Story Night
On August 30, 2001, a loose-knit group of journeymen and women gathered at a private home to explore themes of God--beauty, meaning, and love--through concepts of story.
The original invitation went like this (and should hopefully add some context):
I would like to invite you all to our home for a worship installation and songwriter's showcase Friday August 31st 2001 at 9PM. Please read the description below, then RSVP ("yeahs" only are necessary) by email please.
It will be BYOV (bring yer own vice). Also bring your favourite writing instrument (i.e. pen, pencil, crayon, etc.). It will require you to be semi-mobile and to write.
This installation was inspired by The Apartment, an online art exhibit sponsored by turbulence.org, and a 2001 Webby award nominee. Please check out this work before coming to this installation, particularly read the short "about" page at the website above.
This installation was also inspired by the many ideas out there concerning non-linear and layered narratives. In other words, approaching story in fresh ways. For an online example, check out submethod.com (this might take some patience if you're using a modem). There are many, many more examples I could list; I will give you my set of links at the very end of this email for those who are interested in this sort of thing.
While our installation will not be able to take advantage of technology in the same manner that these sites have, we will be exploring similar ideas in a decidedly low-tech way.
Please tell me in your RSVP what your favourite story is (it can be any story, from any source); keep it succinct (not a whole novel, for example, but one story from that larger narrative).
Hoping to hear from all of you...
There was an additional email sent to try and clarify a couple of questions that came up in response to the first:
To those who have rsvp'd for tomorrow night but haven't sent me their favourite story:
The use of a piece of a story that you have some special connection with is critical to the experience of tomorrow night. I need something that you will immediately connect with as "yours" and have some automatic emotional connection with, and I need it to be recognizable from at *most* one paragraph. Also something unique to you would be best, not necessarily something everyone has an immediate connection with (although that's ok too).
To those who have already provided a story, Rebecca and Denise, thank you!!!! This is just FYI.
Also if you didn't understand the two websites I asked you to look at, don't worry about it. If you did get it, then cool. Just think words, space, non-linear, layered narratives.
The evening commenced with the traditional catching-up and chatting, and around 9:30pm the "night of story" commenced.
Each person's story-piece had been printed on a piece of paper. Since not everyone who came had sent a story, a few stories from the Scriptures were used as well. 11 people, 11 pieces of paper. They were handed out in the kitchen (where else?), and the participants were instructed to go pull up to a table or a piece of floor, and respond to the story they had been handed in any way they felt like. They could continue to the story, draw, do free association, anything. There was no context for the stories--most of the time individuals did not know who had contributed that story or where the story was from. Once done adding to one piece, participants moved to another open piece and again replied, this time to both the original text and whatever had been added by those participants visiting it prior. While we could end up at our original contribution at any given time, we all started out with a story other than the one we ourselves contributed.
Afterward, we all read the various end-results. The original contributor often revealed where the story was from and what the special significance was for them. Then the non-linear nature of the end product came to life, as each person's context, each person's decision to continue a thread or start somewhere new, contributed to the final result.