This Is The Tale, As It Was Told To Me…

Now that Tellabration! 2011 is over, I plan to catch up on several things, including blogging. Preparing to be a daytime performer at Tellabration! took up a lot of my brain power, but I have to tell you, I had a great time. I went to the Friday evening concert and heard all the big-name storytellers perform and let me tell you, it was a pleasure. There wasn’t a bad storyteller in the group and I walked out both thrilled at what I heard and little daunted that I might not be up the level of storytelling skill that performs at this festival.

I was one of the last storytellers of the day on Saturday, and despite my worries and fears (at one point when I was rehearsing at home, I decided to call the festival and tell them I couldn’t do it. I also decided to buy a bus ticket and flee the state. I did neither) I put on a pretty good show -- good enough that a handful of local storytellers I admire came up and told me how much they had enjoyed my show. Turned out, once I got on the stage I was comfortable and just let the story flow, even ad-libbing a crucial change.

Saturday night, after the last daytime performances, there was the NorthStar Storytelling League Story Slam, where you have five minutes to tell a complete story before a panel of judges who then score you. Several of the local Big Name storytellers were signed up (this was a qualifying event for the Minnesota Story Slam Championship). I had decided the night before to sign up, because you can’t win if you don’t play, and I thought it would be a good experience. There was a wide range of competitors, from polished professionals with decades of storytelling experience to amateurs who had barely gotten their feet wet at open mic events and at least one person who I know for sure this was their first storytelling performance. There were some great stories and amazing performances over the next two and a half hours.

And I took 2nd place.

I am still a little boggled, but I knew my material and once I stepped up on the stage, for two and half minutes, I was on fire. It was a little like I wasn’t me anymore, like the ghost of a performer had entered my body and taken over. I got the single highest individual score from a judge (9.1) and was in the lead until nearly the end. Afterward I was asked to come to other local story slams, which I plan to do after the holidays.

I have to admit, I really enjoyed performing. I enjoyed getting up in front of a room and telling a tale.

Me, the dedicated introvert!

Who knew?

This Is The Tale, As It Was Told To Me…

Now that Tellabration! 2011 is over, I plan to catch up on several things, including blogging. Preparing to be a daytime performer at Tellabration! took up a lot of my brain power, but I have to tell you, I had a great time. I went to the Friday evening concert and heard all the big-name storytellers perform and let me tell you, it was a pleasure. There wasn’t a bad storyteller in the group and I walked out both thrilled at what I heard and little daunted that I might not be up the level of storytelling skill that performs at this festival.

I was one of the last storytellers of the day on Saturday, and despite my worries and fears (at one point when I was rehearsing at home, I decided to call the festival and tell them I couldn’t do it. I also decided to buy a bus ticket and flee the state. I did neither) I put on a pretty good show -- good enough that a handful of local storytellers I admire came up and told me how much they had enjoyed my show. Turned out, once I got on the stage I was comfortable and just let the story flow, even ad-libbing a crucial change.

Saturday night, after the last daytime performances, there was the NorthStar Storytelling League Story Slam, where you have five minutes to tell a complete story before a panel of judges who then score you. Several of the local Big Name storytellers were signed up (this was a qualifying event for the Minnesota Story Slam Championship). I had decided the night before to sign up, because you can’t win if you don’t play, and I thought it would be a good experience. There was a wide range of competitors, from polished professionals with decades of storytelling experience to amateurs who had barely gotten their feet wet at open mic events and at least one person who I know for sure this was their first storytelling performance. There were some great stories and amazing performances over the next two and a half hours.

And I took 2nd place.

I am still a little boggled, but I knew my material and once I stepped up on the stage, for two and half minutes, I was on fire. It was a little like I wasn’t me anymore, like the ghost of a performer had entered my body and taken over. I got the single highest individual score from a judge (9.1) and was in the lead until nearly the end. Afterward I was asked to come to other local story slams, which I plan to do after the holidays.

I have to admit, I really enjoyed performing. I enjoyed getting up in front of a room and telling a tale.

Me, the dedicated introvert!

Who knew?