Adams Theater Bringing Local Stories to Life
ADAMS, Mass. — The Adams Theater is bringing local stories to life for a weekend later this summer.
Theater owner Yina Moore is collaborating for the second year with Life Jacket Theatre Company, which empowers underserved individuals in telling their stories through live theatrical performance.
Moore said StorySlam reached out to a diverse age groups and backgrounds in the Berkshires, and she was excited how well it turned out last year.
"The event was so successful, I have so many people who came and was just so impressed by both the authenticity of the stories as well as the professional kind of production that Life Jacket Theatre puts on," she said. "We decided that this is going to be coming back, this has to have several additions, because we can grow on it."
StorySlam embodies the mission of the Adams Theater, she continued.
"It is a very human-centric, human-first project. We do present shows and do residencies and bring outside artists or outside artistry into the space, but when we are thinking about our programming, we always want to ask ourselves these questions — why we bring this performance here, why we bring this outside theater here, and what is the relevance to the local local community," Moore said.
"So I think the storytelling project fits into our community-first approach, but also fits into our pursuit for artistry excellence. How do we take the story, the raw material of everyday people who live here, their pain, their passion, their thrill, and then elevated under the spot? So the project itself, I think, reflects what Adams Theater is."
The decade-old Life Jacket is based in New York City and has been nominated for more than a dozen awards. It offers coaching for participants in the StorySlam. Sarah Schlossberg, who sits on the board of directors, said the company wants to share people's stories in a unique way.
"Life Jacket Theatre is really focused on bringing documentary storytelling to life in various ways. It's our goal to share these stories with communities so they can be exposed to differing points of view and parts of history that may not be as obvious or as upfront as other history," she said.
"So we're really like digging into a lot of historical data in order to bring our shows to life as a theater. But part of our work is also very community based and teaching people in our communities through our education arm about how to tell their own stories and connect with their communities."
Moore said her relationship with Life Jacket's Artistic Director Travis Lee Russ helped bring StorySlam to life as they had wanted to collaborate on a local storytelling event specific to the Berkshires.
It's not just a matter of getting on stage — the theater was looking to share compelling and underserved stories from people's lived experiences.
The company held auditions in the winter that attracted around 40 people, who were then narrowed down to eight, including one person who had spoken last year.
"This is going to be a meaningful experience for everyone. You're going to have the opportunity to listen to these beautiful stories and realize all of the interconnections, not only in the community but in humanity as well," Schlossberg said. "So they will laugh, they will probably cry, and come out hopefully with a great appreciation for other people in their neighborhoods, in their communities, and beyond."
Rose Oliver of Williamstown is a retired registered nurse who loved last year's StorySlam and had hoped it would return. Now she's going to be taking the stage in August.
She loves to write poems, belongs to writing groups and leads a memoir writing workshop at a senior center. She believes storytelling is a powerful way to build community, highlight shared struggles, and show how similar people are despite differences.
Oliver did not want to give away much of what she plans to be telling at this year's StorySlam but says she feels it needs to be told, especially in the current cultural climate.
"It's a story that needs to be told, and it's a story from a group that I belong to that rarely really gets an airing in public, and I think in the current culture that we're in, I feel like it's a voice that needs to be heard," she said. "It's about a struggle. It's about a dream that I had that some pretty awful things happened that made that dream not possible, and how I overcame the crushing disappointment."
North Adams' Heather Farley also decided to share a personal story. She is an experienced storyteller who has shared stories for RISK! a storytelling podcast in New York City.
Farley also did not want to give away what she would say, other than it includes neighborhood, community, compassion, and the wonder of happenstance when you run into someone you never expected to see again.
She thought it was important to share stories with others as it can help to inspire them.
"What I love about storytelling is that, as opposed to some other art forms, be they visual arts or performance arts, everyone has stories, everyone," Farley said. "You don't have to be able to play an instrument or have training or have a technical skill to tell a story, and I think that I like the idea of inspiring the community to look at experiences they've had and thought, 'wow, you know, sharing this with someone could be meaningful to them in a way I didn't realize' ...
"What I also think is important to bring to the community, is that there is a lot we can learn about how to treat one another as a community through our experiences."
Another storyteller, X.Roman, has lived in the county for a couple years and recently finished his autobiography "The Order from My Chaos." A friend who read his book said he should audition for StorySlam.
He said he currently is not fixed on one story as he hasn't met with coaches yet, but says it might be about his traumatic childhood experiences that have shaped him to who he is today and how they’ve reframed and transformed the experience into something positive.
He said this event is a great place for people to share their messages and stories.
"So to have one place, one stage where people can come and share their stories and hear it and just like really hone in on it on the message that they want to get out there and you know sharpen that skill. I mean that's priceless."
Other storytellers will be Jamal Ahamad, Joe Filkins, Amanda McCormick, Cara Mead, Autumn Phoenix, and Dr. Matt Smith.
You will be able to hear these storytellers on Saturday, Aug. 15, at 7:30 p.m. at Adams Theater, and Sunday, Aug. 16, at 3 p.m. at '62 Center for Theatre and Dance in Williamstown. Tickets can be purchased on the website.
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