Saturday the thirtieth of January · Presidio Museum · Tucson
The Story of JimmyHosted by Jeff Clashman, whose birthday it is · Four until seven, then indoors at Brandylion · Free, and $5 donations support the Presidio Museum
He will tell it as though it happened, and it did not. Then he stops partway through, sits down, and leaves the invitation standing: seven tellers, ten minutes each. They will tell you a tale, a fable, or offer you an enchantment. The one requirement is that it cannot be true. At half past six he comes back and finishes the story. His name is Jeff Clashman, he has done this before, and it is his birthday. This is his party and you are invited to it.
How the night runs
Seven people tell. Six slots are already claimed, taken directly with Jeff. The seventh is drawn from a hat, and you enter that below. Everyone else RSVPs, which is free and takes a minute. Come in at the Presidio gate on Court Avenue, not the bar door.
Jeff Clashman tells the frame story and stops partway through it. It is a lie, and it sets the invitation: tell one of your own that cannot be true. If you did not sign up in advance, put your name in the hat at the door from four o’clock, with a story you have already prepared. The draw happens later, after the intermission.
Seven tellers, ten minutes each, no notes. There is a signal at nine minutes. You tell inside the frame he opened: a tale, a fable, an enchantment. The one requirement is that it cannot be true. The story is written and rehearsed before you arrive, and nobody is graded and nobody is paid.
Jeff comes back and finishes the story, and it is done by about twenty to seven. At seven there is a reception indoors at Brandylion, the museum’s bar, on the same property. That part is open to the public and not part of the reservation. The courtyard bar runs all evening and food is for sale.
You may also simply come and listen, which is permitted, and which is what most people do.
Admission
Admission is free. A $5 donation to the museum is strongly encouraged and never required, and it goes to the Presidio rather than to us. Tell us you are coming and we will put out a chair for you. There is an outdoor bar in the courtyard run by Brandylion, the museum’s bar, and food for sale from Reservation Sensation and Heart of Africa Kitchen. Both take every form of money yet devised. There are chairs and there are heaters. A January afternoon in Tucson is a pleasant thing and the sun goes down at six, after which the courtyard is a different place entirely. Wear a coat, and bring a lap blanket: you will be sitting still for three hours, which is colder than being outdoors in the same weather and moving about.
If the weather makes it impossible we cancel and pick another night, and everybody who told us they were coming gets an email. That is the second reason to tell us you are coming.
RSVP
Free. We email you a pass with a QR code.
You are on the list.
Your pass is on its way to your email.
Photography, video and audio are captured at Frame Story and may be used to promote the series.
Take part
The six advance slots are gone, claimed directly with Jeff. What is left is the seventh, and it is not first come: every name goes in a hat and one is drawn at a quarter to six, in front of the room. Enter here and we write back straight away, and again when the theme is set. You do not have to be present to enter, but you do have to be there to tell.
Bring a story you have written and practised. This is a rehearsed performance and not an open mic. Whichever way you get the ten minutes, by the list or out of the hat, you are expected to arrive with the story already made.
Ten minutes, no notes, inside the frame Jeff opened
Not judgements about quality. Just not this night
It is an all ages afternoon in a museum courtyard, so pitch it for a room with children in it. If you are unsure whether something qualifies, send it to clashmanjeff@gmail.com and we will tell you.
Six storytellers. The list is full.
All six advance slots were claimed directly with Jeff. There is one slot left and it is not first come: it goes in the hat.
One slot. Drawn at a quarter to six, in front of everyone.
Afterwards
When the last story is done there is a reception at Brandylion, the museum’s bar, which is indoors on the same property. It is not part of the private reservation and the bar is open to the public, so it is a normal night there and anyone may walk in. You are not obliged to come. You will want to.
Contact
Press, a venue, guest telling at a future edition, or a question about the night itself. It reaches Jeff Clashman, who hosts and produces Frame Story, and he answers it himself. To tell a story at this one, put your name in the hat above rather than writing here.
Thank you. It is on its way.
Jeff reads these himself, so give him a day or two.