Storytelling event calls Drekker new home

Culture | December 9th, 2015

The next edition of the Tell starts Thursday, Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. and marks the first time the event’s been held at Drekker Brewing Company, following the closing of its former home at Studio 222.

The Tell is a storytelling event where audience members put their names in a hat and are randomly selected to tell a true story in six minutes or less. At the end of the night, a winner is announced and that winner moves on to the Tell Off in April, where he or she will compete against the winners of other months for a cash prize.

“It sounds like it would be like a poetry slam, but not really,” says Laura Egland, who runs the event. “We have a bar. We have musicians.”

Each event has a theme and sticking to that theme will give storytellers a better chance of winning. December’s theme is “Home Sweet Home.”

“It’s totally open to interpretation,” Egland says, going on to say that it could be a story about your home or it could be about the Motley Crue song.

There aren’t many guidelines for stories, but Egland stresses that they must be factual: real stories from real people. The stories should be conversational, not well-practiced monologues, and the event shouldn’t be used as a soapbox for people to push their opinions on others. Stories often vary from one to another, although many tellers shoot for humorous ones. “There’s a few people who have gone serious and I love those,” Egland says.

While people under the age of 21 were able to attend before, the event is now 21 and older, due to the move to Drekker. “If you’re coming expecting a family show, you’re wrong,” she says.

Typically, the event also features a musical guest, but Egland is unsure about who will be performing this time. “We’ve had everybody from Eden Parker and Dr. Warren Christiansen and Randi Olsen to Darrin Wentz up on stage, and Rob Ashe is another favorite,” she says.

The Tell is partnered with Grassfire Storytellers, who records and edits videos of the stories, which are then uploaded on to the Tell’s YouTube channel. It’s a partnership Egland values greatly. “Without them we would be back to the first two seasons, which was just recording audio and having a black screen on YouTube,” she says.

While the Tell gives people an opportunity to share stories and win prizes, there’s a deeper purpose: human connection. “To me, storytelling is about bonding and allowing other people to heal through recognizing yourself in someone else,” she says.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or through thetellfargo.brownpapertickets.com.

IF YOU GO

The Tell, Season 4: December

Thu, Dec. 10, 7:30-10 p.m.

Drekker Brewing Company, 630 First Ave. N. Suite 6, Fargo