For the first time at Speak Easy, we went off-script — literally — and had our speakers tell stories from the heart with nothing written to fall back on. It was Speak Easy: Stories without a Net held on Sunday March 10 at Cheshire, and if the response form our sold-put audience was an indicator it was a huge success. There were stories of overcoming personal struggles, surviving death, chasing down bad guys, long distant relationships that weren’t what they seemed, and more.
Storytelling goes back to a time long before the written word, and it’s an art that we want to encourage and promote. After this recent show, we know we’ll be hosting another storytelling event in the future.
Next Up: We’re back to our usual format on April 14 with nine readers sharing their short works for prose and poetry. Come check it out! Get your tickets here.
Line up for Speak Easy No. 27, Sunday 3/10/2019 at Cheshire:
Fight or Flight — Scott Seifritz Living at Home — Chen-Eddy Wang The Second to Worst Date, Like, Ever — Evvy Fanning Laid to Rest — Stacey Freed The Ostkurve — Robert Shelton The Impact — Abby Adair Reinhard Hello New York Princess…The Man Who Faked His Own Death on Me — Ms. Donnell Adler Old Lady Emma — Rick Merritt
Special thanks to Martin Petrella for Photography!
Speak Easy No. 27!
It’s a full house!
David in action behind the bar.
Your MC and co-founder of Rochester Spoken Word, Scott Seifritz, kicks off the show.
Scott telling his story, Fight or Flight.
Scott gets some laughs.
Next up, Chen-Eddy Wang visits our stage for the first time.
Chen-Eddy telling his story, Living at Home.
Rochester Spoken Word Co-Founder, and Cheshire Proprietress, Evvy Fanning takes the stage!
Evvy telling her story, The Second to Worst Date, Like, Ever.
We’re always happy to have Stacey Freed visit Speak Easy.
Stacey telling her story, Laid to Rest.
Intermission! Time to refresh the drinks and mingle.
Scott takes a moment to check on some things.
Everyone has a good time at Speak Easy!
Our friend and occasional popcorn chef, Kathy Collina, enjoying herself.
Act II begins with Speak Easy regular, Robert Shelton.
Robert has the audience laughing.
Roberts telling his story, The Ostkurve.
Next up and visiting our stage for the fist time is Abby Adair Reinhard.
The audience is drawn into Abby’s story.
Abby telling her story, The Impact.
It helps to take notes for the Q&A.
Another first-timer at Speak Easy, Donnell Adler, is up!
Donnell telling her story, Hello New York Princess…The Man Who Faked His Own Death on Me.
Donnell gets the laughs.
We finish up with our favorite storyteller, Rick Merritt.
Rick telling his story, Old Lady Emma.
The audience always enjoys Rick’s stories.
It’s time for the Q&A!
Past reader, Lise Kunkle, asks a question.
Donnell gives an answer.
Chen-Eddy poses a question to Rick.
Friend of Speak Easy and man of many questions, Jared Mistretta, does his thing.
