Building community through the power of story

  [1]Adam Rostad emcees Johnson Public House's monthly Story Slam. October's slam is on Friday and the theme is fear (Aparna Vidyasagar/Madison Commons)

It’s a little past 7 p.m on the last Friday of the month. Johnson Public House has been officially closed for the past hour. Still, baristas are serving up cups of milk-laced espresso and coffee to those not yet ready for a cold beer.  The lights are low, but in the middle of the room stands a lone microphone, basking under a bright incandescent glow.

This is the setting of the Johnson Public House Story Slam; a monthly story-telling event at the local coffee shop.

Adam Rostad, the regular emcee for the event warms up the crowd.  He tells jokes, welcomes newcomers, and calls out to familiar faces in the crowd. Three judges are chosen at random and scorecards are handed out (to be reused for subsequent events. “Don’t doodle on the scorecard,” Rostad warns one of the judges). The theme for the night is road trips, and the storytelling is about to begin.

Rostad feels connected to the people in the room. Some are his friends and others, he has gotten to know over [2]Tom Schmidt, a Tenney-Lapham resident, is a regular at Johnson Public House's monthly Story Slam (Aparna Vidyasagar/Madison Commons). time -- those who have come to nearly each Story Slam and those stay behind after the event, to ‘hang out’, as Rostad puts it.

“It’s a community event that becomes a community,” Rostad said.

Sixty-seven year old Tom Schmidt comes often to the event. Schmidt, a retiree, has lived in the Tenney-Lapham neighborhood for over 40 years. When it is Schmidt’s turn to tell a story, he is introduced as Rostad’s favorite storyteller of the year.

Schmidt’s narrates a tale about how to make sure no one bothers you on a bus ride. It’s a story with quirky characters and a prop -- a green towel -- which emerges at the end of the story as the best shield against all conversation.

For Schmidt, the event is pure fun; a venue for him to tell his stories and make people laugh. The audience members, as opposed to his family, ‘haven’t heard his stories before’. He also sees telling stories as being able to break the ice in a group; one story sparks something and leads to others.

This couldn’t be truer on this night. The evening begins with a total of three contestants. But as soon as Schmidt, who goes on second, finishes telling his story, more names are added to the list. Schmidt himself goes on to tell another story, just for fun.

For Sami Ghani, the evening is one of firsts. He is the first contestant, participating for the first time. And although he was nervous at the start, he soon began to ‘feel the vibe of the crowd.’ (Ghani’s story took place at night, in a deserted town. It involved raging pick up trucks, and guns).

“I’m really excited to come back,” Ghani said. “I have a lots of stories to tell.”

Themes for the event are suggested by the audience. Rostad choses two finalists and the winning theme is decided by vote of applause. This month's theme is ‘fear’ and will take place on October 31.

Rostad hopes to one day do something more with the stories he hears each month. He would like create a podcast, similar to ‘The Moth’, but with a focus on local, community stories.

“This is my favorite event in Madison,” said Rostad. “I will do this as long as the owners let me,” he laughs.