Inner Monologues Publicity

This is a blast from the past...But gives a nice overview of the genesis of Inner Monologues. In other words, the long story. Sorry I bleeped out my last name. I just hate popping up on google--and happened with the last blog. Somehow.

From an online magazine article in September '05 by Marissa Kristal for Boheme Verite:

Getting Personal with Inner Monologues – Alexis Bxxxx Discusses her Spoken Word Show


After participating in Stand Up New York, a 2004 spoken word event where readers spoke on the theme, “Blogs Gone Wild – Live Readings About REAL Sex in the City,” New York City blogger, Alexis Bxxxx, was inspired to start her own story-telling soiree. “I found reading personal things about my life to a crowd of strangers and friends quite cathartic and thought, hey, this is pretty neat. I could totally pull this off myself.”


Bxxxx’s spoken word show, Inner Monologues, debuted in November of 2004. “The first show didn’t have a theme. I simply called it Inner Monologues. I invited some of the writers I’d met at Stand Up New York to write, as well as friends of mine who had expressed interest,” says Bxxxx.


It’s now two years later and Bxxxx’s basking in her show’s continued success. “This past March marked the 10th anniversary – as in the 10th show – of Inner Monologues. At this point I have a reliable group of seasoned performers as well as a faithful audience.”


Advertised on the Mo Pitkins House of Satisfaction website (Mo Pitkins is the venue that hosts Inner Monologues) (http://www.mopitkins.com/calendar/ShowPages/InnerMonologues1.html as “A spoken word show in which a group of writers respond in personal ways to an assigned theme. Each writer then performs his or her story on stage to the delight of an audience and often, to his or her own embarrassment”, Inner Monologues offers its participants – mostly bloggers, like Bxxxx – the unique opportunity to share their innermost thoughts and intimate stories with a live audience.


“The stories have to have happened to the reader and they are meant to be told in an informal way, as if you were telling it to a friend,” explains Bxxxx, “I don’t require that the stories be funny, but the writers tend to veer on the comedic side of things. I also like to give amateur performers a chance to take the stage, and throw them into the fire by making them go first in the line-up. I think it is important that this be a show for people who have good stories to tell, to have a place to tell their stories and an audience with whom they can share them with.”


Bxxxx’s worked hard to transform her creative vision into a reality, and as she’s discovered, from scouting out performance spaces to meticulously editing her readers’ drafts, bringing Inner Monologues to life takes a lot of work, commitment and enthusiasm.


“In the beginning, a friend of mine had a weekly gig at Apocalypse Lounge, a bar/performance space in the East Village. He spoke to the owner of Apocalypse on my behalf and they agreed to give me a trial run on a Monday night at 8 p.m. I loved that venue because it was intimate and quirky, and the art on the walls – from local artists –changed from show to show. The beer was also really cheap. Unfortunately, that venue closed this past winter, and we have since moved the show to Mo Pitkin’s House of Satisfaction,” says Bxxxx.


Bxxxx also takes a leading role in helping her performers revise their pieces. “Since I am an editor by trade, I stress the importance of writing first drafts, work-shopping those drafts as a group and encouraging each writer to edit his or her piece. I require first drafts be sent to me by a specific date, and urge each person to attend the workshop or work one-on-one with me. I also like to have a rehearsal a day or two before the show. I try to put my personal stamp of approval on each piece and add my own editorial input so there aren’t any major surprises come show time.”


According to Bxxxx, producing each individual show is a very involved and intricate process. “Before every show I sit with everyone’s pieces and figure out which go together best. I try to link two pieces together by a common theme. For example, if one person has a story about being a magnet for gay men who don’t know they’re gay when they date her, the next reader might be a gay man reading about his first gay experience. I tend to put one musical act somewhere in the middle, and close with another musical act after I perform my own piece – I always do the last reading of the night. Of course, things don’t always go as planned. Sometimes there’s a last minute drop-out, and I have to rearrange things right before the show starts,” explains Bxxxx. “In terms of technical things, I have to check the microphones and the lighting to make sure everything is working and that the mood is right. My friend Dan Cohen (http://www.cohdesigninc.com) is a graphic designer and designs each of the invites. I send those out electronically and place hardcopies on the tables at every show. The invites have links to the performers’ blogs so audience members can take them home and read up on their favorite writers.”


And as with the trial and error of any new endeavor, Bxxxx’s learning as she goes. “Each show has been an opportunity to see what needs to be refined in the subsequent show,” she explains. “When I introduced the show on stage for the first time, I said to the audience, ‘The assignment I have given each of these writers tonight was to write something personal – it could be a story, a collection of thoughts, a rant, a reflection, anything, as long as it entertains.’ I didn’t put a time limit on the writers and the show ended up being really long. The next show did have a theme: “Bedtime Stories.” I usually pick themes based on the story I feel like telling at the time or stories that seem to fit whatever season of the year we are in. For the “Bedtime Stories” show, I took the opportunity to finally write about my college boyfriend and all the angst of being in an unfulfilling relationship – a relationship that took part mainly under the cloak of night. This was a really fun theme because nothing entertains more than sex/relationship stories. This time around I gave people time limits for their pieces and introduced an intermission so people would have a chance to mingle and get a drink from the bar.”


By her third show, Bxxxx had established a core group of writers. “I’d met some performers through my blog and others came up to me from the audience after shows and told me they wanted to write.”


Bxxxx requires aspirant readers to first send her writing samples so she can determine if they’re a good fit for her show. “Now that I’ve met so many writers, I am a little more discerning when it comes to choosing performers. I tend to look for people who can not only write but are comfortable on stage. A lot of my performers are comedians too, so the task of telling a story, for them, is like performing one long joke.”


As for her hope for future shows, Bxxxx wants to attract bigger and more diverse audiences. “I’ve also toyed with the idea of putting together an anthology of all the writings from the performances, but I know I’d need a good hook to hold it all together.”


In the meantime, if you want to hear strangers spill their secrets, the next Inner Monologues will take place on Tuesday, July 11th at 7:30 p.m. at Mo Pitkin’s House of Satisfaction (34 Avenue A New York, NY 10009). The performance will be held upstairs, in the Cabaret Room. For show details and to view the invite, check out www.mopitkins.com about a week before the performance date.


“The theme of the next show is “Prom!” – I can’t wait,” says Bxxxx, “I hope my performers show up with prom pictures or are wearing tuxes or corsages!”