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Kelsey Kopra tells the story of her worst date ever during theAnecdotal Readings at the Atrium Lounge in downtown Vancouver inlate October.
Photos by VIVIAN JOHNSON for The Columbian
The crowd at an Anecdotal Evidence event in late 2010.
Stephanie Hadley and Elizabeth Holmes started hosting AnecdotalEvidence at the Atrium Lounge in downtown Vancouver after attendingsimilar events in Portland.
VIVIAN JOHNSON for The Columbian
Jodee Nickel and Kathryn Hunt laugh at stories told of worstdates ever during the Anecdotal Readings at the Atrium Lounge inOctober.
Nothing sounded better to Stephanie Hadley and Elizabeth Holmesthan a night out with laughs, food, drinks and stories after astressful week.
So they headed into Portland for Back Fence PDX, Mortified andTrue Stories, three forums for people to tell true stories forentertainment. After a few positive experiences, they decided thatVancouver needed its own story-telling series. Anecdotal Evidencewas born.
Six months after their first Vancouver story-telling event,Anecdotal Evidence will return to Vancouvers Atrium Lounge at 6 p.m.Thursday.
Scott Poole, Doug Askelson, Lynn Edwards, Beth Harrington andStone Alexander will share stories, and Tara Dublin will host.
There are three simple rules: each story has to be true, it mustbe less than eight minutes and it cannot be read.
And probably in fine print: Speakers should be aware that theaudience will laugh at their expense.
We like to have a lot of alcohol on hand for our performers,Hadley and Holmes both said, interrupting one another as they spokeabout the 21-and-over event.
Askelson, a local construction worker, told two brief stories ata 2010 Anecdotal Evidence gathering themed Worst Day(t) Ever. Thefirst was about a bad experience at his first Homecoming dance wherehe looked like he was half-way through a colonoscopy with his datethat was like an arranged marriage.
Askelsons second story was less humorous.
He witnessed a worker fall off the roof. The mans immediate deathwas an eye-opener for Askelson.
I realized then that you dont get to walk away from everythingyou do, and thats why it was the worst day of my life, he said inconclusion to his story.
Past themes include Summer Vacations, Be True to Your School andInternet Hijinx, where there were discussions about online datingand tweets that resulted in a lunch date with a handful ofcelebrities.
Its so fun to watch the community grow, to see the business andart people connect, Hadley said.
Holmes agreed that community building was a benefit and thattheir unanticipated success was a welcomed surprise.
Some performers have even formed writing groups, Holmes said. Itssomething we like to see.
Some performers have appeared on the schedule regularly. One ofthose is returning-artist Poole, the author of two books of poetryand the resident poet on Oregon Public Broadcastings monthly varietyshow Live Wire!
At a recent Anecdotal Evidence, Pooles first poem, A Little Poemin Celebration of Nothing, depicted a bored individual imagining twopeople displaying bedroom activities outside. Bad Days was about theattack of the couches.
He closed the night with Worst Day Ever, which detailed bodilyfluids, breakups and chicken pox, to name the tamer topics.
Januarys theme is It seemed like a good idea at the time.
We have big plans to grow the show, Hadley said.
Hadley and Holmes strive to incorporate multimedia features suchas live music during intermission, photographs to accompany storiesand videos. They also may consider moving into the Kiggins Theater,now being renovated.
Were very happy, Hadley said. Its grown so much faster than weanticipated.
The story-telling series continues on the fourth Thursday of eachmonth at the Atrium Lounge.
It is limited to people 21 years old and older. There is a $5entrance fee.
If you go
* What: Anecdotal Evidence, true stories told with dramaticflair, limited to people 21 and up.
* When: Doors open at 6 p.m. Thursday, show is at 7 p.m.
* Where: Atrium Lounge, 606 Broadway St., Vancouver
* Cost: $5 at the door.
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