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Nouveau 47 Theatre does "The Most" A Night of Storytelling

I have been searching for something like The Moth here in Dallas for quite some time. I was convinced it didn't exist and was already making plans to start my own storytelling series here in Oak Cliff. Luckily, I can remain seated at this computer and watch Nicole Stewart and Lacy Lynch do all the work. The duo started a series back in August of 2010 and called it "The Most". I don't know the origins of their series name, or if they're even aware of The Moth series but I do know that I'm thrilled that Dallas has something like this. No offense to my poetry slam pals out there but I really needed a literary event that doesn't involve shouting (reader) or crying (me, because bad poetry is so much worse than bad anything else). And The Moth, er Most has it!

"The Most" is a part of Nouveau 47 Theater's  Monday night Theatre Apprēsh events which are held at the historic Magnolia Lounge in Fair Park. Last night's theme was "Epic Resolutions".

The series cost an easy $5 to attend and they had a keg of beer available for free. You were welcomed (and encouraged) to BYO whatever you wanted to drink. There were concessions and delicious looking homemade brownies made by Andrew Cope (not sure who he is but they advertised him as a BFD on the event page, so I'll do the same). As I was sipping my free light beer and pulling my wristband off my arm air the folks next to us passed us a tin of wasabi snack mix. I offered it (half heartedly) to other listeners but it made it's way back to us, and I was good with that. It was the kitschy-upscale-popcorn to our viewing/listening experience. The hosts even served PB&J after the performance. Strange, but smelled delicious.

Historic Magnolia Lounge in Fair Park
They had 7 storytellers that read around the theme of "Epic Resolutions". They read from pages, unlike the Moth, and all read very well. Most of the stories centered around a breakup and a resolution to love yourself. All smarmy faux inspiration aside these tellers were brave and raw and I liked it. The only thing I'd like to see evolve in the upcoming events is that the joint was lacking diversity. I actually counted the audience members and there were a few asians, a few hispanic folk and one token black guy. None of the tellers (all white) touched on any gay themes and there was a lot of stereotypical hetero humor. "Guys, why won't you commit? Guys, I promise to talk about sex soon so stay with me." (but she didn't. She talked about not having sex. Even I was disappointed with that.) It felt like watching a Cathy comic strip suddenly animate and ask for reassurance. If I had been a straight dude there I would've been a little offended. Despite being promoted by The Dallas Voice there was a serious gay deficiency. Which isn't a bad thing of course. It's just an opportunity for us (homos) to get off the S4 dance floor and do something different. 

The next event is Valentine's Day. The theme is "The Most: Breakups and Makeups" email 1500 words to Lacy@nouveau47.com for a chance to read at the next event. There's a break from The Most in March and they come back in April with "Childhood Memories". 

I hope you'll be a part of Dallas' newest and coolest literary event. 


*Disclaimer*
I did not poll all 60ish audience members for their orientation or race/ethnicity. I'm reporting more on the feel of the event. Also, it was dark when I was counting so if you're half black or 1/4 Native American I couldn't tell. It's not that I hate white people (hell, I am white-ish) I just want a well-rounded storytelling experience. It seemed like all the readers (except for one former hippie lady from Denton - my favorite by far) had a shared experience. Their backgrounds were very similar so their stories were very similar. I like a little grit with my art or at least a little variety. For all I know the tellers were told to keep it grit-free. We'll see at the next one!

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