This last April I had the privilege of telling a story on stage at Back Fence PDX, the innovative storytelling event brought to us by @melissalion and Frayn Masters at Portland’s Mission Theater. At Back Fence, regular folks get up on stage and each tells a true, personal, unrehearsed story that lasts no longer than eight minutes, all linked to a general theme for the evening. Melissa and Frayn preselect the storytellers and audition their stories before the event, so it’s not an open mike. Back Fence is more like blogging live in a nightclub.
My story for the evening’s “fish out of water” theme recounted some misadventures in my unorthodox schooling and an all-too easy walkabout in wild Utah that together ultimately led to the simple lesson: when all else fails, study hard for the SAT.
Watch my whole 8-minute story below. Excuse the choppy video and wear your headphones to catch the audio.
In June, Back Fence was back, this time with a story from the whitest African-American I know, Rael Dornfest, the craggy mind behind the now-mythic Values of N and a user experience engineer at Twitter. Rael told the tale of his family’s wild ride into the dark heart and eventually out of apartheid South Africa to the tune of that night’s theme: “caught red-handed”.
Also in June, Back Fence featured the precariously Kentuckian @jshardison with a real “don’t try this at home” story dripping with Southern atmosphere and exploded bits. I have no idea what this man is or does, but I just try to stay at a safe distance.
Videos of Rael’s and Jeff’s stories weren’t captured, but bring your funny bone, your dy-NO-mite and your “what have I done lately” for social justice to Back Fence this coming Fall. Get thee hence for local, organic, homemade entertainment.
