Too funny to hide?
Published 6:23 pm Thursday, March 1, 2012
The Acorn Theater in Three Oaks tried something new last weekend when it invited five Chicago-area entertainers to tell their most embarrassing true stories to an audience of strangers.
The result was some of the funniest, most shocking and, sometimes, disgusting hours of entertainment you’ll find anywhere in southwest Michigan.
“We look forward to offending you deeply,” said storyteller Scott Whitehair prior to opening the show.
The evening had just one casualty as an elderly woman walked out during one particularly intimate story involving three men in a New York apartment.
Everyone else seemed to be genuinely entertained.
“People need to come in with an extremely open mind,” Whitehair said.
The Acorn Theater, 107 Generations Drive in Three Oaks, plans to continue its storytelling show “Adult Education: Storytelling After Hours” for as long as there is a demand for it.
Two more storytelling shows planned for March 22 and April 26. Both shows start at 8:30 p.m., and tickets cost $10.
Whitehair said storytelling is an entertainment format blowing up in the Chicago land area.
“Nowadays when everyone is connecting through the computer and social media sites, I think people want to get out and hear stories face to face with their friends,” Whitehair said. “That’s probably one of the reasons why it’s catching on.”
Six people shared their most embarrassing stories last weekend at the Acorn Theater.
Without getting into too much detail, Whitehair talked about a time when he was a teenager and he and his girlfriend got a chance to be alone in the office of his girlfriend’s father — a high-powered attorney. The story involved more than a few legal puns and an unfortunate accident with a copying machine.
Another storyteller, The Kates’ Kelsie Huff, talked about how a female contraception product led to an embarrassing holdup in airline security.
Ian Belknap, host of Write Club, shared a detailed account of playing Trivial Pursuit with his mother while on a powerful hallucinogenic drug.
Story Club creator, Dana Norris, described her awkward experience with online dating and Essay Fiesta’s Keith Ecker talked about a messy ending to a boys’ night out in New York.
WBEZ’s Don Hall capped off the show with three short stories illustrating what it means to be a man.
Next month’s show will feature different storytellers and stories.
For more information, call the theater at (269) 756-3879 or visit the theater’s website at acorntheater.com.