Also, here is a new twist to the event...Many people have been asking us - "How can I be sure to get a slot at the next slam? " Basically, you can't. That defeats the purpose of an open story slam, with 10 slots for all comers. massmouth exists to help people of all ages be aware of their birth right art form, story.We will continue to include improv/story games for all audience members. But we hear you and have worked out some ways to have your story heard beyond dropping your name into a hat ... Here they are:
Three ways to tell a story at the slam, without putting your name in the hat.:
1] People's Choice | Live: We will collect the beginning lines of your story on 3X5 file cards at slam ( cards will be on the tables) You write, ( legibly – otherwise we can’t give your work, our best reading) the first few lines of your story. Emcees will draw three random cards and read up to one minute's worth to the crowd. No names. Just the story. The crowd, claps hoots and hollers and the story causing the most noise gets told. This builds audience as the tellers will bring their supporters to the slam and ply them with liquor, food and other bribes to help them appreciate good stories at just the right moment The story chosen can be entered into the competition as a "People's Choice." Or, if the story is entered by a past slam winner, then their story may be told as a bonus to the evening’s entertainment and another story chosen. You cannot also put your name in the hat that month, if you are chosen as a People’s choice contestant.
2] "big mouth’s choice" Starting for DEC 14th slam. Tellers send us voice mails of first 2 minutes of their story on the theme. The organizers can choose one of these to be in the competition if the teller has not won already and if the teller has won already, more than one may be added to the evenings entertainment at the discretion of the big mouths. Decisions are final, NO whining or complaining. We have set up a 24/7 voice mail box where we can listen Read instructions below.
1] You MUST send an email first with:
A]your name and People's Choice in subject line
B] in the email put your name, your best phone # and the title or subject of your story send to: stories@massmouth.com
You may only record one story per theme. When ready to tell 3 minutes of your 5 minute story:
* Dial 617-232-2140
*press "3" ASAP -
*when prompted, leave your name,
*tell your story
*you can rerecord as often as you like
but please, be fair, only leave ONE recording at the voice mail
Wait to hear back. Please. We will call if interested or email you regrets. Do not leave more than one story or message per month. This line is for stories only, not our business line. massmouth will close entries 48 hours days before next slam and notify those chosen by email and phone. We are working on this so for this first timeEmail only. *DO NOT CALL any of the organizers about this [see below] DO NOT leave anything but the info requested at this line
3] People's Choice | Online - tellers will send us mp3 recordings of their stories, on the theme, and we create a podcast of the first 2 minutes of each that we post at blog. Along with a poll for voting. We call this the “People’s Choice | Online" Listeners will vote for story of their choice. Voting will close 24 hours before slam – a good way for people traveling from a distance to know if they will get to tell. Tellers will send all friends and family to web site to vote early and often! Helps to build an audience. Need a minimum of 3 stories before we will take the time to post. stories@massmouth.com
Please read -
* Disclaimer: This is meant to be a fun project for everybody. Including all the volunteers,working hard to make it happen. You will be automatically disqualified for everything in this contest, for harassing the judges (or organizers). Judges give up a turn in the contest and their time to make this work. When in doubt if what you are doing is harassment? Just don’t. Or send an email.
If you do not understand these guidelines [above]or have any questions: send a clear question, via email,with a clear subject in header to: stories@massmouth.com. You will be answered as soon as humanly possible. Do NOT leave questions at the story line which is for stories only.
The idea of the slam and the mission of massmouth is to get as many people as possible to tell and listen to stories. People only get to tell once a night so you can opt to try only one of the above in any month. Some months we could have a bakers dozen of stories to be judged ( the lucky 13 ) and even more to listen to…
