The Story of My MassMouth Story (also, video)

Last Arisia I was told by the inimitable Michael Anderson (of "A Bloody Deed" fame) about MassMouth. MassMouth is a local organization for the promotion of the art of storytelling, which hosts periodic "story slams" around the state. These slams are basically themed open-mic competitions. Each evening has a theme, anyone who wants to can sign up to tell a story on that theme, with the only restrictions being that it has to be five minutes or less, a true story based on your own experiences, and told without notes.

A few weeks ago I went to my first slam not realizing any of this, thinking I was instead going to just see some people tell stories. When I found out it was open-mic, at first I didn't think I had anything that could work for the theme, "pranked", but then I realized that one of my staples, a story I've been telling since the mid 90s, could fit perfectly with just a bit of tweaking. And so, I threw my name into the hat:

Long story short, out of ten storytellers, I won first place! :) I am now the proud owner of a MassMouth mug, a gift certificate to a local restaurant, and an invitation to tell the story again at the semi-final event some time in March. I'll let folks know if and when I get more details.

In the mean-time, you can hear all the other winners of the season so far here!