your turn will come
What do you get when you fill a bar with a bunch of champion storytellers? Loud conversation is what. The after party for the Massmouth StorySlam championship, the Big Mouth Off, was filled with voices of "That reminds me when ..." and "Did I ever tell you about ..." and "This one time at ..." They were big, confident voices used to projecting into an open space and relaxed with all of the pressure of competition behind them; and for that amongst other reasons, I was happy to just hang out in the background. I'd been doing this for a bit now, faces had gotten to be familiar even if we weren't quite friends yet, and so folks were happy to see me in their conversation even if we didn't have much to talk about besides shop and craft. So, naturally, I was feeling a bit shy, and just happy to sit in the background letting the contenders do their thing.
Still, at some point, Nora, one of the Massmouth chairpeople leaned over and said to me, "your time will come. Just keep coming out."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, everything that you've brought to the stage has been great. You go a little long, but you can work on that. All you need is a little luck."
I chuckled and took another sip of my beer. I'd been in three slams this season, two for competition. The winner of my first competitive went on to take second place in the overall championship. The winner of my second competitive also blew through the playoffs and nearly placed in the championship. I felt no shame in losing out to either of them. They were awesome.
"You know," I said, "I come out to have fun, and to share something with people. Everything's been great, and watching some of you guys has been amazing and humbling. I don't aim to win, because I know that a lot of luck goes into it and a lot of these competitions have been super close. I just like that you guys keep a high bar, and I always try to get close to that bar."
"Oh, you do. Just keep turning up and you'll get your chance at going above it."
Still, at some point, Nora, one of the Massmouth chairpeople leaned over and said to me, "your time will come. Just keep coming out."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, everything that you've brought to the stage has been great. You go a little long, but you can work on that. All you need is a little luck."
I chuckled and took another sip of my beer. I'd been in three slams this season, two for competition. The winner of my first competitive went on to take second place in the overall championship. The winner of my second competitive also blew through the playoffs and nearly placed in the championship. I felt no shame in losing out to either of them. They were awesome.
"You know," I said, "I come out to have fun, and to share something with people. Everything's been great, and watching some of you guys has been amazing and humbling. I don't aim to win, because I know that a lot of luck goes into it and a lot of these competitions have been super close. I just like that you guys keep a high bar, and I always try to get close to that bar."
"Oh, you do. Just keep turning up and you'll get your chance at going above it."