Disaster stories was the theme of April’s (un)told event, hosted by the Ottawa StoryTellers at the Daily Grind on April 28.
(un)told is a monthly event. Story tellers stand in front of the group and tell a five minute long original story.
Stories ranged from a rock climbing fall to a sweet old lady innocently destroying a pair of boots, all the way to a group of cousins being soaked with pee. Some story tellers chose to perform their stories as slam poetry and one woman told a fictional story. This month’s event is only the third (un)told so far, but the audience has been growing with every showing.
“It’s something akin to getting together with our most enigmatic and introspective friends to give those disparate episodes in our heads a place to connect through the spoken word,” (un)told’s website says. “Think of it as one of those great evenings with friends where everyone has something interesting to say.”
The setting at the Grind is very intimate, a small room in the upstairs portion of the building. All the space is used to its utmost capacity. The room is crammed with people eager to listen and everybody seems to know everybody, whether that’s due to the close proximity or because they had genuinely met before. Be warned: the room gets hot fast! However I couldn’t imagine a more intimate setting.
The audience oo’ed and aw’ed, gasped and laughed in all the right places throughout the night – a testament to the caliber of the amateur story tellers and the content they shared. It was a night of fun that personally, I would definitely attend again – and I think the audience and story tellers alike would agree.
(un)told is every fourth Monday of the month. The next will be May 26 and the theme is Third Base. Doors and open-mic sign-up are at 7:30 pm. Event starts at 8 pm at the Daily Grind on 601 Somerset St.W. Pay what you can.
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