It might be a deathbed confession, or spying on backyard neighbors as a kid. Local storytellers step up with tales as varied as the colors in the rainbow, and as colorful. This Ninth Season of Long Beach Searches for Greatest Storyteller, has brought out the human-ness of our foibles and celebrates the peak moments too.
The first Monday of the month, from January to August, locals step up to tell a true, 6-minute tale. The audience votes, along with three L.B. authors, whose vote count for 5 points instead of one. The winner walks away with $100 cash and the runner-up receives a gift certificate for Malainey’s Grill, where the event takes place. Finals will be held Monday, Aug. 5th, because nothing can interfere with Monday Night Football, right? It is then that the monthly winners all tell their winning story to decide, Long Beach’s Greatest Storyteller.
“Stories are submitted by email. I only need about five lines or so, and that helps me keep the show balanced between the OMG upbeat and poignant stories,” says producer Mariana Williams. Williams is an author of the Veronica Bennett novels; romance, comedy and accidental crime she suggests, are made for beach-reading. She was also a finalist for the NPR Radio show, The Moth, before bringing storytelling to hometown, LB.
The last two shows will be held Monday, June 3, and Monday, July 1. Finals Aug. 5.
For more info:marianaStoryteller@gmail.com, www.marianawilliams.
Courtesy photo
Carol Hastings
