With the coveted ownership of Sir Walter Raleigh’s plumed hat hanging in the balance, storytellers and tale-spinners competed in the Raleigh Public Record’s second annual Oak City Bard Brawl.
The Record’s 2012 event raised money for the online newspaper’s book section featuring North Carolina authors and books.
“We didn’t have a whole lot of expectations last year because it was the first time doing it,” said Charles Duncan Pardo, Record editor and N.C. State alumnus. “We’ve gotten really positive feedback, and it’s something we’re happy to be able to do — especially if people are really enjoying it.”
This year, at Kings Barcade on April 9, the money raised went to the Record’s additional funds used to pay freelance reporters.
“This is going directly to supporting our everyday news operations, which are all funded by donations and by grants,” Duncan Pardo said. “We are a 501(c)(3) news organization . . . . Our freelance reporters report stories that aren’t told by other news organizations in town.”
Emceed by WUNC’s Frank Stasio, the fundraiser featured six bards spinning tales in eight minutes or less. Each story had to relate to Raleigh or North Carolinian culture.
“It’s an amazing experience,” Stasio said. “The idea of bringing storytellers together in a public space and having people listen to those stories and those shared experiences in actual physical space, with the actual physical contact and with other human beings is great.”
Stasio applauded the bards for their bravery in exposing their souls through storytelling.
“It’s just being in the room with those people who are willing to bare their souls and then compete,” Stasio said. “If you’re going to tell the story of your life, you might lose. The idea that you’re willing to go out there and out it all and be judged is very cool and kind of risky.”
According to Ben McNeely, N.C. State alumnus, writer for the Raleigh Public Record and Bard Brawl veteran, courage is a necessary ingredient when on stage.
“When I’m up there, I have a bourbon in my hand,” McNeely said. “Mainly to keep myself from talking with my hands, but here and there for a bit of courage.”
McNeely said that for each storyteller the process is different. For McNeely, though, it’s all about the preparation.
“I usually work it out in my head beforehand. That way I can know how I want the story to progress,” McNeely said. “I may embellish here and there once I get on stage and feel out the crowd, but for the most part the meat of the story is already worked out.”
Both Stasio and McNeely said the art of storytelling is an essential piece of Raleigh’s past and future.
“Storytelling competitions and storytelling get-togethers are a timeless tradition,” McNeely said. “I think there’s a real need for this type of stuff in Raleigh and everywhere in general. If we didn’t keep this going here in Raleigh, we’d be missing out on a great thing.”
“It’s a lot, it’s hilarious and it’s fun — it’s poignant as well,” Stasio said. “Some of the stories are funny, some of the stories are poignant. It’s, in any case, a moving experience having people together sharing emotions all in the same space.”
According to Stasio, the Raleigh Public Record plays an important part in the journalistic movement with its creative approach to things like the Bard Brawl.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Stasio said. “The fact that [competitors and organizers are] doing this and making their voice and their presence known in their Raleigh community is so important. Giving people the need to read that paper and understand that journalism is changing — the people here are working on that.”
