First Person Salon at the Gershman Y, Mar. 12th
featuring Poet Sonia Sanchez, Musician Evan Solot and Local Filmmakers
First Person Storyslams continue on Mar. 25th @ L’Etage
PHILADELPHIA – First Person Arts continues to provide a platform for memoir and documentary arts and give voice to the city’s creative types through two interactive and engaging series: First Person Storyslams and the new First Person Salons at the Gershman Y. In February, First Person Arts drew an enthusiastic crowd to the Gershman Y for the premiere salon series event. On Wednesday, March 12th, First Person will hold the second salon featuring acclaimed poet Sonia Sanchez, musician Evan Solot, and several local filmmakers who participated in First Person Arts’ 5-day documentary competition.
Held at the Gershman Y (401 S. Broad Street) from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. on second Wednesdays, the salons showcase cutting edge original works by local artists through a variety of artistic mediums, from the written word and documentary film to visual and performing arts. On March 12th, local composer Evan Solot will present a session with poet, activist and scholar Sonia Sanchez. Solot, whose arrangements have been performed by some of the country's leading jazz performers, is in the process of translating Sanchez’s Does Your House Have Lions?, her memoir-based epic poem, into a work featuring an orchestra, rhythm section, and jazz and R&B singers. Solot will play recorded selections from the work-in-progress and lead a discussion with Sanchez about his composition and presentation styles. One of the most important writers of the Black Arts Movement, Sanchez lives and works in Philadelphia.
Local filmmakers who participated in First Person’s 2007 five-day documentary film competition will screen and discuss their short films. Media artist and educator Laura Deutch will screen her film Unspoken. Jere Paolini will present his documentary, Looking for Lucy (accompanied by the film’s subject, Terez Giuliana), and artist Susan Dipronio will screen the film made about her, entitled A Quaint and Curious Volume. Rounding out the diverse group of artists, musicians and filmmakers is storyteller Ray Tackett, who writes about the collective memories which shape our culture. Tackett will read Summer Wind, the true story of one of his early experiments with aerodynamics and its unexpected results.
On March 25, the crowd-pleasing First Person StorySlams continue at L’Etage (6th & Bainbridge Streets) with Philadelphia’s take on the theme: “The Road Not Taken.” The monthly competitive storytelling series, which began in April 2007, has attracted standing room only crowds and a dedicated online audience through monthly liveblogs and videocasts on www.uwishunu.com. Lime Projects’ Laris Kreslin –whose past publishing projects include Sound Collector and Arthur Magazine– will host the March Slam.
Everyone with a true story and a competitive streak is encouraged to participate. Storytellers are invited to share stories that relate to the theme as inventively as they’d like.
At each slam, ten participants have the chance to step up to the mic and tell a story within a five minute time limit. Contestants are judged by their peers, and each month’s highest scorer wins an invitation to the Grand Slam to compete for the title of Philadelphia’s Best Storyteller at the seventh annual First Person Festival of memoir and documentary arts in the fall of 2008.
First Person Arts is a nonprofit organization and producer of the annual First Person Festival and other programs that tap into the power of personal stories and speak to diverse audiences, including people whose voices are not often heard. First Person Arts is guided by the belief that the sharing of personal experience is a powerful way for people to celebrate uniqueness, bridge differences, and find common ground. For more information, please visit www.firstpersonarts.org.
Upcoming First Person Salon Events
Wednesday, March 12; artists: Sonia Sanchez, Evan Solot, Laura Deutch, Jere Paolini, Terez Giuliana, Susan Dipronio and Ray Tackett.
Wednesday, April 9; artists: TBA
Wednesday, May 14; artists: TBA
All First Person Salons are held at the Gershman Y, 401 S. Broad Street
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. every second Wednesday of the month
$5-10 sliding scale
Upcoming First Person Arts StorySlams Events
Tuesday, March 25; theme: The Road Not Taken
Tuesday, April 22; theme: The Awkward Pause
Tuesday, May 27; theme: Secrets
All StorySlams are held at L’Etage, 6th & Bainbridge Streets
Doors open at 7:30 p.m., slams begin at 8:30 p.m.
$5-10 sliding scale, ages 21+
For more information, contact First Person Arts at (267) 402-2056 or www.firstpersonarts.org. Artists working in all media and from all levels of experience, whose work is based in real-life experience, are encouraged to apply to present their work at future Salon events. To apply, visit www.salons.firstpersonarts.org or email salons@firstpersonarts.org. For information about participating in the StorySlams series, email storyslams@firstpersonarts.org.
Press Contact:
Canary Promotion + Design
Emaleigh Doley, emaleighATcanarypromo.com
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