To understand the philosophy behind Story Slam!, turn down the noise level and go back to basics – which is what Mark Woods and company have done with their newly-refurbished space at 1401 Central Ave. Pass through the front lobby and a doorway and you find a high-ceilinged room with dark walls, and an eclectic mix of couches, chairs and theater seats around a raised stage.
This, in Woods’ vision, is where the magic happens. “This is intimate,” he says of this stage, which he doesn’t think of as “empty space” in the traditional sense but as a place full of potential – for plays among other art forms. For the past decade, Woods has worked with Randell Haynes and other collaborators at New River Dramatists, a research and development initiative located in Mooresville, NC for writers, actors, and directors. Now, instead of focusing on developing stories with the artists themselves, the public has an opportunity to experience the storytelling process in a unique environment.
As with Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Our Town, a recent reading of Wendy Hammond’s Absence takes place on a stage bare of scenery and props. The actors, seated onstage, have rehearsed their parts and speak them with emotion; the audience hears the stage directions read aloud. The 40 or so audience members look on, laugh, nod – and, most importantly, imagine. “We want to do our best to approximate a living room environment, so people feel less constricted than at a traditional theatrical performance,” Woods says.
“We will never ‘produce’ a play here,” says Bob Nulf, part of the creative team who helps manage the facility. For Nulf, this place and approach form part of a way to start answering a question about the overload of media that plagues today’s consumer: “With television, movies, cable, the Internet, with all of that, why hasn’t storytelling gotten any better?” “Here,” Nulf says, “it’s all process, and we want you to be a part of it.” At Story Slam! the audience has a chance to react to the work.
Following a performance or a reading, those who’ve heard poems or a play can ask questions and share their reactions. In part, Nulf says, this is what made New River such an engaging experience: “The playwright has been so close to this piece of paper… When he believes a play may be saying one thing, the audience may be hearing something else.” For many writers, hearing their work read at Story Slam! could be their first experience with the work off of the printed page. And the intimacy of the surroundings adds an honesty not seen elsewhere.
“You’re not being manipulated by the music at the end of the film,” Woods says. He believes the way that heroic music rises to a crescendo is tantamount to telling an audience how to respond to what’s being seen and heard. So much of the energy involved in a traditional theatrical production, he says, goes into the packaging. “For me, the ability to back off and focus on process is exciting.”
Unlike New River’s original focus on drama, there’s more to Story Slam! than a stage. The rooms surrounding that performance space will be home to a variety of ventures – the group’s offices, an artist’s studio, and guitar performances. In addition to performance and classroom space, an on-site broadband connection is already being used for one webcast, Wine Island Village – an interactive online wine tasting that’s followed on Facebook and via live chat.
And Woods and company want the public to make use of the facilities. “We want this space to be used all day,” Nulf says. The bulk of the building, which also houses Café Central, is being occupied by Woods and his collaborators in exchange for the cost of operating expenses while Story Slam! has a chance to make its mark in Plaza Midwood.
Support in doing so has appeared almost miraculously, says Debbie Fitts, who’s helping with the business side of the group. A veteran of the Charlotte Repertory Theatre Company, she brings both practical experience and passion. “Everywhere we go, people want to help,” Fitts says. “They’re bending over backwards.” And interest is growing.
For the month of October, Story Slam! is busy every weekend with readings and special events. The Edge Theater Company of Rock Hill will present The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later there on Oct. 12, which will be followed by an interactive event involving the New York cast.
And there’s still room to grow. The center of the building, currently unoccupied, would be ideal for transformation into a dynamic performance space, Nulf says. Instead of an audience of about 60, larger groups could gather for concerts, poetry readings, theater and other forms of art. But the variety and the intimacy of the space would work in tandem with the experience of storytelling, art, and music where the audience is an integral part of the experience.
“That’s what I want to see for that Plaza Midwood space,” Woods said. “I think the more opportunity the ticket-buying public has to be moved, the more they’ll embrace it.”
EVENTS:
All events at Story Slam!, 1401 Central Ave. next to Café Central.
Oct. 2-3: Augusta by Richard Dresser
Oct. 7: A reading of Death Insurance, a new screenplay by Thomas Morgan
Oct. 9-10: Absence by Wendy Hammond
Oct. 12: Edge Theater Company presents The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later
Oct. 16-17: BYOB: A Ta-Ta Fantasia by Gina Stewart, Brenda Gambill, Crystal Dempsey and friends, in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Oct. 24-24: Paint It Black: Stories by Alethea Black
Oct. 30-31: Scary Movie Mania
For more information on performances or to purchase advance tickets, visit www.StorySlamCharlotte.com