February 25th: World Commedia dell'Arte Day with Orfeo Group

The Italian cultural agency, Associazione SAT, has declared February 25th World Commedia dell'Arte Day so to lobby UNESCO to recognize the Commedia as a World Cultural Heritage. The Washington D.C.-based Faction of Fools has in turn joined in in organizing a day of activities outside Italy: encouraging artists, audiences, scholars, and students to celebrate the legacy of Commedia dell'Arte!

I will be joining Boston University professor, Judith Chaffee (visit her Commedia dell'Arte Website) and Orfeo Group Theatre for a presentation following Thursday night's performance of Pierre Marivaux' The Island of Slaves at Boston Center for the Arts.

Special thanks to Eric Bornstein of Behind the Mask who was originally invited to present, but due to a scheduling conflict asked me to go in his place.

Some Clips from "Errors of Eros"

I was invited to co-host massmouth's "Errors of Eros" story slam as part of a new initiative to build connections between practitioners of different performing arts. The idea is that each event would be co-hosted by a seasoned storyteller (in this case, Laura Packer) and a guest, which this particular evening was yours truly, representing physical theatre and playwriting.

For me, the evening was a great opportunity to step out of both my usual repertoire and usual idioms. There was also some good rapport that developed between Laura and myself over the course of the show, but a lot of that was lost because only one mic was being recorded. Still, I learned a great deal, most notably to stop wearing loose fitting shirts with horizontal stripes.

And now a story about how I learnt that I was a very simple man who wants the same thing over and over again:

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Doria Hughes, who served as our tally counter, dubbed this clip "Ian Parses a Sentence!":

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And now, for the story of how I entered the performing arts:

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I swear: all of these errors of eros are from at least a decade ago! I'm a much better person now!

February 14th: massmouth Story Slam: "The Errors of Eros"

Join me as I co-host the massmouth Story Slam with storyteller, Laura Packer at Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge. The theme will be "The Errors of Eros."

What's a story slam? It's a competitive storytelling event in which ten storytellers are given five minutes a piece to tell a story based on a suggested theme. In between stories, Laura Packer and I will tell our own stories and lead improvisational games. I attended my first story slam last week, and it was certainly a great way to end my weekend.

massmouth is the network of Massachusetts storytellers.

Seems as if I am back to where I was ten years ago when I was hosting the annual "Love, Sex & Disappointment" spoken word show at the sadly defunct Bad Girrls Studios in Jamaica Plain. Still, it proves that I will do anything to thumb my nose at any perceived obligation to go on a date on Valentine's Day, but don't let me stop you from bringing your own.

Enough: I need to save some material for next week.

Doors open at 3:45pm.

Ryles Jazz Club
212 Hampshire Street
Inman Square
Cambridge, MA

Tickets are $7, $5 for students and seniors.

Facebook users can RSVP here if they like.