How to Participate

extempo

The name of the event is extempo; short for extemporaneous. Webster’s explains it perfectly: “Carefully prepared but delivered without notes or text.” This is a live storytelling event that is open mic to any adult who comes prepared with a TRUE, FIRST-PERSON, ORIGINAL, well rehearsed story from his or her own life. Stories must have been practiced enough in advance to be delivered live without notes or text and run five to seven-and-a-half minutes in length.

Interested in participating? Storytellers sign up in advance, & in the meantime here’s all you need to know:

• NOT a poetry slam, NOT stand-up comedy, NOT a reading.
• Tell an original, 1st-person, true STORY from your own life only! No folk tales, fables, legends, nonoriginal material, etc. (HINT: If your story begins with the unironic use of "Once upon a time," extempo is the wrong forum for your kind of storytelling.)
• Your story must be rehearsed! While "rehearsal" can look like different things to different people...
PLEASE PRACTICE YOUR STORY BEFORE TELLING IT AT EXTEMPO.
• It should be evident in the telling that your story was prepared in advance to come off smoothly yet also look & sound dynamic.
• The mic is NOT open to people jumping up spur-of-the-moment and telling an unrehearsed story. Remember that the storytelling at this event is extemporaneous (see the Webster's definition above), NOT impromptu.
• The telling of your story out loud must run FIVE TO SEVEN-AND-A-HALF MINUTES (5:00 — 7:30): NO MORE, NO LESS! Time yourself when you practice, since you will be timed at the event (and ineligible to win if too long or too short).
• No reading, no crib sheets, no cue cards, no prompting. (CHICKEN)
• No rote recitation or word-for-word delivery from memory. (BORING)
• Any mood is OK; any topic is OK. There is no theme. Stories may be about anything & can be serious, humorous, sad, a mix, etc.
• A jury scores your storytelling on all of the above criteria. Everyone who tells a story is rewarded by the self-satisfaction of a brave job well done. Additionally, .mp3s of the top-ranked stories that fall within the time constraints are posted here.

Aside from telling a story, you can also participate in extempo in other ways. At every event one timekeeper and three jurors help to administer the proceedings. Anyone volunteering for these positions (as well as storytellers, of course) gets in for free!

Storytelling events have a history of being powerful, moving, & transformational (for tellers & listeners). And as the Burlington Vermont playwright Adriano Shaplin says, "The only reason to tell a story about the past is to tell a story about the present."

To sign up or ask a question, email: storytelling@extempoVT.com