As we’ve mentioned earlier here, the location of the Digital Cabaret, Tangier, closed at the end of 2008. We’ve been keeping our eye out for a new location. But we’re also rethinking the format of the event.

While the Moth Storyslams were part of the inspiration of the Digital Cabaret, stories are inhereantly different that videos. If you go to the Moth, you might think “Hey, I’ve got a story to tell!” Unless you planned ahead, it’s unlikely that you’ll have a video in your back pocket. This makes a big difference!

So where do we go from here? We’re thinking of reconfiguring the event to be a bit more like a screening or mini-festival with live musical performances. So we’re putting this to you, dear reader! If you have a video short you’d like to share or know someone who does, contact us! We’ll start putting together a great event very soon.

In the meantime, we encourage you to attend a Moth StorySlam in Los Angeles and get back to the basics of effective storytelling.

Now you have TWO chances a month!

• On the third Thursday of the month, the Moth is at El Cid on the Eastside. The next one is March 17 with the theme “Birthdays“.
• On the last Monday of the month, the Moth is at Air-Conditioned on the Westside. The next one is March 30 with the theme “Songs”.

And again, we’ll have an update very soon!

There are two great opportunities to join the fun!

• Tuesday February 17, theme “Love Hurts” at El Cid, in Silver Lake.
• Monday February 23, theme “Blunders” at Air Conditioned in Venice.

How it Works: 7:00 PM sign up to tell a story, volunteer to be on a judging team or just sit back and listen. 7:30 (SHARP), we’ll pick the first name and the show will begin. Each teller will have 5 minutes to tell his or her tale. After each story, the judges confer, and give a score. The teller with the highest score becomes our StorySLAM winner. The winner will compete with the year’s other winners in our next GrandSLAM Championship.

Be Forewarned: The Moth is NOT a venue for readings; it is a venue for tellings. No notes, papers, or cheat sheets allowed. Contestants are judged on sticking to the five-minute time frame, sticking to the theme and having a story that sticks — one that has a conflict and a resolution.

Story tips:
No standup routines please: The Moth LOVES funny people but requires that all funny people tell funny STORIES.
Steer clear of meandering endings: Your last line should be clear in your head.
Start in the action and set up the stakes.

re: future Digital Cabarets: We’ve been thinking about a more curated festival type event. If you’ve got a video short that’s begging to be seen, contact us!

In the meantime, we’re going to merge with the Moth StorySlam in February to get “back to the basics” of effective storytelling. The theme for the February 17 get-together is “Love Hurts” and it’s meeting at nearby El Cid.

By the way, the January event was completely packed-out! Nearly 200 people showed up! Josh Cereghino won the contest (yet again) with a hysterical story about a date gone wrong.

For you video-based storytellers out there, let’s meet at 6:30pm before the event. We can share what we’re all up to and plan for the next Digital Cabaret. Please RSVP so we can keep an eye out for you if you’re coming: digitalcabaret@gmail.com

The MOTH is a fun monthly event where folks share stories on a theme. January’s theme is “Dirt”. Participants put their name in a hat if they want to participate. Ten names are chosen and each participant has up to five minutes to share a nonfiction story with a beginning, middle and end. Teams of judges (pre-selected audience members) rate each story. The highest score wins, get a prize and is invited to the GrandSlam.

The Moth is one of the top podcasts on iTunes.  Here are some examples of stories told. For videos, see their Facebook fan page.

For you video-based storytellers out there, let’s meet at 6:30pm before the event. We can share what we’re all up to and plan for the next Digital Cabaret. Please RSVP so we can keep an eye out for you if you’re coming: digitalcabaret@gmail.com

Guest host Josh Fadem

We had an uber-fun time last night at the Digital Cabaret!

Guest host Josh Fadem had us rolling with his “Doom” song, the video entries were all hysterical (including the winner below) and Eric Layer rocked us out with his psychedelic electroacoustic pop stylings (the Jane Fonda exercise routine was our favorite).

Congratulations to our repeat winner Erik Hammar for Cooking 2!

Sadly this will be our last event at Tangier: it’s closing this month (a new owner is going to gut and renovate the place). As a result, we’re taking a little break, so this cabaret will be our last one for awhile. But we’ll be back some second Tuesday of some month in the not-so-distant future with an exciting new format.

As always, thanks so much to all of you who have supported the cabaret in the past few months. We’re working hard to take into consideration all of your wonderful suggestions and to fulfill as many of your requests as possible for future cabarets.

See how they describe it here.

I’m writing to say thanks so much to all of you who has supported the cabaret in the past few months. The cabaret is growing. Every month is a little better than the month before. And we have you to thank for that.
After this last email, I’ve been bombarded with emails and our website is lighting up like crazy!

And thanks so much to KNOMI, who rocked (or popera’d) the house this month. You guys were awesome! … You even had the Tangier staff a movin’ and a shaken’!

The next Digital Cabaret will take place on Tuesday, December 9th. And the theme will be “MAKE IT FUNNY.” For the next digital cabaret we’re requesting videos, video art, performances, skits, and performance art that will make us laugh.

There’s been a lot of talk about our awesome prizes. So far, we’ve given away a one-year MOCA membership, a one-month Cinefamily membership, and a one-year LACMA membership. December’s video contest winner will receive a similar surprise, but this time, the winner will be judged on his or her ability to “make it funny.” Yep. We’re digging up the laugh-o-meter for the December cabaret!

We’re also in the process of putting together an awesome musical performance line-up for this last cabaret, so stay tuned for details.

As always, if you’re up for making a video on the theme “MAKE IT FUNNY”, please do so! Or if you know someone who may be up for the task, please spread the word.

The same goes for live performances, such as skits, shorts, magical acts, or whatever. Feel free to email me with your ideas at: digitalcabaret@roadrunner.com

Again, thanks so much to all who headed out last Tuesday night and supported the cabaret! Looking forward to seeing you all again next month!

YAY!

Stay tuned for more details (This post is an excuse to share our new dancing camera logo).