GRTTWaK reader Daniel Shapiro has decided to start an open-mic series of his own, and I agreed to let him pimp it here. The series is called Awkward Show & Tell, and the first event has the theme, “Things My Ex Gave Me.”
Sounds like a great time. From Daniel:
You know that old box of weird creepy things that you have lying around your apartment… who’s contents you lie to everybody about?
Well, Toronto now has a place to air out all of this dirty laundry.
In the spirit of Grownups Read Things They Wrote As Kids, a new series has emerged called “Awkward Show & Tell” — an irregularly scheduled open mic night, with a special theme each time - the first: Things My Ex Gave Me.
The night will be exactly as the name suggests, with audience members encouraged to bring along and present any sort of vestige that they think appropriate.
Cute poems and sketches. Sad break-up letters. Dirty photos. Scars. Panties. Lousy gifts. Diseases.
It’s all welcome at this gathering of awkwardness and voyeurism.
This is an open-mic event, and reading spots are first-come, first-served the night of the event. That said, if you plan to bring something to read (and you should!), please email me so I have an idea of the numbers.
a few months ago the dirty 30 started to change from a distant idea of me being an ‘adult’ into an anxiety-inducing reality of not being anywhere i though i’d be by now. i was in the midst of such a panic attack when i first heard dan on CBC’s Go. the idea of revisiting my childhood by reading what i actually thought (not looking back with the rose colored glasses of memory) became the best idea for a birthday party ever.
so dan and i decided that it was time to expand the show, and expand it from The Centre of the Universe (aka Toronto) to Our Nation’s Capital (ONC). i chose to host the first event on my 30th birthday.
to my friends and family, this became a shameless birthday media plug (i’m doing it again now). after all, there aren’t too many of us who can say that when we turned thirty our birthday party event was on CBC Radio (three times, plus the web) and in the Ottawa Citizen.
it’s a good thing that i think my birthday should be a national holiday, because thanks to all of the media coverage, this website, facebook and a few other viral (read: lazy) initiatives, over 100 people came to the inaugural edition of GRTTWaK in ONC.
the full house was the kind of crowd you hope for when spilling your retrospective guts on stage - we all cringed, pitied, and laughed along with the readers. and when we hit the occasional kid who actually had talent (a great story by a 15 year old pretending he was 11 and immigrating to canada again, as read by his adult self), the applause was thunderous. as people left the bar, there was a never ending stream of high-fives and when-are-you-doing-this-again?’s.
now that i’m on the other side of thirty, and have spent some time with my 15-year-old-self, i can tell you this: people who value youth/are anxious about growing up (or old) haven’t read their old journals.
thank you to everyone who came out, it was a great night because so many of you came and were willing to participate. we plan on having an event soon - so stay tuned.
sarah
post script: i’m now 30 and 2 days, and i just got carded buying a bottle of wine.
This Wednesday, May 28, at the Gladstone Hotel, Pasha Malla will launch his collection of short stories called The Withdrawl Method. As part of the launch, Pasha plans to read some of his early creative works in an attempt to chart the life of a writer. Pasha has also invited a few GRTTWaK regulars to also Read Things They Wrote as Kids onstage.
Should be a good time. Check out the invitation below, or see the TINARS event listing for more information.
Note: Unlike other GRTTWaK stuff, this is not an open-mic event.
