For lovers of words and free thought, books are brilliantly powerful objects that seemingly glow in their eyes. Now, thousands of glowing books are literally paving the Ann Arbor roads for one night and one night only. On Tuesday, October 23, Liberty Street is shutting down for “Literature vs. Traffic,” a project put on by the anonymous Spanish public art installation group Luzinterruptus. After a week of hard work by the volunteers who are attaching the lights to 100,000 discarded books, Liberty Street is turning into a powerful, illuminated pathway for passerbys to ponder on (and even take a few books home) from 5-11pm on October 23.
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REVIEW: The Moth GrandSLAM Championship
We all experience pain in our lives, and The Moth GrandSLAM transformed The Ark into an incredible stage where ten StorySLAM champions were able to tell the true stories of their Growing Pains live.
As host Amir Baghdadchi put it, The Moth GrandSLAM is the closest public radio gets to American Ninja Warrior. The Moth is magical. It creates a temple for regular human beings and the tales they have to tell. And, on September 26, 2018, The Ark became that temple.
Amir started us off with some amusing stories of his adventures through 5th grade and the wisdom of plagiarizing in someone’s authentic voice, passing on the message that the most important moral pains have to deal with one’s moral character. As we got ready for a night of storytelling, Violinist Natalie Frakes was the timekeeper, providing a friendly reminder with a graceful violin note when the five minute mark came around.
Growing pains deal with people; as a result, there were many stories about relationships, and specifically, with fathers. Jill Chenault told a heartwarming story about her will to be strong and independent and how her changing relationship with her father, who now has Alzheimer’s, has given her the opportunity to now support him. Jim Pinion also talked about his father, and how they built their relationship through building his first car together.
We also heard from the perspective of fathers. Maxie Jones provided a new take on fatherhood as he shared his struggles in leaving bachelorhood behind, but confirmed that he wouldn’t trade fatherhood for anything. Eddie Hejka, who has been the father of 18 kids through adoption and foster care, shared the time his black son was ticketed for curfew violation in Detroit. He noted that many people were caught in the court system, questioning whether the court was truly a system for justice and pointing out that it was time for the courts to go through some growing pains.
Romantic relationships are also a classic example of growing pains, whether that is internally or externally. Matthew Mansour charmingly details his struggle in accepting his sexuality and the threats he faced when he came out. Susan Ciotti bared her soul about her abusive and cheating husband and her ability to fight for herself and feel complete.
There were also personal stories told. Joanna Courteau narrated an amusing story about how she never grew up. With the existence of false cognates (which is kind of like fake news, Joanna says), she amused the audience with her take on the growing pains that never go away. Stephanie Holloway talked about the of financial freedom and the all-too-relatable pains of financial responsibility. Paul Walters recounted the time he wanted to save the day when cycling, as nothing is more characteristic of growing pains than being a Sufferlandrian. And Rob Osterman explained why the first song in Frozen makes him cry — it’s a blatant reminder of mortality.
In between storytellers, Amir read the stories of the audience through prompts on papers they filled out. From little tales of when people had to make headway the hard way, or when they took a rivalry too far, it was a night filled with personal anecdotes from everyone that connected everyone in the room through these stories.
Three teams of judges scored the storytellers. Susan left the night as a Moth GrandSLAM champion, but all ten storytellers were champions in their vulnerability and excellent storytelling. There was pure laughter and heartfelt silence and emotional tears as these stories were told.
Our stories are the “honest truths that make up who we are,” and at The Ark that night, we got to hear those honest truths in their full glory.
PREVIEW: The Moth GrandSLAM Championship
One of the most original forms of art, storytelling is a tradition that never dies. The spoken word can express sorrow, hardships, humor, and triumph. There is nothing more raw than an individual standing on a stage, crafting words in a way that transforms their past into the present. The Moth Podcasts never fail to entertain me and touch my soul, and now, I finally get to experience these performances live.
The Moth GrandSLAM is taking place on September 26 at 8pm. It is the final culmination of the best of the best stories in Ann Arbor as stories come alive at The Ark. Join me at the intimate local venue where we will be taken on many different and wonderful journeys in one single night.
REVIEW: Second City
Political comedy, improv brilliance, snippet skits, raunchy humor. Second City made The Ark erupt with laughter as they brought their impromptu comedy skills from Chicago to Ann Arbor.
Comedy is a great outlet for political commentary, and Second City had some fun with that with their skit involving a board game called Privilege, a mini scene involving Trump, and another skit of a talk game show called We’re Not Talking About That.
From a lesbian on an airplane to the Bass Man to a little boy and a potential step-father, from a game of Two Truths and a Lie to three bros teeing off to drama driver’s ed class, some of the skits were hit or miss, but they all elicited laughter and/or groans. A few easter eggs carried their way through the different skits, which strengthened the humor of the night. The few musical numbers were pleasant, especially the “I Cry” song that was particularly relatable.
Second City’s improv comedy was also on point. They played the classic improv game where two actors borrowed two phones from the audience and could only use texts as their lines. Their different quick, improvised scenes were also quick and witty. For being in Ann Arbor for only three hours, the Second City troupe caught on fast with the lingo and native culture of the city, except for a slip calling Zingerman’s a sub shop.
With the help of three audience members, Kim Kardashian and Matthew McConaughey star in the action rom-com film with a twist of sci-fi, Walking Chairs at Midnight. The cast later put on the trailer to this original movie after intermission, and I appreciated the fact that they brought that back and didn’t just leave it hanging after the audience participation.
Second City ended their show with some final improv. They definitely made being funny seem easy, but as they emphasized at the very end as they plugged their classes, it’s actually very hard and requires a lot of work. However, Second City did a great job of providing a night of carefree entertainment and quality comedy.
PREVIEW: Second City
For all the comedy and improv lovers out there, Second City is coming to The Ark again this year, guaranteeing a night filled with quick wit and hearty laughter. As the first ever on-going improvisational theater troupe based in Chicago in 1959, the Second City enterprise continues to produce high quality, satirical sketches with its cutting edge artists on tour. With notable alumni like Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Stephen Colbert, come out to The Ark on September 14 or 15 at 8pm to watch the next comedic hit. Tickets can be purchased at theark.org.
REVIEW: Hasan Minhaj: Before the Storm
With two sold out shows in one night and Azhar Usman as an opener for Hasan Minhaj, Before the Storm was the perfect remedy for any anxiety you may have about the current political nature of America.
As an Indian-American Muslim standup comedian from Chicago, Azhar Usman tackled the racial tensions in America, commented on Google, and laid some conspiracy theories out on the stage before making way for Hasan Minhaj.
The event used Yondr, which made it a phone-free show. At the beginning of the show, Hasan justified the use of Yondr, saying he knew it was really hard locking our phones up, but it was necessary to protect the content of his show (and his image) since this Before the Storm tour was a sneak preview into his new Netflix show, Patriot Act.
Since some of the content he performed will be used on the show, I’ll try not to give away any spoilers. However, the basic gist of his new show, Patriot Act, centers around analyzing the political and cultural landscape in our fragmented country. Just as he did as a correspondent on The Daily Show, Hasan will bring his distinct comedic voice to dive into serious topics on his Netflix show, and that’s exactly what he did on his live tour as well.
Hasan Minhaj used news clips, statistics, and nicely-timed graphics to explain heavy topics such as the travel ban and refugee terrorism. His fast-paced delivery that was synchronized with the information he was displaying on the screen behind him was extremely impressive, and it worked. With this kind of multimedia presentation, Hasan is bringing about a new modern type of comedy show where he uses technology and visuals to make us laugh and to emphasize his points as well.
Through all the laughter and applause that filled the Michigan Theater, the best thing about Hasan Minhaj’s show was how important it was — the serious content delivered in a way that uplifted the spirits of many minorities who could relate to the humor and perspective that Hasan’s comedy provided.
Keep an eye out for Patriot Act, which comes out on Netflix on October 28. From the bits Hasan used during Before the Storm, his new show is guaranteed to be as incisive and bright and witty and brilliant as the renowned comedic voice he has established as his own.
