Review: Tales Of...

The Story Hour
Tales Of: Firsts
by Christopher Douglas

Dry and warm from the cold rains of Monday night, the charming Rustic Owl hosted the first of a new monthly storytelling series. The evening's theme was Tales of: Firsts - a witty way to launch.  

The quaint environs welcomed a small but friendly crowd to hear six storytellers share their experiences. 

Starting the evening was comedian Marco Bernardi regaling the audience with his tale of growing up and coming out in a small city, and writer/comic Paul Bellini's first funeral. Not Paul's funeral but the first he would attend... for his Italian grandfather... on Paul's 14th birthday... as Paul stared at the shirtless summer-student gravediggers.

Erin Rodgers ably introduced each of her guests with a quick anecdote about their superpowers - including laser vision - before handing over the microphone stand to her co-producer Brian Finch, who told of his adventures with asthma and pot brownies in a local Emergency Room.

Part stand-up comedy and part poetry, these yarn-spinners seem very comfortable making their audience laugh. Also on the roster was Sara Hennessey, a brassy raconteur who spoke of the summer she went to summer camp with a broken back and the resulting fall in a body cast. Naturally puberty just had to hit while she could barely move and she winds up with a crush on her doctor and a bit of, uh, development. 

Other featured guests included Marilla Wex and her story of contradictions and being in the right place at the right time to meet her husband and Sage Tyrtle who touchingly juxtaposed her mother's death with the appearance and eviction of a homeless woman from the park across from Sage's house.

Fast and fun, the audience responded well, encouraging the performers to share a little more than they might have meant to... and hopefully enough to bring everyone back next month for their Festivus theme.

For more information on Tales Of..., check out their Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/533597603322239/.