A Berkeley storytelling series is drawing crowds by doing the opposite of a story slam: no judges, no winners, just storytellers who spend weeks working on their stories together, Berkeleyside reported.
Why it matters: First Person Story focuses on people who are often left out of storytelling stages, including people of color, women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ people, low-income people and seniors.
How it works
The series was founded in January 2023 by Harriett Jernigan, a Moth GrandSLAM winner who teaches writing and rhetoric at Stanford, Berkeleyside reported. She started it after deciding the competitive slam format could be hard on new storytellers.
"Our spirit is inclusive rather than competitive, and process- rather than product-oriented," the group's website says.
Cohorts of typically five storytellers workshop their stories for free and get a $100 stipend paid for by ticket sales, according to Berkeleyside. The website says each event centers on a theme.
A fencing club stage
Shows take place at the West Berkeley Fencing Club on Addison Street, where Jernigan, a competitive fencer, met her husband. The Oct. 9 All Star show featured seven stories from longtime participants. Admission is $20 and includes snacks.
The series holds four shows a season, in January, April, June and October, Berkeleyside reported.
"What Harriett's doing is unique," said Eva Schlesinger of Berkeley, a past performer. "You get training. You have a cohort to work with."