Howl Story Grand Slam – Saranac Lake

2022 Season Theme: All in a Day’s Work

HOWL STORY GRAND SLAM: January 7th at 7:00 PM at Saranac Lake Town Hall

• Theme: All in a Day’s Work
• Pay What You Can $5-10 (Cash, Check, or Venmo adkctr4writing)
• Saranac Lake Village Hall: 36 Main Street, Saranac Lake NY

What is a story slam? It’s a live, spirited storytelling competition. Storytellers (anyone can sign up!) take the stage to tell a true story in under 5 minutes. Judges score the stories, and at the end of the night, a winner is announced. All winners are invited to our annual Grand Slam at the end of the season.

How does HOWL work? Storytellers (you, your friends, and anyone else with a story to tell) put their names in a hat. Names are picked, and (one by one) storytellers take the stage to tell their best story in five minutes. All stories have to be true and come from personal experience. No notes. Do you need to be a professional storyteller? No way! Just tell it from the heart! We choose a few judges from the audience who score every story to select winners of the night.

The Howl Story Slam team is a partnership between Adirondack Center for Writing and North Country Public Radio, two organizations that believe in the power of stories. Check out their websites to see their current offerings.

Tips for Storytellers

• Practice, practice, practice, and prepare for the complexities of telling tales over screen like no big
• True stories, told without notes. This includes scribbles on the back of your hands, our judges have great eyesight.
• Your audience is brilliant and easily distracted, jump right into the action of your story.
• Practice your story as much as possible, on the toilet, during your morning commute, in line for coffee. By the time you arrive at the The Howl Story Slam, you’ll be cool as a cucumber.
• Leave the rants and stand-up routines at home. Bits and pieces of each are welcome, but use humor and rants sparingly!
• Show up and put your name in the hat. When your name is called, you’ve got five minutes to tell your tale!
• Storytellers will be judged on the stories relevance to the night’s theme, a story with a conflict and resolution, and staying in the time limit.