![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Telling Moments Opening Concert
Mar. 21st, 2010 11:33 amI'm not sure why the three previous events don't count, but last night was the official opening event for Telling Moments, which is a new storytelling theatre for the D.C. area. Jon Spelman performed excerpts from three of his full-length stories, accompanied by Tina Chancey on various stringed instruments.
He started with Tales of the Lincoln, which involves Count Leo Tolstoy telling a group of Chechen warriors about Abraham Lincoln. This was a very witty and entertaining piece, based on a true story. The rest of the first part was from Digging Into Shakespeare. That excerpt was personal material, largely about his bad luck with Shakespearean productions, involving broken hearts and broken bones. There were some very good bits in it, but it felt a bit thrown together out of the context of the full-length show.
The problem of excerpting was there some in the second part, which began with part of Frankenstein. The creature's discovery of how humans interact and his attempts at words were very interesting. But the ending of the excerpt was something of a teaser. The evening finished with another excerpt from Digging Into Shakespeare." This one was the story known variously as "Grassycape" or "Like Meat Loves Salt," which is, of course, the root story of King Lear. It was effective and effectively told and made for a satisfying close to the concert.
All in all, this made for a good showcase of Jon Spelman's considerable talent as a storyteller. Even where the excerpting was a bit unsatisfying, it made me want to see the rest of the show, which is about the most you can expect. If he'd had CDs of the complete shows available, he would probably have sold several. (He did have a CD for sale, but it was a collection of short stories.)
It also made for a nice official opening, with good turn out and a responsive audience. The location (Seeker's Church in Takoma) is convenient to Metro, which is a plus. Parking could be more of an issue. I was working the front door and didn't have a lot of advice to offer people who asked for parking tips other than trying the surrounding streets. I'm really looking forward to the next show, which will be Judith Black (a long-time favorite of mine) on 1 May.
He started with Tales of the Lincoln, which involves Count Leo Tolstoy telling a group of Chechen warriors about Abraham Lincoln. This was a very witty and entertaining piece, based on a true story. The rest of the first part was from Digging Into Shakespeare. That excerpt was personal material, largely about his bad luck with Shakespearean productions, involving broken hearts and broken bones. There were some very good bits in it, but it felt a bit thrown together out of the context of the full-length show.
The problem of excerpting was there some in the second part, which began with part of Frankenstein. The creature's discovery of how humans interact and his attempts at words were very interesting. But the ending of the excerpt was something of a teaser. The evening finished with another excerpt from Digging Into Shakespeare." This one was the story known variously as "Grassycape" or "Like Meat Loves Salt," which is, of course, the root story of King Lear. It was effective and effectively told and made for a satisfying close to the concert.
All in all, this made for a good showcase of Jon Spelman's considerable talent as a storyteller. Even where the excerpting was a bit unsatisfying, it made me want to see the rest of the show, which is about the most you can expect. If he'd had CDs of the complete shows available, he would probably have sold several. (He did have a CD for sale, but it was a collection of short stories.)
It also made for a nice official opening, with good turn out and a responsive audience. The location (Seeker's Church in Takoma) is convenient to Metro, which is a plus. Parking could be more of an issue. I was working the front door and didn't have a lot of advice to offer people who asked for parking tips other than trying the surrounding streets. I'm really looking forward to the next show, which will be Judith Black (a long-time favorite of mine) on 1 May.
