StorySlam: Misunderstood Noncompetitive

It was an exciting night for Ex Fabula’s first noncompetitive StorySlam of season 10. The place was packed to a sold out crowd at The Sugar Maple and it seemed as though all of BayView came out to join us. Misunderstood was the theme and the Tellers came to deliver!

The 5 Languages of Love

To start us off we heard from April, an MPS teacher who practiced the 5 languages of love in her kindergarten classroom. She believes by practicing these guidelines it creates an environment to understand one another and reduces misunderstandings in her classroom and beyond.

A Little Love, Respect & Patience

Next, we heard from Sue, a first time Teller who shared a story about her eighty-year-old father. Her father, a retired NASA employee who couldn’t figure out his new cell phone. After many failed attempts, Sue and her brother gave up trying to help him over the phone. They booked a flight to thier father in New Jersey. It was not Sue or her brother who could teach their father new technology, but it was Sue’s twelve-year-old daughter! It was then, Sue realized that a little respect, love and patience can help us overcome misunderstandings.

Invisible Stories

Not all stories have a resolve, but instead bring a call to action. Like Teller Jacqueline, who shared her invisible disability with the crowd. Due to carbon monoxide poisoning Jacqueline was forced to alter her lifestyle in dramatic ways. Her exposure to carbon monoxide caused her to be intolerant to chemicals such as perfumes and sprays. Because of this, Jacqueline can’t be in many public spaces. Thank you, Jacqueline, for using your voice and story to advocate for many others with invisible disabilities.

A Wild Night in The Rockies

July 2009, it was a “summer to be alive” for Jude. He recounts this wild summer spent in the Rocky Mountains with a group of friends. After a series of misfortunate events, this group of friends met Frank, a German tourist who fancied American ladies. As a prank, Jude and his friends “kidnapped” Frank. After a night of whisky drinking and a whole lot of misunderstandings, Frank was delivered safely in the morning. This story was surely one out of a movie and possibly reminded all of us of that one “wild summer” we’ve all had.

Melika, Melania, Melana

Up next was Melika, a Greek woman named after her grandmother… or so she thought that was her grandmother’s name. Melika went on to explain the tradition of naming Greek children in her family and the meaning of her name “little honey.” Her mother named her after her grandmother but after the ink dried on the certificate, Melika’s grandmother exclaimed “That is not my name! My name is Melania!” Thus, began her journey to the meaning of her name and how it came to be hers. After a visit to Greece and to the mayor’s office to retrieve her mother’s birth certificate, it turns out Melania or Melika were neither of her grandmother’s name at all but it was ‘Melana.’ A huge misunderstanding that no one knew about until this discovery. Her grandmother’s response? “Melika, I didn’t know that was my name either!”

7th Grade was The Best Grade

Zack’s story was short and sweet. Zach reminisced life as a 7thgrader, chosen to play the drum instead of sing in a chorus class. Zack thought this was the best thing to ever happen to him. “I played that drum so well” he said. It wasn’t until he got a little older that he realized, the only reason he was asked to play the drum was because he couldn’t sing. He was perfectly ok with this misunderstanding!

Come in For a “Drink.” No, thanks. 

When in College, Mark left a rose on door of pretty girl he liked. No one knew it was him and he didn’t think he had a chance. They eventually went on a date and then at the end… she asks if he’d like to “come inside her dorm for a “drink.”  Mark said no, because he wasn’t much of a drinker. He later regretted that misunderstanding!

Peter Loves Pugs

Peter May loves pugs and when he was young he had his own grass mowing business, $4 per lawn. Peter had the opportunity to mow the lawn of a local library, about 10x the size of any lawn he had ever mowed. He thought it would be a least a $40 job. But when he arrived at the address he was given, it wasn’t the library at all. It was the librarian’s modest size home with a modest size lawn. When he was done mowing the lawn, the librarian came out, in her hippie attire—not at all like her librarian attire. They talked for a bit and before he knew it he could see down her shirt and began petting her pug really fast! Peter loves pugs.

Thank You!

Huge shouts to The Sugar Maple for hosting us. Extra special thanks to all of our fabulous volunteers and lastly to our season 10 funders and sponsors. With your support we can continue to build community bonds through the art of storytelling! Northwestern Mutual WUWM 89.7 FM – Milwaukee’s NPR Milwaukee Turners at Turner Hall Wisconsin Arts Board Transfer Pizzeria Café Colectivo Coffee LuLu Cafe & Bar We Energies Gorman & Company Brico Fund and CAMPAC!Next StorySlam!

You’re invited to our next StorySlam: Crush at Best Place, Historic Pabst Brewery, 901 W Juneau, Milwaukee, WI 53233Thursday October 25, 2018, 7:30 – 9:45 pm. Advance tickets $10, or $12 at the door. Purchase tickets HERE. See you soon!