Top Shelf 2011 – Best stories of the year

Seats are all sold out for both shows. There may still be some standing room. Call Atlas box office at 202-399-7993

Sat Dec. 3, 2011
2 shows:
7 or 9pm
At Atlas
1333 H St, NE
$25 regular admission. $20 students/seniors.
Join our mailing list and follow us on facebook for other discounts.

SpeakeasyDC’s second annual showcase of the best stories of the year! An absolute Don’t-Miss event. Last year’s was phenomenal. Relentless funny, smart, and moving – and this year’s will be too!

Announcing the final 8!!

L to R top: Joseph Price, Nancy LeRoy, Mike Kane, Adam Ruben
L to R bottom: Erin Myers, Topher Bellavia, John Kevin Boggs, Dan Sullivan (So good – all of them!)

HOW THIS WORKS

Our trusty nominating committee nominated 16 stories from more than 100 told on SpeakeasyDC’s stage in the last 12 months. These stories were screened by our stellar panel of judges (see below for more info) and they chose the final 8 who will be invited to perform in the second  Top Shelf extravaganza on Dec 3, 2011 at the Atlas (1333 H St, NE). We will announce final eight on Nov 8 at our next show (Iron Chef: Stories about cooking, eating, and secret ingredients at Town), then on our Facebook and Twitter feeds.

ELIGIBILITY

All original stories told at any official SpeakeasyDC event between August 10, 2010 and October 11, 2011 are eligible to be nominated for the 2011 Top Shelf, with the following exceptions:

• Members of the Top Shelf nominating committee, the Top Shelf judging panel, and SpeakeasyDC staff (not including teachers) are ineligible.
• Story Salons, class showcases, any class or training session, and SpeakeasyDC fundraisers are not considered eligible “official SpeakeasyDC events” for the purposes of Top Shelf.
• Stories told at My So-Called Jewish Life are ineligible.

OUR JUDGES

Our judges were selected for the good looks, charm, and discerning minds. They are “outside” judges, in that they are not intimately involved in SpeakeasyDC in any way, so, unbiased. We are psyched to have the input of Rhome Anderson (aka DJ Stylus/former Going Out Guru for Washington Post), Jon Gann (founder of the DC Film Alliance /DC Shorts Festival), Bonnie Shaw (Dean of the DC chapter of The Awesome Foundation), Chris Klimek  and (Theatre Critic for Washington City Paper).

JUDGING CRITERIA

Story Crafting (50%)

• Is it a story (vs. anecdote, stand-up routine, lecture, etc.)?
• Does it have the elements of a good story (conflict, action, characters, insight meaning, change)?
• Is the story visual? Can you picture the scenes described?
• Is the story suspenseful? Does it have high stakes?

Performance (25%)

• Is the teller authentic?
• Does the teller have vulnerable or revealing moments?
• Is the performance entertaining or moving?

Originality (25%)

• Is the story memorable?
• Is the story surprising?
• Is the story crafted or structured in an interesting or unusual way?