storytelling class -- round 2

Back in March of 2020, Ethan and I started a Storytelling class at The Magnet Theater. I blogged about that class -- or the start of it anyway -- here. Well, that class ended after one session. COVID. Ethan and I had the option of continuing the class in Zoom, but decided against it. Instead we bided our time, hoping things would eventually open up.

And open they did. A bit anyway.

So Ethan and I restarted Adam Wade's storytelling class last month. Today was the sixth session, which means that next week is the class showcase -- the finale, where we each get onstage in front of an audience and tell our story. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

In the year and a half since the abortive session, Adam has changed things up quite a bit. Back then, at the end of the first class, Adam asked us to come back with three story pitches. Some amount of time in the subsequent classes would have been spent discussing the pitches and each of us deciding what story to tell. Remembering that, I was -- in the first class - already contemplating what stories I would pitch.

But those thoughts were wasted -- Adam has taken a different approach. In the first class, he gave us a prompt -- a beloved childhood object. Near the end of class, we each got up and spoke about such an object. He told us, for the second week, to prepare a talk about a favorite restaurant or similar eating establishment. And in the secondo class he told us to prepare, for the third week, to talk about a mentor or friend. After that, we each had to pick one of those three prompts and build it into our story.

That had me disappointed. Even though I was having trouble coming up with three stories to pitch, I was feeling oddly annoyed that Adam was limiting us to these three prompts. In fairness, Adam did  give us the option of going off menu -- subject to his approval -- if we had some other story that we really really wanted to go with. But when I thought about it, I realized that I could craft stories from each of the three prompts, so the hardest part was picking one of them.

But I picked one. And the last three weeks have been spent building my story. figuring out what works and what doesn't. Adding bits and removing others. And Ethan has been doing the same with his. We have each presented three iterations for the class, and listened to critiques and suggestions. We still have a week to practice, but at this point we're pretty much ready.

So next week I'll be onstage, telling my story about ... well, just tune in next week. 

eight million stories in the naked city...this will be mine

I have a colleague who takes a variety of performing arts classes at a place called The Magnet Theater in Manhattan. Well, it seems to me like a variety. Maybe it's not so many. But when he and I were in the same unit, and that unit would occasionally get together for lunch, it seemed he always had stories about some new class he was taking. At any rate, these classes include storytelling, improv...I'm not sure what else. Whatever.

I've seen videos of him performing as a storyteller. He crafts eight (or so) minute personal tales. A tale can span years when you consider the background exposition. But, while these stories cover ground that seems mundane, he makes them interesting. So, when he mentioned last fall that he was going to be in a storyteller showcase, I wanted to go see it.

Actually, I had three reasons for wanting to see the showcase. First, I thought it would be interesting. Second, I wanted to support a friend and colleague in his extra-curricular activities -- the way friends and colleagues went to see me perform when I was acting in black-box theater productions (20-plus years ago). And third, I wondered if something like that would interest Ethan, but I needed to see the guy who teaches these classes and see some people other than my colleague perform.

Blair and I went, and we liked what we saw. So, this past Tuesday, Ethan and I started a storytelling class with Adam Wade at the Magnet Theater.*

I didn't really know what to expect going in. The only thing I knew for sure was that the class would be spent working toward a final showcase in which each of us would, in turn, present a story which we will have developed and crafted in class. That's scheduled for late April. So clearly a lot of the class' six sessions are to be devoted to developing that story.

After some administrative items, Adam started us off with a story -- how he got into professional storytelling. I'm not sure how long it lasted, but it was really touching and he managed to connect with the class. Other things we did in class included:

• Adam played us an audio recording of one of his former students telling a personal story, and we then each commented (see video below);
• Each of us had to pick a personal item from our childhood, and talk about it -- what it is, how we got it, where it is now. I talked about a sign I swiped from the subway system when I was in high school. Ethan talked about a demented two-headed baby doll he got years ago at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.
• Adam demonstrated how to list the essential elements of a story, showing a long list of seemingly disconnected words and phrases, and then telling a story that involved all of them, in order.

One thing that is clear is that a lot of the people in the class have more experience with this kind of thing than Ethan or I do. It's a beginner class, but a lot of people talked about doing acting, improv or standup comedy. So their polished performance styles showed when it was their turn to talk about personal items.

For homework, we are to come back to the second class with two or three story idea pitches, from which we will ultimately pick the stories we construct for the final project. Oh, and we are to do something enjoyable. I don't know why.

I'm not sure yet what my story pitches will be, but I have a few thoughts:

• My experience with two neurotic cats, one of whom would fling his food around the kitchen when I tried hiding antidepressants in it;
• How Blair and I got engaged (without my ever proposing marriage);
• My 35-year songwriting project -- how, though multiple rewrites, it took me 35 years to write the song, "Music No One Else Can Hear," while an interim version (which I don't actually like) got me into ASCAP

I've always been a bit of a ham, and I love the spotlight, so I'm looking forward to the showcase performance. Ethan isn;t quite as comfortable as the center of attention, but he likes the idea of anything that helps him with his public speaking skills. He had done quite a bit of that when he was volunteering for Stack-Up, but that ended and he hasn't done much public speaking since.

*This evening the class was postponed indefinitely because of COVID-19. But that's another matter. Since I was planning to blog about the class, my impressions and thoughts, etc, I figure I'll write this post as if I don;t know yet that it's cancelled. Now, instead of getting annoyed, keep in mind that I could write this as if I don't know yet, then afterwards post a follow-up as if I truly didn't know when I wrote the post. But that would be dishonest.