The Monti

This past weekend, Braden and I went to see The Monti at the Carrboro ArtsCenter. The Monti is a North Carolina based spoken narrative forum where inspired storytellers and tell a story within the theme within a certain time limit (to keep people from rambling). It's inspired by one in New York called The Moth. It's hard to describe if you never seen anything like it, but it's kind of like a David Sedaris reading meets occasional stand-up comedy. I first got into the Monti when I heard it on NPR (and yes, I have Braden to thank for introducing me to the joys of NPR. NPR was just not something we listened to in our house growing up, nor would I ever think to listen to it on my own.) I heard these people sharing these incredibly compelling stories on the air and since I'm a huge fan of memoir, I thought "I have to see this!"

I love stories about real-life stories about people and their community unit. Perhaps this was why I was so interested in sociology in college. So watching The Monti was right up my alley. The headliner was a man by the name of Greg Taylor, who was exonerated after 17 years in prison where he was wrongfully accused of murder. His story mostly covered how he was overwhelmed with choices after leaving prison; all the items for sale in Target, the massive amounts of buttons on washing machines and cell phones, the option to use a fork and knife at dinner. We don't really think about the little details of the freedoms we have and how profound those details are.

The Monti has an occasional "open-mic night" called StorySlam where audience members can tell a story for 5 minutes under the assigned theme. I'd really love to participate but alas most of them all fall on Tuesday nights and alas I have work! But I too love sharing stories and I think it'd be fun and educational to participate. Orating is a bit of lost art, one that goes back way before television, radio, and any type of recording.

I highly recommend The Monti for Triangle visitors and natives. It made for a good date night...not too long of a show. We were able to grab a drink before hand and some wings and drinks afterwards...and also more drinks after that. Between The Station, The ArtsCenter, Ba Da Wings and Speakeasy, we certainly hit the best of Carrboro. All and all, very successful Saturday night out.