Students tell stories, deliver laughs

An audience listens as a performer delivers their story. The story slam invites anyone who likes to tell stories and has an imagination.

“And so I did what any older sibling would do: I punched ‘em in the face!”

 Laughter filled the room.

“I mean c’mon, they stole my Nutty Bars.”

Stories like these are commonplace at the bi-weekly Story Slam held on Saturdays in the lounge at Avonlea Apartments.

The Rexburg Story Slam, organized by seniors Randy Lybert, Josh Alvarez and Erin Hong, is a mini storytelling competition featuring students who take turns telling five-minute stories based on a theme.

“Erin introduced me to a podcast called ‘The Moth,’ where they basically do the same thing,” Lybert said, a senior studying communication. “We decided we wanted to try something similar here in Rexburg.”

The first competition in June was themed “frenemies.”

Every student who wanted to participate put their name in a hat, and the names were drawn in random order. Three audience members judged each contestant with a score based on content, delivery and a five-minute time limit.

After a short intermission, one of the audience members showed up with a box of Nutty Bars to give to the eager-eyed crowd.

“Last week we gave away a Jamba Juice gift certificate to the winner, and this week we’re giving away a free 30-minute massage,” said Hong, a senior studying communication who has a camera and microphone set up to record the stories for her podcast.

Lybert asked the crowd for suggestions on what to name the competition.

Someone’s suggestion of “word vomit” was met with an amused look.

“We really wanted to create a fun place with free entertainment,” said Alvarez, a senior studying political science. “Our hope is that this keeps going after we’re gone.”

The prize was awarded, and most agreed that this was the best slam so far.

Last Saturday, Rexburg Story Slam held another event, themed “Liar Liar pants on fire.’”

Story Views: 287
Comments: