Ex Fabula hosts story time at Turner Hall

I’ve seen a fair number of crowds at Turner Hall Ballroom in my tenure in Milwaukee, but I never thought one of the biggest would be at an event watching people tell their stories. That’s the kind of thought you have before an Ex Fabula event like their second annual Storytelling Spectacular, held Saturday night. After, it’s a totally different story.

Ex Fabula (from the Latin for “from stories”) was founded in 2009 for the purpose of getting to hear and share true stories about people’s lives. They do so by hosting events where audience members can come with their tales prepared, and then hope to be randomly selected to perform for five minutes. There’s additional incentive for good storytellers: At the end of the night, the audience will pick their favorite story to win and the author takes home bragging rights.

Saturday’s event broke that mold. The eight performers there were all previous storytellers who wowed their respective crowds, and had more stories to tell. It was definitely the best setup for a newcomer—you could sit back, relax and just get a feel for what these shows must normally be like.

My initial guess might be roller coaster-esque. While all eight performers told their stories effectively, the deck seemed to be stacked so stronger tellers were at the bottom of the setlist, something you might not get at a random event where every story could be hit or miss. That feeling could just be attributed to first-to-go jitters or my own warming up to the event, though, and the opening stories were still gripping and fascinating to hear.

And what stories they were. All seven (one delivered by a married couple in tandem) dealt with the theme of “Family Ties,” but each went in its own direction. A story about visiting northern Wisconsin with a sick aunt gave way to a tale of catering your own wedding. The show began with talk of a father’s unique parenting style and ended with the story of a visit from Santa that ended in tragedy for the teller’s sister.

It was just as fascinating to me how people told their stories. Some confidently (or faux-confidently, as the case could be) strode up to the microphone, pulled it off the stand, and began to speak. Others were hesitant, readying themselves, or planted their feet squarely in front of the mic, hands behind back, as if standing at attention. Those are the little details that tell you Ex Fabula’s keyed in on something great here with this idea of storytelling.

As good as this show was for us, I can only imagine it was better for the storytellers. Some simply seemed to love telling their stories, but others walked off the stage with a visible catharsis. You can see why people want to volunteer most nights.

And while the random stories element of the Ex Fabula experience was mostly set aside, the group did pass around ballots for “UltraShorts,” minimalist stories that could be summed up in a few lines. Almost all of them were funny, especially as read by hosts and co-founders Megan McGee and Leah Delaney, acting as palate-cleansers to freshen the stage for whomever walked across it next.

Audience members looking for more substantial participation will have to wait for the next Ex Fabula show, but as they roll around monthly at either Bay View Brewhaus or Stonefly Brewery, the wait isn’t too long. For the rest of us, the seven tales were just enough to warm us on a wintery December night, and bring to the surface all the family stories we might have to share as well.

Ex Fabula hosts monthly performances at rotating venues, including Bay View Brew Haus, Stonefly and Turner Hall Ballroom. Check out their calendar for more details.