BRATTLEBORO — Why would anyone step onto a stage and tell a true story of personal transition?
For Hillary Boone, host of this Saturday's Story Slam benefit for the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, it's all about unplugging from Facebook and Instagram and reconnecting through face-to-face interaction.
“Sitting together and listening and having this shared experience,” she says, “is so energizing and so rare.”
Rare enough, Boone knows, that people who haven't heard of programs like “The Moth Radio Hour” might appreciate some explanation of how a Story Slam works.
The 30-year-old starts each show by introducing herself - she's a Burlington-based organizational development specialist by day and stand-up comedian by night - and a few simple ground rules. The first: Boone won't turn all Paula Poundstone, point to a random audience member and prod them to speak.
“I have a lot of empathy and compassion for people with absolutely paralyzing stage fright,” she says, “so I make an effort not to traumatize anyone.”
As for attendees who raise their hands to volunteer: “Stories have to be true, no longer than five or six minutes, related to the theme of personal transition and have a beginning, middle, and an end.”
And their tellers must rely on memory rather than any paperwork or props.
“Because they're true stories,” she reassures participants, “you know what happens next.”
Boone aims to encourage 10 people into the spotlight during each event. Although she's a member of the Vermont Comedy Divas performance troupe, stories don't have to spark laughs.
“Some really great stories are funny,” she says, “but some of the best ones aren't.”
Teams of audience members will judge participants on a 1-to-10 scale based on content, presentation, and the story's reflection of the evening's theme of transition.
Proceeds will benefit the AIDS Project, which supports local people living with HIV/AIDS and works to reduce the risk of transmission to others in Windham, Bennington, and southern Windsor counties.
“You never know who the storytellers will be or what you're going to get,” Boone says. “Some people come with stories prepared, some people get up and tell one on the spot. The most challenging thing of hosting is not knowing what's going to be said.”
That, and convincing people to turn off their cellphones.
“We are getting less and less connected as a society,” Boone says. “Sharing stories - all together, in real time, without a screen - makes us human.”