SEQUIM — You’ve got five minutes. And you’ve a juicy story from your life. Time to slam.
The North Olympic Peninsula’s first-ever International Story Slam is coming to Olympic Theatre Arts on Thursday, so now is the time, said organizer Ingrid Nixon, to prepare a true, personal story of up to five minutes in telling length.
The theme: “Crossing the Line.” What that means is up to you.
The slam, a tell-off with 10 performers, is aimed at introducing people in these parts to the art of live storytelling in a contest setting.
Nixon, a storyteller based in Sequim, won a grant for this from the National Storytelling Network (www.StoryNet.org) and proceeded to invite eight seasoned storytellers — four from the United States, four from Canada — to compete.
Collaborating with Olympic Theatre Arts, the Story People of Clallam County and The Flame, a group in British Columbia, Nixon wants true personal stories from any and all walks of life.
Along with the four tellers from each country, two more tellers will be randomly chosen from the audience.
Then the slam is on, from 7 p.m. till about 9 p.m. with a short intermission at Olympic Theatre Arts, 414 N. Sequim Ave.
A panel of judges will select one winner.
The prize is not a material one; it’s “only glory,” Nixon said.
She encourages everybody — experienced or novice, Clallam or Jefferson County — to prepare a “crossing the line” story.
At the beginning of the night, would-be participants will place his or her name in a hat before the slam starts. Nixon, mistress of ceremonies, will draw the two names.
If your name doesn’t come up at this first story slam, do not fret, Nixon said. She, Olympic Theatre Arts and the Story People want to hold regular slams from now on.
“In a perfect world, we would have one every month,” she said.
“Olympic Theatre Arts embraced the opportunity,” Nixon added. She finds OTA’s Gathering Hall space ideal: It has comfortable seating and a bar for snacks and drinks, and the venue is located between Port Angeles and Port Townsend.
Slam competitors from the United States include well-known Northwesterners Rebecca Hom, Anne Rutherford, Norm Brecke and Allison Cox; Canadian tellers are to be announced.
For more about the International Story Slam, email Nixon at Newsletter@ClallamStoryPeople.org or go to Olympic TheatreArts.org.
