You got a problem? Want to make something of it? How about a song? First Person Arts and SPECTOR Projects bring the global phenomenon of the Complaint Choir to Philadelphia for the first time, with composer Evan Solot turning your frustrations into 4-part harmony.
SPECTOR Projects’ mission is to champion emerging talent and new concepts in the visual arts. Created in 1999 by artist and curator, Shelley Spector, SPECTOR Projects produces interdisciplinary projects in various venues including the web, galleries and alternative spaces. www.spectorspector.comwww.artjaw.com
Evan Solot composes for orchestras, jazz groups, pop recordings, dance and theater. His music been performed by some of the country’s leading jazz and pop performers, including Randy and Michael Brecker, Stanley Clarke, Kurt Elling, and Bette Midler. His commissions include pieces for Alaska, Mississippi, Illinois and Minnesota.
Practice and Performance Dates and Locations:
First Organizational Meeting: Thursday, September 25 7pm — Gershman Y at 401 South Broad St.
Practice 1: Monday, October 13th 6pm – Terra Building 17th Floor 211 S. Broad Street Practice 2: Monday October 20th 6pm – Terra Building 17th Floor 211 S. Broad Street Practice 3: Monday, October 27th 6pm – Terra Building 17th Floor 211 S. Broad Street Performance: Wednesday Nov 12th 6pm – First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art at the Painted Bride Art Center 230 Vine St. Additional Performances TBA
The Complaints Choir project was initiated by Artists Tellervo Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen 2005. See all the complaints choirs of the world at www.complaintschoir.org
Download an application to present your work HERE (.doc)
First Person Salons are an interactive program offering emerging and established artists and writers an opportunity to present their new memoir and documentary-based works or works-in progress, and offering audiences access to exciting new works that might otherwise go unseen. Artists working in all media, and from all levels of experience, whose work is based in real-life experience, are welcome to apply using the application form available at the link above. Each Salon will be curated by the staff of First Person Arts. Submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis at salons@firstpersonarts.org.
Location: Laurie Beechman Cabaret at The University of the Arts Arts Bank - 601 S. Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19147
2009 Schedule: 2nd Wednesdays of each month from 7:30pm to 10:00pm
Wed, February 11 Wed, March 11 Wed, April 8 Wed, May 13 Wed, June 10 Wed, July 8 Wed, August 12 Wed, September 9 Wed, October 14
StorySlam Six Packs are now available: Six StorySlam tickets for $40.
The 2009 StorySlam season swings into action on January 24th at the Kimmel Center with a very special StorySlam just before Ira Glass. The StorySlam will be FREE and the theme, appropriately enough, is "Broke." Here's the full schedule:
1/24/2009 Broke (Kimmel Center--FREE and All Ages) Host: DJ Robert Drake 1/27/2009 Bad Idea Host: Victor Fiorillo 2/24/2009 I Think We're Alone 3/3/2009 Hidden Talents (World Cafe--All Ages) 3/24/2009 On My Street 4/18/2009 Mortified (Free Library Festival--FREE and All Ages) 4/28/2009 Odd Jobs 5/26/2009 Baggage 6/20/2009 The Great Outdoors (Kimmel Center: Summer Solstice--All Ages) 6/23/2009 Do It Yourself 7/28/2009 Against the Rules 8/25/2009 High Point 9/22/2009 Foreign Territory 10/27/2009 Showing Off
Door price: $8 Six-Pack of passes: $40 (Buy 'em HERE!) Here's 2008 Grand Slam Winner Ryan T. Barlow:
First Person StorySlams are a monthly, real-life-storytelling competition co-sponsored by L’Etage at 6th & Bainbridge Streets in Philadelphia. Each month’s theme elicits stories that come from the life experiences of Philly’s storytellers. Who are these local tale spinners? Everyone with a story and a little sense of competition is encouraged to participate – that means YOU!
StorySlams take place on the fourth Tuesday of each month at L’Etage cabaret at 6th & Bainbridge Streets (one block south of South Street). L’Etage is located on the second floor, immediately above Beau Monde Creperie. The door for L'Etage is located on Bainbridge Street - the 'sign' is a tile mosaic on the doorstep, it can be a little hard to find the first time you visit. Doors open at 7:30PM, and the StorySlam will begin at 8:30. Admission is $8 but a Season Pass and discounted 6-packs of tickets are available here.
How does it work? Every month’s event has a theme and everyone in the audience is invited to share a personal story from their lives that relates to the theme. Stories must be 5 minutes or less in duration. If you have a story you want to share, leave us your name at the sign-in table where you’ll pay your admission. Every potential storyteller’s name will be put into a bucket – ten names are drawn from the bucket, and each contestant is given five minutes on the mic to tell a story and win the crowd. ‘Judges’ are audience members who score the performers on a ten-point scale. Nine storytellers receive funny thanks-for-trying prizes, and the one highest-scoring participant wins a prize and the Golden Ticket – an invitation to November’s Grand Slam, which will pit the monthly winners against one another in the battle for the title of Philadelphia’s Best Storyteller. The Grand Slam will be presented during the eighth annual First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Arts, November 4th-8th, 2009 at the Painted Bride Art Center!
Storytelling Tips & Essentials
- This event is for storyTELLING -- sorry, but you can’t read from your work, you must tell it.
- All stories must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Know your plot points!
- You should tell your story from your point of view.
- Your story should be true - or as true as possible. Like Emily Dickinson said about poetry: tell all the truth, but tell it slant.
- Stick to the time limit! You’ll be penalized in the competition if you don’t.
- Know your first line and last line when you step on stage. Knowing what point A and point Z are will help you get through rest if you get nervous.
- Raise the stakes! Sure, you know that this story happened to you, but show us why it matters -- both to you and to us.
