Friday, Nov. 20, from 8-10 p.m., the Regeneration Story Slam will take place at the Nelson Fine Art Center in downtown Johnson City.
The story slam has been a part of the storytelling community since 2011. The slam welcomes anyone of the Johnson City community and beyond. This is an opportunity to tell one’s personal stories, as well as hear others.
“Our emcee, Chuck Kanafi, will start off the evening explaining the rules and regulations for the slam and then proceed to randomly select the first teller’s name from the hat,” said storytelling graduate assistant Depreena Robertson. “By the end of the night, everyone has heard seven stories from fellow members of the audience.”
The audience will first here from the randomly chosen storytellers, those who did not get the chance to speak are able to go share their story as an open-mic opportunity, in which the same rules apply to them as those in the competition.
“This opportunity to perform is open to anyone who walks through the door with a story to tell,” Robertson said. “All you have to do to enter is put your name in the hat and cross your fingers that your name is drawn.”
Donations are welcomed and encouraged at the door from around $5 to $10.
“We split that money between the winner and Nelson Fine Art Center,” Robertson said. “The judges are randomly selected members of the audience.”
A variety of stories will be told at the story slam with only 10 minutes to do so.
“We welcome stories with creative interpretations of the theme,” Robertson said. “Stories must be told, not read. The theme for this slam is ‘Child-like’.”
According to Robertson, her favorite part of the slam is hearing new people tell their stories because you learn things about people that would never come up in a regular conversation.
“I enjoy hearing people tell stories because it gives me the chance to connect with others as well as understand my own life,” Robertson said. “My hope is that other people take advantage of that opportunity.”
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