Much Waiting, Not Much Working...

     Wow, that was a long hard week. Didn't get very much writing done at all, there were so many interruptions to my own work every day. I had been hoping that I could get ahead on a few things while I'm on spring break, and I think I've actually fallen farther behind. I haven't made any progress in finding an agent. Still not sure how to proceed. But the highlight of the week was the Sunday night finale ~ my stand up storytelling debut. It was a lot of fun to do, helped me finalize one of the yarns I'm gathering for my memoir, and it was a pleasure to contribute to raising money for charity. It was so well received we are all thinking about how to keep it or something like it going. It coincides nicely with the work I've been doing at our community radio station to establish a new show along the lines of NPR's StoryCorp. Similar to the black and white column I write, it will consist of the highlights of interviews with local people who might not be heard from otherwise. Here's the PR put out for last night's event. Stay tuned for more info about the impending radio show to be called Seacoast Journal. If you've never checked out the Moth here's a link; http://www.themoth.org/



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Winter's Tale Returns to The Red Door for Final Series Installment, "WAITING"

Last of Three "Storytelling for Grownups" Events
PORTSMOUTH, NH, March 2010 - The end of winter is in sight, and with it comes the last installment in the spoken-word series "A Winter's Tale." This series, featuring true-life tales told without notes before a live audience, debuted on the Seacoast in January and drew standing-room-only crowds to The Red Door in each previous performance. The three-part series concludes this month with stories told by a diverse gathering of local voices, all on the theme "Waiting."

The Red Door Lounge and Martini Bar, 107 State Street, provides a cozy and intimate setting for the experience. The event takes place from 7 - 9 PM, with doors opening at 6:00 for pre-show conversation and cocktails. The $5 admission fee will be donated to Seacoast Local's (H)EAT campaign, an effort to provide food and heating fuel to local residents in need. The event is co-sponsored by RiverRun Bookstore and The Wire.
Some of the Seacoast's best-known raconteurs (and some as-yet-unknown ones) have offered their talents for the event. The format is simply structured: on each night, eight people stand before the crowd, one by one, and tell a true story from their own life experience, depending only on their memories. Stories will be 5-10 minutes long. There are no prizes other than bragging rights.
Producer Michelle Moon says "Waiting is the perfect closing theme for this series. At this time of year, we're all waiting for buds to burst, seedlings to grow, a warm day to dawn. It calls to mind times in life when we've had to deal with patience and impatience, yearning and wishing, passing the time, waiting with tension or waiting with anticipation, or even waiting on other people." Producer Steve Johnson adds, "Great talent, great venue - why wait?" On Sunday night, eight speakers will each offer a unique approach to the theme. They represent a truly interesting and diverse set of local people from the worlds of music, theatre, food, literature, and more: Tammi Truax, Sharon Jones, Rick Dirck, Beth La Montagne, Genevieve Aichele, Evan Mallett, Mark Adams, and Rick Agran.
About "A Winter's Tale"
This series reinvents a tradition as old as humanity for tellers and listeners of the 21st century. It's the Seacoast's contribution to a nationwide storytelling revival sparked by The Moth, a New York City story hour begun by novelist George Dawes Green in 2001. Events inspired by The Moth are popping up across the country, wherever creative storytellers can be found.
Producers Steve Johnson and Michelle Moon, fans of The Moth and frequent participants in local cultural activities, thought that a storytelling event was a perfect fit for the Seacoast's arts scene, and a perfect fit for the quieter and more reflective months of winter.
The Red Door, an "urban lounge" where listeners can recline on comfortable couches and enjoy one-of-a-kind cocktails during the show, is enthusiastic about hosting the show. Additional partnership for the series comes from RiverRun Bookstore, a locally owned independent bookstore known for its creative event schedule and community support, and The Wire newspaper, an independent weekly newspaper resource for information about local music, arts, and culture.
(H)EAT Campaign coordinated by Seacoast Local: Seacoast Local is a not-for-profit network promoting community development in business, agriculture, arts and culture, the environment and civic life in Southern Maine and coastal New Hampshire. Its second annual (H)EAT Campaign aims to raise $40,000 in food and fuel assistance for local people in need.

http://www.seacoastlocal.org/

http://heat-eat.blogspot.com/