Our storytelling evening at Landmark Academy in Westport saw 80 audience members and seven storytellers connecting, laughing and sharing. Her are some of Larry Untermeyer's photos of a fabulous evening:
Our seven storytellers enjoyed it too!
Blake Schnirring - a New York baby makes its mark
Ben Jalet's little girl needs her blankie right now
Suzanne Sheridan is a mom to her siblings...
Rebecca Toon - Queen of Disney
Pete Pastorelli nearly comes unglued when wallpapering with his dad
Rob Jackson's kids nearly get him arrested
Joe Limone can babysit without getting into trouble, can't he?
Another great Writers' Cafe yesterday - 15 enthusiastic writers came to share, learn and connect at Ina Chadwick's house. There was so much bragging that we made $18 (at $1 per brag, that's a lot of progress being made by people...)
Here are some of the highlights, with links you may find useful if you'd like more information:
WRITING CONTEST DEADLINE EXTENDED
Our writing contest with the Center for Contemporary Printmaking has had its deadline extended to October 10 at midnight due to Hurricane Irene, and because of some apparent confusion about the subject. The prompt is Deja Vu - Have you been here before? Do you wish you'd been here before? Did you only dream this? Did the dream come true? We're looking for personal memoirs. You may use Jack Boul's art to inspire you, but you needn't use his subjects. Here's the link for submissions
http://www.contemprints.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=146:writing-competition&catid=2:latest&Itemid=4
STORYTELLING NEXT MONDAY
Ina's company, Mouse Muse Productions, organizes storytelling evenings throughout the year. Our next one is on Monday September 19th, at the Landmark Academy in Westport. The topic: "Adventures in parenting". Come and hear 8 friends and neighbors tell their stories of parenting joys, disasters and poignant memories. As writers, you'll be interested in the way in which we help them craft their stories into 8 minute gems. $20 buys you entrance, drinks, food and a chance to connect with others. Email me if you'd like me to hold tickets for you, or walk in.
ECHOOK LAUNCH NEXT TUESDAY AT B&N
Ina and I will be among the eight writers helping to launch Echook's short story app at Barnes and Noble next Tuesday at 7pm. This is a great networking event for writers, with local authors, writers, publicists and editors. And it's free! Here's the link for full details: http://echook.com/sept-20-event/
BRAGGING RIGHTS
Alex McNab has snared Robert Ellis (author of the Lena Gamble police thrillers) as a guest blogger for the October issue of the Fairfield Writer's blog fairfieldwriter.wordpress.com/
Christine Shaffer's winning entry for the Fairfield Library's writing contest has been published in a volume entitled "Around the Table". I'm nagging the Library to provide copies for purchase and will keep you updated.
Margaret Wagner submitted a mixed media piece to the Westport Arts Center's current show. (Not accepted, but it's doing it that counts.) I love crossover creativity!
Penny Pearlman's 2009 book Pretty Smart, has been chosen as a class textbook for a sociology class in pop culture Suffolk University in Boston, and she'll be guest lecturing there. She'll also be a judge in the next Miss Boston contest...you never know where writing will take you. In addition, she will be teaching a class at the Hudson Valley Writers' Center: Secrets of Successful Interviewing for Writers. http://www.writerscenter.org/, and is helping to organize an authors luncheon with Danny Meyer (Shake Shack etc) to raise money for the Leukemia Society on Nov 2. www.lls.org/ct/starwrite
Robert Steven Williams, had 8 stories published in a comic book which has been nominated for the Oscar of comic books - The Harvey. Way to go!
Jane Sherman is submitting work, and reworking her memoir.
Ryan Devlin has written a pilot for a TV show, and his wife Kara Holden, is currently being paid to write for the screen.
Barbara Stokes has written an article she'd going to submit. Her first ever. Great!
Lisa Calderone is developing a new website: http://mahjonggmemoirs.com as a tribute to her mother Millie, who's been playing for 70 years. And she'll be teaching an online class in Literary journalism during the January semester at Fairfield U.
Ivy Eisenberg was a runner up in a contest for America's Funniest Humor. Personally, I think she should have won - here's the link so you can judge for yourself. http://humorpress.com/Results/Essays-200812-200901/aa-Winners/Essay-200812-200901-Winners.htm#4
MFA's - Worth the time and money?
This provoked an interesting conversation. MFA graduate Lisa Calderone, Christine Shaffer and Jane Sherman who had all taken low-residency MFA's at Fairfield U were in agreement on the main benefits of an MFA:
An MFA produces a sense of community and a thorough education in the craft of writing.
Having academic expectations and deadlines makes people focus on their writing.
You can teach writing with an MFA degree
You develop a network of connections among both students and faculty.
Kara Holden had taken an MPW (Master of Professional writing at USC. This was a full time course, and she agreed that the benefits were great. Among them, in particular, was the quality of teachers and mentors.
Here's the link to Writers' Relief, a submissions agency, requested by people yesterday: http://www.writersrelief.com/
On October 6 we debut at an amazing facility right down the road on Beach Road in Fairfield. It's the brand new Fairfield Museum. If you haven't been there, you'll be blown away when you do wander through. It's nothing rinky dink, I swear. Our storytelling is the Awake After Dark program we've done so successfully elsewhere. And for this special place, it's called Stories on the Green. Fairfield was the original town that gave life to Westport, and to all of the other towns around that are called Fairfield County. For reasons that defy my logic for living in New England (with attitude) we don't have "Greens" like the one that was left in tact in Fairfield. They also have sidewalks.
The Green is where all of the "stories" could be heard during the days before no telephones, cars, etc. You walked on the Green and you met folks you wanted to talk to. Or folks you didn't want to talk to...but they were there in the wide open public space. You read the Town Crier information posted on a board on the Green, before newspapers. You heard "Hear Ye, Hear Ye," and you could know who was in the jail for the night--- drunk and disorderly. Maybe it was me?
The exhibit that is going up at FMHC on September 24th is all about the development of performance theater after the railroad came barreling up the road from Altoona or even New York and into Fairfield County. It's called "BRAVO! A Century of Theatre in Fairfield County" The FMHC is actually building sets of the real Westport Country Playhouse, Lucille Lortel Barn and the famed, but now defunct, (we hope not forever) Shakespeare in Stratford CT.
The first play we decided to highlight from the incredible archives going into this museum for in our storytelling series is, "Our Town," by Thornton Wilder. But we are calling for themes about your little town, even if it's a big city.
In your neighborhood, your town, there may have been rumors about the people at the end of the block, there are always the kindly old couples who walk by everyday. You may have been the high school hero, or the one who went to reform school. Who knows? As Paul Simon wrote, "In my little town/I grew up believing god shines his light on us all/ as I pledged allegiance to the wall." Where did you say the pledge of allegiance. We want to know. Give us a buzz or shoot us an email and let's hear about your town, foreign or next door.
Why you stayed? Why you strayed?
