Philly vs. Boston throw down

Katie Liesner, Jim Stahl, Michael McCarry, Bernardo Morillo, Marla Burkholder, Ben Cunningham, Norah Dooley. Last but not least, Michael Minard

We are a bit "slammed" with work at the moment but we still wanted to note our win and our fine storytelling work in Philadelphia at the Philly vs. Boston throw down on April 15th, 2011 at the Philadelphia Book Festival, 2011.  First Person Arts invited us and when we saw the date, we froze like deer in headlights. So much to do! How can we?  What timing ! The semifinals are the night before! Story slams at high schools -  How can we?

But we recovered, put together a team on the theme "experiments" and really had a blast. Katie Liesener told first with a great story about her Wisconsin salad days as a "cub reporter" when she combined an experiment with creating news with a study in bladder control. Then Jim Stahl took the stage and the crowd and judges loved his tale of experimenting with a rocket and how he has dealt with the results of that experiment. Next,  Bernardo Morillo from Philly told a hilarious tale about medical experiments, big egos and computers. I was up after him and told how I had used Human Subjects and a real live guinea pig in my experiments with homeopathy.  I was followed by Michael McCarry, Marla Burkholder, and Michael Minard from Philly.  Ben Cunningham had to wait for the rest of the Philly team to perform but his story was a crowd pleaser. Given the enthused and partisan Philly crowd ( they booed when we were introduced) this was no small feat. Ben rocked the house with his story about childhood experiments trying to solve world hunger with gold fish and the radiation from a television set.

The judges gave the team win to Philly but Jim Stahl, from massmouth was the undisputed winner of the slam.  Our dauntless photographer, Paula Junn offered to cover the event and schlepped all over town with us.  We are lucky to have her and happy to share some photos here. There is an entire album at http://massmouth.com. and the library videotaped the entire show so we hope there is youtube video soon.  I also have a podcast that is near completion,  and will announce when you can hear all the fun and judge for yourself. Dan Gaseiwiski sent us the final scores and I proudly post my dead last finish here for the schadenfreude of all the people this season who have had to listen to me natter on about games and sportsmanship and the like. Enjoy!

Kate Liesener (Boston):  44 (average 14.66) went over time = minus one full point
Bernardo Morillo (Philly): 47.5 (average 15.83) went over time = minus one full point
Jim Stahl (Boston): 57 (average 19) 1st winner
Norah Dooley (Boston): 43 (average 14.33) dead last and did not go over time - ouch!
Mike Minard (Philly): 54 (average 18) 2nd place
Mike McCarry (Philly): 49 (average 16.3)
Marla Berholder (Philly): 50.5 (average 16.83)
Ben Cunningham  (Boston): 53.5 (average 17.83) 3rd place

Team Boston, Team Philly and Judges in a sold out house.

We also were invited to have massmouth represent at the Slam Nation event when FPA hosts "the best storytellers from across the country convene at the Kimmel Center as part of the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA). Each storyteller will share a five to ten minute story based on the theme “Worldly Possessions.” Popular First Person Arts storyteller R. Eric Thomas hosts. A “not to be missed” PIFA pick from Philadelphia magazine.  Slam Nation Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 8PM  Perelman Theatre at the Kimmel Center  Representing massmouth are multi-slam winners, Nicolette Heavey and Laura Packer who stepped up to travel to Philly and perform on the night of our Big Mouth Off.  Our loss is Philly's gain.  There were chosen from 5 tellers we proposed from massmouth.

- Norah Dooley


From Jim Stahl:
"The judges scored quickly, using whole numbers only, and that helped keep the slam moving nicely. I was honored to share a stage with such huge talent -- Katie, Ben, and Norah – and came home with new ideas based on their work. Hearing Ben, for instance, expertly make the sound of fish hitting the water got me right to work on adding a real sound effect to my next story. The celebrity judge – Mary Roach, author of “Packing for Mars” – very bravely told a revealing tale of a laboratory sex experiment featuring her and her husband, so she really showed her stuff and raised the bar high (no pun intended; well, OK, it was). The Philadelphia Central Library auditorium has 390 seats, and smiles and laughs came from each one: the place was full! Thanks to Norah for her leadership and energy in planning this road trip, particularly during the busiest week of the slam year!"

and from Katie Liesener:
"To see every seat filled - in a hall that just recently hosted the likes of Garrison Keillor and Tina Fey - for a storytelling event, thrilled my little story-telling soul. It's so encouraging to see that people are curious and hungry enough for tales well told, that they will come out on a Friday night and pay for the chance to hear them. The Philadelphia and Boston teams teemed with talent; each teller had a distinct style and rapport with his/her audience. Seeing storytelling at its best, from the high-quality supply to the eager demand, has motivated me to be an ever better plier of the trade. "