by Christine Kuramoto
The Falcon Bowl, a Riverwest institution, built circa 1881, is the perfect place for a storytelling event called, “Ancestors.” The building is currently owned by Riverwest Investment Co-op, a Riverwest-based community redevelopment group, and provides a performance venue for rising Wisconsin-based music groups. Historically, though, – according to OnMilwaukee Magazine, these walls have seen almost every variety of human story: Tavern, Polish culture club, bowling alley, dance hall, union organizing, Sheepshead tournaments, Riverwest Follies and the annual Blessing of the Bock. Indeed, the ancestors were here at ALL STARS, and they had a GOOD time.
Tracy Stockwell opened her story, and the night, by singing, “All of Me,” by Billie Holiday. The song becomes part of her story, an anthem of self-acceptance and self-celebration as she described her status as the descendant of people from more than 20 different ethnicities. Her ancestors include Grandma Ginger, a sparkling survivor of Prohibition, who may have known a Chicago mob boss or two.
Mark Steidl told of being raised by a strong-willed, eccentric, but loving mother who taught him that stupid was a bad word and belittling should never happen in their home. She paired her kindness with a sense of adventure – “did it her way,” including skydiving, motorcycling, and the occasional speeding ticket.
Maria Kovacs-Houlihan: A Deaf storyteller, Maria related the story of her father, also Deaf, who was almost not allowed to come to the United States as a World War II refugee. Refugees with disabilities were usually screened out. After her father aced an unofficial “intelligence” test, their family boarded a ship. Onboard, their kindness and care for a fellow refugee led them to be invited to join her family in Michigan, where they settled.
Julie Sorden: In the worldview of this storyteller’s father, there are Outlaws, and there are Chumps. Outlaws (clever people) outsmart and profit from Chumps (everybody else). As a favored child and an outlaw, Julie was allowed to help in the “family business,” a series of criminal enterprises. She then told of the challenge of raising her own son to value generosity and honesty. Together they spearheaded a fundraiser for the families of 9/11.
Shawn Mitchell: After an early childhood that included molestation and torture, the storyteller was sent to live with the family matriarch, Big Mama, in St. Louis in a red brick house that somehow became the center of everything solid in an unstable world–a real home that included Big Mama quilts, famous fart stories, and unlikely–but loving–family.
Jessica Palmert: Storyteller who felt that she had been taught that “white people don’t have ancestors,” told of being sent to a class which featured recording and connecting to her dreams at night–with unexpected results. These included learning that those who have passed on may appear again in her life–as everything from cardinals, to rediscovered neighborhoods, to life-affirming coincidences.
The audience had a difficult decision, but Ex Fabula crown of the evening went to Julie Sorden. The audience particularly loved Queen “Unruly Julie,” as her father called her, for the hilariously detailed tales of moonshine, prying serial numbers off stolen appliances, and a fake charity that benefited “TheNeedy,” her father’s sailboat.
Upcoming Ex Fabula Events:
Pride Week Teen StorySlam 6/3
Date: Wednesday, June 3
Time: 5:00PM doors, 5:30PM stories
Location: First Stage, 325 W Walnut St, Milwaukee, WI 53212
Cost: FREE! (Save your seat here)
Teen StorySlam 6/23
Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Time: 3:30PM doors, 4PM stories
Location: Mitchell Street Library, 906 W Historic Mitchell St, Milwaukee, WI 53204
Cost: FREE! (Save your seat here)
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