First Person Arts Festival

Philadelphia Weekly
November 7, 2007

ART FEATURE

More Than Meets the “I”

The First Person Arts Festival features storytelling with a twist.

by Joshua Valocchi

“When stories are projected through a personal lens, they become much more resonant,” says Vicki Solot, founder of the First Person Arts Festival. “People tend to believe personal experience more than manufactured spin.”

That tenet is the basic premise of Solot’s artistic vision. Now in its sixth year, the First Person Arts Festival features more than 20 events over days, encompassing cultural disciplines as diverse as photography, film, poetry and cooking.

What began as a one-woman operation based in Solot’s apartment has grown into a major cultural force in Philly. And roughly half of this year’s performers are Philadelphia artists, photographers, writers and bloggers.

“This year we’re shifting the emphasis to local and emerging artists,” says Solot. “As we’ve grown as an organization, we’ve been able to exponentially expand our programming, connecting the festival to an increasing number of activities taking place throughout the entire year. This approach allows us to connect more with our audience as they become part of a growing community.”

Judging from the schedule, that communal audience is likely to shoot off the growth chart. This is the first year the entire festival will be held in a single location and will be the biggest problem for attendees is choosing which gigs to catch from such an impressive roster.

For starters, there’s Life and Death Over Coffee, a mixed-media presentation that pairs a memoir writer and a film documentarian in a surprisingly cohesive program. Michael Gates Gill, a one-time millionaire entrepreneur turned Starbucks barista, reads from his memoir How Starbucks Saved My Life. The book tells the tale of his rise and fall in the world of high finance, which eventually led to a job jerking joe for the big boss of the brown bean, where he finally learned to appreciate the charms and pleasures of everyday life. Gill’s reading is backed with a screening of comedian/filmmaker Mark Malkoff’s 171 Starbucks, which traces his steps as he visits all 171 Manhattan branches of the coffee chain in a single day.

If coffee ain’t your cup of tea, perhaps you’d prefer to drink some evangelical Kool-Aid. Jesus Freaks and Skateboard Geeks is another book-film pairing, but one that takes a critical look at the changing face of the evangelical movement. Lauren Sandler, author of Righteous: Dispatches From the Evangelical Youth Movement, reads excerpts detailing the curious path taken by modern evangelical leaders as they shift from Pat Robertson acolytes to Pat Smear proselytes in a desperate effort to capture a greater share of the “edgy” youth market. Sandler’s reading is followed by a screening of Jesus Camp, the 2006 Oscar-nominated documentary about life at an evangelical Christian summer camp.

So you’re a decaf drinker suffering from Jesus fatigue syndrome? Try Laura Schenone’s The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken. Schenone is a Jersey girl with deep Italian roots (what are the odds?) who trekked from Hoboken to Genoa in an effort to track down her great-grandmother’s ravioli recipe. Schenone details every step along the way and recounts her experiences in this ravioli romance before unleashing attendees on a buffet dinner featuring—what else—Genoese cuisine.

Rounding out the performance selections are a pair of events that perfectly capture the spirit of the festival. Having Her Say: Teen Girls Speak Up features freelance Vogue editor Amy Goldwasser leading a group of mall-aged girls through readings from her forthcoming book. Banking on the assumption that some teenagers care about more than Lindsay and Brit, Goldwasser challenged young female authors to submit essays for inclusion in her compendium of Red: The Next Generation of American Writers. Answering the question “What fires up your life today?” participating scribes—including a few locals—join Goldwasser to read selections from the scads of submissions received.

As a bookend to Goldwasser’s spotlight on new writers, the First Person StorySlams Grand Slam pits seven backyard bards against each other as they vie for the coveted title of Best Storyteller in Philadelphia. The contestant pool for the event was determined by monthly “slams” featuring first-person accounts of stories touching upon a slew of topics.

“Telling stories through the first-person perspective is the way we pass on our personal, community and national history,” says Solot. “It’s a simple concept, sure, but one that’s absolutely crucial to our survival as a culture.”

First Person Arts Festival
Wed., Nov. 7-Sun., Nov. 11, various times, prices and venues. 800.838.3006.
www.firstpersonarts.org