on 10th Street side. Walk two blocks east (away from African American Civil War Memorial. Turn left at 8th St. (you’ll see bright yellow  Tropicana Restaurant. ) Town is less than a half a block on the right.
  • There is an ATM on the premises.

To sign up for open mic

Fill out  the online form in advance using the drop-down box to indicate the night you want to perform. You will have seven minutes to tell your story. We are strict about this, so don’t go over or you will be cut off. Also, you must tell a true story (again, it’s not a stage for stand-up, poetry, readings, fiction, or folktales) and you must incorporate the theme. You will be contacted 3-4 weeks before the specified show to arrange a  free (and mandatory) coaching session with our Education Director, Stephanie Garibaldi.  She can be reached at stephanie@garibaldi.com if you have any questions (Please do not use this address to sign up. This is only for questions.)

Thanks to Alexander Morozov for photographing our shows.

Tentative line-up(alphabetical order) —

Ian  Farley

Dustin Fisher

Alison Hanold

Joy Haynes

Mike Kane

Kelly Keisling

Adam Meyer

Kelly Nuxoll

Adam Ruben

townLOGOwoodLOres-3w LOGOw-WDC-Nellie's-2in logo-alexander

SpeakeasyDC goes to Nationals in Chicago – June 13

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Windy City Story Slam hosts the first ever national story slam competition

On Sunday, June 13th, 3 PM, at the Harold Washington Library’s Pritzker Auditorium, witness the biggest literary showdown Chicago’s ever seen. Storytellers from across the country will come to the City of Big Shoulders to rep their hometown Slams and compete for the National title (and huge bragging rights).  Regie Cabico will be SpeakeasyDC’s ringer for the evening, and will surely do right by DC in kicking some story-slamming buttocks.   Other organizations and cities represented so far: Porchlight (SanFran),  1st Person Arts (Philly),  Mass Mouth (Boston),  Baltimore Stoop (MA),  Portland Story Theatre (Portland, OR), Twin Cities Story Slam (Minn), and Anderson Story Slam (SC). This event is just one of many kick-ass literary offerings during the 2010 Chicago Tribune Printers Row Lit Fest. The show is free, but you can reserve your seat now here.