ARIZONA DAILY STAR , August 24, 2004
front page of Accent section

by Jennifer Duffy

Telling tales on a single theme each month, individuals from all walks of life share their stories with a common goal of bringing people together
 
Rubin Naiman had the crowd hooting and hollering as he recounted his three marriages and three divorces.
 
Dana Cianciotto wrenched hearts with the frustration that her marriage is not recognized by the state.
 
Ann Simmons-Meyers moved the audience with a love story that ended with her husband proposing to her by writing "Will you marry me?" on her bended knees.
 
The reactions of the audience may differ, but storytellers weave their tales with a common goal: bringing a diverse group of people together through laughter, tears and humanity.
 
And Penelope Simmons provides the loom with her Odyssey Storytelling Series, a monthly event at Wilde Playhouse, 135 E. Congress St., Downtown.
 
"I get everyone together and weave this whole cloth of an evening," said Simmons, the event organizer, who, incidentally, also weaves quilts. She bases each event on an open-ended theme and features speakers from all walks of life who share their experiences.
 
"There are similarities and differences, but it's still all one unit," she said. "It has the potential of making connections and relating on some level and having prejudices and preconceived notions disappear."
 
Simmons, 59, was inspired by a storytelling group in New York City called The Moth and a San Francisco group, Porchlight.
 
"These groups get successful so fast because it's something everybody is familiar with," Beth Lisick, Porchlight's organizer, said via phone from San Francisco. Lisick is also Simmons' daughter-in-law.
 
Simmons chooses themes that range from "Love and Marriage" to "Creepy" to "Things I Meant to Do." The tellers on the stage each take their own interpretation, so the event yields a variety of perspectives.
 
Sometimes there's humor; sometimes tears. But any way the story goes, people are bonding on a new level, Simmons said.
 
"People from the audience rush up to the people who've shared and tell them how much it (the story) meant to them."
 
In Cianciotto's tale, she addressed a timely and personal issue - gay marriage.
 
She and Lauren Sarid married Jan. 9. But soon after, when Cianciotto found herself in the hospital filling out paperwork, she realized she couldn't state she was married.
 
"It was frustrating because as far as I was concerned, my wife was sitting right next to me," she said later offstage.
 
For her, telling the story from the stage was a persuasive device and a chance to share her grief. She also was able to illustrate the little-known obstacles - like that hospital form - that not legalizing gay marriages put before gay couples.
 
"It was very cathartic, but I don't think that was the intention," Cianciotto said. "If people don't know about it, then nobody will ever fix it."
 
Not all stories aim for such a powerful message, but they all share a common thread, one that relates the speaker to the audience.
 
"The stories that people respond to the best are the ones that seem the realest and that are from somebody's life and people can connect with," Simmons said.
 
It's about real people and real stories, not stand-up comedy or memorized rants.
 
"There's a lot of people that could do it if they get a little bit of encouragement, and it's not some big mystery," Lisick, from San Francisco, said.
 
"It's like when you're at a party and someone's telling a wild story - anyone can do it."

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