by Eva Grayzel
“To dream or not to dream’ was the theme of my very first story slam.
When I arrived at the sold-out event at Babs Lab in Jacksonville, FL, in the artsy Cork District, I put my name in the hat.
Eight names were chosen over the 90 minutes, and the teller was allowed a 5-minute story, with a 2-minute grace period. If the story exceeds 7 minutes, the teller was disqualified from winning the slam. The audience voted on the winner.
My name was chosen just before the intermission, following a story about the dreams of a young girl who survived the Bosnian war, a middle-aged woman who dreamed about a relationship with her handsome and much younger handyman, and a museum executive whose dreams to develop programming for the most underserved members of the community, was denied by her boss, a small man with no foresight.
After my story about dreaming of the kind of life I wanted to live during radiation to stay positive, we heard a former CEO who broke free of the golden handcuffs and pursued his passions.
I thought the winner was going to be the father who had dreams for himself stolen by alcoholism, and then once he got his life on track, and had a son, the same dreams he had for his son were stolen by the same disease.
When the ballots were tallied, I won the grand prize, a $50 gift certificate to a local store.
I felt the competition was unfair because I’m a working storytelling professional. But, in many ways, so were the other tellers, they just do not take the title of ‘Storyteller’ as I do.
Winners of the monthly Slams are offered a spot to perform a story at the historic Florida Theater in downtown Jacksonville for an annual storytelling event, in its third year,
This year, the event takes place on Thursday November 9th in the newly renovated theater for the 3rd Annual Untold Stories. I have had a chance to hear the other 5 storytellers, and you will leave feeling inspired, entertained, and motivated with new thinking!
Tickets are $25. Those who call the box office to buy tickets can save the $10 transaction fee. For more information go to: https://www.floridatheatre.com/events/detail/untold-stories-fall.
For several years, Barbara “Babs” Colaciello has held monthly story slams at her studio in Jacksonville. Her “Lab” is a space for experimentation, training and performance. Current offerings include improvisation classes, communication workshops, one-on-one coaching, and the monthly slams.
And check out the next Story Slam at Babs Lab https://www.barbaracolaciello.com/babslabtheatercork)
Barbara began her career working with Andy Warhol for six years at the Factory in New York City as the Advertising Director of Interview Magazine. She also studied acting and later worked with her brother Bob Colaciello, a writer for Vanity Fair and author of “Holy Terror: Andy Warhol Close-Up” for which she did research. After she relocated to the Jacksonville area with her family in 1993, she continued to work in theater and theatrical education.
Eva Grayzel, a nationally recognized master storyteller and expert on interactive storytelling techniques with 25 years’ experience, enriches learning through the power of story. Eva created unique methods to involve every member of your audience or classroom in the story. She provides programs for elementary schools, middle schools and high schools looking for motivational programs.