The Hallowell Lyceum Series is calling for storytellers to participate in The Hook Story Hour on May 8, 2015 at Hallowell City Hall Auditorium. Based on the popular radio show “The Moth Radio Hour” heard on MPBN, The Hook Story Hour will be an evening of stories based on real life experiences in the Kennebec Valley told live in front of a supportive audience. The Hook is an old name for an area in the city of Hallowell.

Organizers are looking for anyone with a story they are interested in telling to a live audience. You don’t need to be an author, poet, storyteller, this is open to all who have a story to share! Stories must be true, they must told without scripts and they should be no more than seven minutes in length.

To participate, prepare a two minute pitch for your story (or stories) based on an experience in your life connected to the Kennebec Valley. Gaslight Theater members will hear pitches live at Hallowell City Hall Auditorium on Monday, March 16 at 6:30, or you may upload your video pitch to YouTube or Vimeo and email a link to Gaslight Theater director Richard Bostwick at RDBostwick@yahoo.com.

If your pitch is chosen, Gaslight Theater staff and others will offer optional coaching sessions before the event.

Some guidance for your pitch:

· Have a great first line that sets up the stakes or grabs attention.

Some guidance for your story:

· Stakes are essential in live storytelling. What do you stand to gain or lose? Why is what happens in the story important to you? If you can’t answer this, then perhaps think of a different story or different angle to your story.
· Know your story well enough so you can have fun! Watching you panic to think of the next memorized line is harrowing for the audience. Make an outline, memorize your bullet points and play with the details.
· Steer clear of meandering endings They kill a story!

The Hallowell Lyceum Series is a project of the Hallowell Cultural Committee, a consortium of Hallowell citizens and nonprofits including Gaslight Theater, Harlow Gallery, Hubbard Free Library, Ian Parker Foundation, Row House and Vaughan Homestead Foundation.

For more information, contact Richard Bostwick of Gaslight Theater at RDBostwick@yahoo.com.