Monday, February 10, 2014

Mouthing off


We are super honored to be hosting massmouth at the Nave Gallery Annex during my show Practice. massmouth is a nonprofit organization who promotes the timeless art of storytelling through social media, education and live performance. They conduct story slams throughout the Massachusetts community with competitions that culminate in a semi-final awards event in the spring.

A story slam is a competition based on the art of storytelling. Think of American Idol with narrative. Each event has a specific theme and participants' names are pulled from a hat. The stories are personal experiences that are presented without notes within the timespan of 5 minutes and then judged base on performance and content.

There is an art to storytelling. A system of organizing thoughts, words and presentation to convey a complete idea. It requires thought and practice to be able to focus and get it across. massmouth offers workshops and opportunities to help people to perfect their storytelling.

On Monday evening, March 31, a few signature members of massmouth, including the cofounder Norah Dooley, will perform their stories on the show's theme, Practice. Next, they will provide a fun and friendly how-to session on the art and craft of the story. Then the audience will be encouraged to try their hand at one of their own.

This is not a competitive event but an opportunity to see some amazing local talent, experience great entertainment, learn about the craft and try it out for yourself. There will be food and drink and all who share their story will receive a to fun gift for their efforts too.

Norah Dooley is an accomplished storyteller, author and educator. She has been presenting workshops and stories for people of all ages throughout New England and also in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Phoenix.

There is a suggested freewill donation of $5.00 to attend. All proceeds will go to StoriesLive®, one of the many storytelling programs that Norah and massmouth is involved with. In its fourth year, the StoresLive® program has introduced over 5,000 high school students from 15 Massachusetts high school to the art of 21st century storytelling and awarded over $17,000 in scholarship prizes.

This night has all the ingredients of a wonderful time and we hope to see you there.

massmouth Story Slam: Monday, March 31 at 7 pm 
Practice: art influenced by craft
exhibition dates: March 12 - April 5
reception: March 12, 6-8 pm
Nave Gallery Annex
Davis Square Somerville

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