On the evening of Nov. 15, guests filed into JRH Brewing to watch seven storytellers recount their party experiences as part of the Re-Generation Story Slam.
According to Delanna Reed, a professor within the ETSU Storytelling Department, this version of Story Slam originated from another form of storytelling that shifted the focus from professional tellers to audience members.
“A story slam is a competitive event, but it’s competitive just for fun, just to make it a little more interesting for the listeners, for the people there who are watching in the audience,” Reed said.
Reed also explained how the Story Slams work. There’s a theme each month, and anyone can sign up at the beginning. They fill out a little name sheet, put it in a box and the facilitators draw their names to tell a story. Some other rules include 10-minute or less story times, and it has to be a true story. The stories are judged by three volunteer audience members who tally up their points and decided on who will win.
The stories ranged from a tour director discovering an elderly woman passed out on the bathroom floor at a hotel, to intense Halloween truth or dare, to a car chase through the Jordan deserts.
Tanner O’Caine, a first-year student at ETSU, was the winner of the night, telling a story about a “Rubik’s Cube” party. He received a cash prize of $43, half of the donated money for the night.
“It was kind of difficult to put it all together, but I am glad it turned out well,” O’Caine said. “Not just because it validated me, but it feels good to tell a good story. I have been telling stories for about three months now, and I am starting to get more confident, so I figured give it a go.”
Reed hopes that the Story Slam events give the community a chance to feel involved with the ETSU Storytelling programs.
“We want to do 3 things through these Story Slam competitions,” Reed said. “We want to provide an opportunity where it does not have to be our storytelling students who are always telling, but just somebody. … Secondly, we do want to give an opportunity for our students to have a place to tell stories. The third reason is to make people aware that ETSU’s storytelling program is here, that we have this unique program to offer.”
The next Story Slam will take place Feb. 21. Ten Tellers will be randomly selected for the Slam, and each story will be limited to five minutes or shorter.
To learn more, email the ETSU Storytelling Program at storytel@etsu.edu.
