Story Time

It’s a pretty fair assessment to say that I enjoy telling stories. It’s why I write for The Spectrum’s opinion page, though to be honest, the money doesn’t hurt either. I’ve always enjoyed telling stories, whether it’s around a campfire trying to scare people, or just with a group of friends about the stupid things that I do from my day-to-day life, and for those that know me, there are quite a number of those stories.

I was recently told about a new event coming to the FM area this past week though that may give me a chance to reach a larger audience called The Tell. This recurring monthly event is for people to get together and tell stories all based around basic themes like Love, Ingenuity, and my personal favorite, ‘Whoops!’ stories (I’ve got a lot of those).

It’s a small fee to get in to the show - five dollars to be exact - but show up early and let them know that you have a story to tell for the evening. If your name is drawn - since they only pick 10 each night - you get 5 minutes to say your piece. I wouldn’t be afraid to come and see this simply for the rule that heckling isn’t allowed. This is just people like yourself, telling their stories to you, and vice-versa if you’re brave.

They aren’t looking for standup people or for polished acts, just for people telling stories. The “winner” of each night will advance to the final in April for a grand prize that isn’t listed yet, but even if you’re not much of a storyteller and you just want to listen, it still sounds like something fantastic to do with your time on a Tuesday evening.

Either way, I’d encourage all of you to visit at least one of The Tell events that are happening over the next several months. The first one, on October 2nd, (yeah, yeah, homecoming and what have you, but give it a shot) will have the subject of fear for all stories told that evening. Each one will be at Studio 222 on Broadway starting at 7:00pm (potential tellers should arrive there by 6:30). I hope to see some familiar faces and maybe get my chance to tell you another story.

Stanley is a senior majoring in computer science.