Wednesday, August 25, $15
Doors 6:30pm, Show 8-10pm
The Big Hunt 1345 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC

See Washington City Paper post

Hosted by SEDC Director, Amy Saidman and so far, featuring these folks, plus a special appearance by comedian Dustin Fisher paying homage to beer in his critically acclaimed poem “Ode to the New Stain on Your Carpet” :

	Mike Kane works in television.  After work, he enjoys a beer with a few friends.  Or a few beers with one friend.  Or lots of beer, alone, watching DVR’d episodes of Nancy Grace.
	Adam Ruben is a writer, storyteller, comedian, and molecular biologist.  He appeared as a recurring guest expert on the Food Network’s “Food Detectives,” and he writes the monthly humor column “Experimental Error” for Science magazine.  His new book, “Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School,” is now available in stores nationwide.  His favorite beer is Sour Cherry (Brewer’s Art, Baltimore).
	For someone who enjoys hitting the sauce as much she does, Kathryn Brand has spent far too much of her life living in Muslim and third world countries with little to no beer industry.  After breaking a tooth on Malawian fermented corn-beer (called Shake shake Chibuku), she relocated to DC, where the only Speakeasy she has to frequent is this one.
	Comedian Vijai Nathan is recovering from the sold-out run of her solo performance in the Capital Fringe Fest, “Give Them Vagina: Tips from Mom, Dad, and Cosmo.” She’s been known to force unsuspecting younger men to drink beer from a can placed between her luscious, and now infamous (b/c of her Fringe Fest postcards) breasts. You can find her these days running a monthly comedy show at Chief Ike’s called Fan-Freakin-Tastic.
	The last time Josh Berner told a story in front of an audience, he was eight years old and in the gifted program of his elementary school. After leaving the stage, he drank his first six-pack of suds and has been constantly drunk ever since. Luckily he’s a bartender, so it’s not so awkward to explain. Grant La Rouche is a writer and social entrepreneur. After a 12 year hiatus is Grant is happy to return to the SpeakeasyDC stage. As a poet, he has read aloud at the Library of Congress Poetry at Noon Series, Takoma Park Reading Series, Loudon Arts Council and George Washington University Coffeehouse, and performed spoken word at DCAC with the group Chaos Standing. Through his work as a nonprofit marketing director and fundraiser, Grant is regularly asked to weave stories for the public. He lives in Takoma Park with his wife Genevieve and son Cormac.

A night of true tales told live

Stories about by a man whose mother tapped his phone when he was a teenager; a son learning about the birds and bees from his father; an aspiring Harriet the Spy; an internet stalker, and more.

• 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. This month: Beef, Turkey, and Veggie Burgers with fixins, pasta salad, and cookies.

• Full bar – credit or cash

• 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.  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)

Amy Couchoud

Elissa Laura Gross

Derek Hills

Eric Jost

Abbey Kos

Jason Lakin

David Litt

Billy Maloy

Alex Petri

SpeakeasyDC will be the featured entertainment for the night. In the spirit of the new company’s name, our best storytellers will share hilarious and true stories about “making a hue and cry”, in other words, standing up for a wrong.

Hosted by Amy Saidman and featuring Kevin Boggs, Sheldon Scott, Vijai Nathan, and Julie Kraut, hear stories about confronting rude customers that leave bad tips, challenging the power of fitness-bitches in aerobics classes, and fighting with a pair of Spanx.

SpeakeasyDC’s performance will take place at 9pm followed by dancing and preceded by a full day of shopping, munching, and drinking starting at 10am.

DETAILS

WHEN: July 31, 2010 for 10am-1am. SpeakeasyDC performance and Hugh & Crye presentation from 9:00-9:45pm.

WHERE: 3306 M Street Gallery – near Cady’s Alley in Georgetown.

COST: $10 for limited time only, so purchase now before price goes up at http://hughandcrye.eventbrite.com/

About Hugh & Crye

“We make shirts that fit” is how they describe themselves. And it’s not just a slogan, to them, it’s a cause.  The company is taking a stand  — aka a “hue and cry” – against ill-fitting clothing on men. It’s time to toss out what they call your “Uglies” and put on a shirt that’s made well (and responsibly) and that fits you right.  Thankfully, for the straight women and well-dressed gay men of the world, someone has finally heard our call for help. Our stories will reinforce the spirit behind the company’s name — in a nutshell, speaking out against a wrong.

After the success of last year’s “Sin Show” — the #1 top-selling show in the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival — SpeakeasyDC is back with another sure-fire hit. Come on down to this storytelling game show. Be part of contestants row and win prizes for guessing the correct ending in  Cliffhangers, choosing sides in Catapult, finding the lie in Cover Up and more. In signature SpeakeasyDC style, all stories are true, gripping, and hilarious. Hear stories about spelling bees, murder, family secrets, bad roommates, and stolen cats. John Kevin Boggs stars as our host, Rob Parker and B. Stanely (ED of DC Arts Center) will play the role of our  beloved. announcer, Todd Toddy. Directed by Amy Saidman (who directed such Fringe hits as “The Sin Show” and “Revenge of the Cat-Headed Baby”, and performed in “Chocolate Jesus”.  Showcase Showdown chosen as one of the Washington Post’s best picks of the Fringe Fest. Read review in Washington City Paper.

Only four shows:
Friday, July 9
Saturday, July 10
Thursday,  July 15
Friday, July 16

All shows start at 8pm, doors open at 7:30p at the US Navy Memorial – 701 Pennsylvania Ave. Next to Archives/Navy Memorial Green/Yellow line. Tickets go on sale on June 21. $15 at capfringe.org. Last year we sold out fast, so get your tickets early. More info at speakeasydc.org.

Click here for Social Media/Press Release with video, photos, and info

STARRING:

B. Stanley considers himself the man to fill the gap when necessary. He has been the director  of and acted with the experimental group, Theatre Du Jour since 1982. He directs the works of  several performance poets including Quique Aviles and Silvana Straw, acts in other’s performances when he can and is also currently the Director of the DC Arts Center in Adams Morgan.

Bomani Darel Armah is a poet, songwriter, producer, performer and educator. Born in Washington D.C. and raised in the metropolitan area, Bomani uses his life experiences, mixed with his musical and poetic skills, to paint lyrical pictures of life as he sees it and the future as he envisions it. He was an English major with a concentration in poetry at the University of Maryland College Park and as a self-taught musician and producer is quickly making a name for himself in the national music scene. As he so aptly puts it “I’m not a rapper, I’m a poet with a hip-hop style”.

Christylez Bacon (pronounced: chris-styles) is a GRAMMY Nominated Progressive Hip-Hop artist and multi-instrumentalist from Southeast, Washington, DC. As a performer, Christylez multi-tasks between various instruments such as the West African djembe drum, acoustic guitar, and the human beat-box (oral percussion), all while continuing the oral tradition of storytelling through his lyrics.

Regie Cabico won the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam and is a 3-time National Poetry Slam Finalist. He has appeared on two seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and his work appears in over 30 anthologies. BUST magazine name him in the 100 Men We Love. The Kenyon Review most recently named Cabico the “Lady Gaga of poetry”.

After working collaboratively as a writer, teacher, & improviser, Stephanie Garibaldi’s thrilled to be back in the game, unleashing her cutthroat competitive spirit at last on unsuspecting DC opponents. Whatever you do, do NOT challenge her to ping-pong, sudoku, or Name That Tune–she will school you as only SpeakeasyDC’s Educational Director can.

Cindy Kane is a writer and aspiring housewife who blogs at Bad Mommy Moments. She once had big dreams of standing next to Bob Barker and reminding the audience to control the pet population. But thanks to a $1 bidder from New Jersey, she never made it past Contestants’ Row.

Mike Kane is a marginally successful television writer and failed blogger.  His favorite games include “Plnko,” “Switcheroo,” and “$uper $aver.”  His actual retail price: $3.15, and all of this can be yours if… the Price is Right.

Christopher Love used to feign illness in elementary school so that he could stay home to watch The Price is Right.  He now performs in front of a captive audience of elementary school students every day as their math teacher.  Within the last year, he has been on a date with a former contestant who later became legal counsel for TPIR.

Sheldon Scott broke down walls when he became one of “Barker’s Beauties”!   At 5′10, 165lbs, he became one of the first “full-size” daytime TV game show models!  After unsavory pictures of Scott turned up on the internet, he was forced into retirement and moved to Washington DC where he started a PAC for retired Daytime TV and Hand & Foot models!  He is currently general manager of one of DC’s best restaurants — Marvin Bistro & Bar.  Featured artist on CapFringe site.

Full time dreamer. Part time superhero. Pro-Mohawk. Jessica Solomon is reclaiming the power of the Booty one performance at a time with The Saartjie Project crew (Google them!). She’s super excited and nostalgic about “The Price is Right” because it was the only TV show she watched with her Granny…until they discovered Jerry Springer. Featured artist on the CapFringe site.

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. This month: Taco bar (meat and veggie)

• Full bar – credit or cash

• 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 and Jessica Piscitelli of Capture Video for capturing it on video.

Tentative line-up (alphabetical order)

Our host: Stephanie Garibaldi, Jeffrey Brady, Geraldine Buckley, Julie Kraut, Nevin Martell, Nick Newlin, Jason Pittman, Kenny Reff, Matt Sherman, Karen St.Germain , Kerala Taylor

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.

THE CAST (members of our advanced Story Performance Workshop)

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 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 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 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 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 Laughlin’s main quality is that she is a sociologist and enjoys counting people. She prefers cats over dogs and stoves over microwaves.

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 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.

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

SpeakeasyDC is excited to partner with the Asian American Pacific Islander Collection of the Library of Congress to perform a new show for Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. Hear true, personal stories about growing up Asian in America touching on subjects like fulling your parents’ idea of the “American Dream”, fitting in, and stepping out.

Regie Cabico won the Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam and is a 3 Time National Poetry Slam Finalist. He has appeared on two seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam and his work appears in over 30 anthologies. BUST magazine named him in the 100 MEN WE LOVE . The Kenyon Review most recently named Cabico the Lady Gaga of Poetry. He is the artistic director of Sol & Soul, an arts and activist organization. He also runs SULU DC, a monthly Asian American performance showcase.

Mimi Khúc is a second-generation Vietnamese American, and a PhD student in Asian American culture and religion, becoming the wrong kind of doctor – and studying why so many of her cousins are becoming the right kind.

Comedian Vijai Nathan, a native of Maryland, has been making people laugh both nationally and internationally. She’s made the top ten lists of Back Stage Magazine and NBC’s Stand-Up for Diversity, and is honored to be part of the Smithsonian Freer Gallery events. She hosts a monthly comedy/storytelling/music series called “Fan-Freaking-Tastic”  at Chief Ike’s Mambo Room in Adams Morgan.  Look for her in this year’s Capital Fringe Festival performing a new solo show Give them Vagina: Tips from Mom, Dad & COSMO. Contact: vijai_comedy@ yahoo.com

NOTE: IF YOU PLAN TO SIGN UP, PLEASE SCAN AND SEND A COPY OF YOUR PHOTO TO INFO@SPEAKEASYDC.ORG

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. This month: Beef burger, Veggie burger, Hot dog, Chili, Potato salad, Pasta salad, Chips, Fixings: lettuce, tomato, cheese, onion, mayo, ketchup, mustard, chocolate brownies and cookies
• 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 and Jessica Piscitelli of Capture Video for capturing it on video.

Line Up – in order of appearance

Kim Weitkamp
Brad Winter
Laura Zam
Daniel Ginsberg
Geraldine Buckley
Derek Hills
Ellouise Schoettler
JR Russ
Shira Pinsker

For the fourth year in a row, SpeakeasyDC will be part of DC’s Big Read. The Big Read is designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. Each year, a new book is chosen. This year’s book, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines (1993), poses one of the most universal questions literature can ask: Knowing we’re going to die, how should we live? It’s the story of an uneducated young black man named Jefferson, accused of the murder of a white storekeeper, and Grant Wiggins, a college-educated native son of Louisiana, who teaches at a plantation school. In a little more than 250 pages, these two men named for presidents discover a friendship that transforms at least two lives. Hear true, contemporary stories that highlight the themes and subjects in the book.  Stories will be followed by a short Q&A with the storytellers.

FEATURING

Harold Wilson

After 16 years and a total of three death sentences, DNA evidence let to the aquittal of Harold Wilson in 2005. He was the nation’s 122nd person to be freed from death row. Thanks to Witness to Innocence for putting us in touch with Harold Wilson. Witness to Innocence is the nation’s only organization composed of, by and for exonerated death row survivors and their loved ones.  These individuals are actively engaged in the struggle to end the death penalty, challenging the American public to grapple with the problem of a fatally flawed criminal justice system that sends innocent people to death row. Find out more at www.witnesstoinnocence.org.

Geraldine Buckley

Geraldine is an award-winning performance poet. She is an ordained minister and has an MA in communications form Regent University. She live in Frederick, MD and will share a story about creativity workshops she conducted in the largest men’s prison in Maryland.

Ruby DeLillye

Ruby, mother of four children went from state prisoner to state employee. Ruby spent four years in a Virginia prison. She now works as a supervisor at Morgan State University in Maryland. Ruby had a profound experience in prison centered around 12 chocolate chip cookies. This experience changed her life for good!

The Big Read, is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest. The Big

Read – D.C. is presented by the Humanities Council of Washington, DC and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and DC Public Libraries.