At last year's inaugural festival, a storyteller named Mike Perry hosted a workshop called "Everything but A Story," where he taught attendees how to share good stories. He was a dynamic presenter, a kind person, and very supportive of our new festival. Mike entered several of our writing contests and was set to perform several of his original tales on stage this year.

​

Just over a week ago, Mike performed his magnum opus at a theater in New York. It was an hour long story inspired by his own life and start as a storyteller in the circus. Following the performance, he had a sudden heart attack and passed away. Storytellers from the region have been reaching out to us to let us know, in a common theme in all of their emails is that they know how much Mike loved being part of our festival last year, and how excited he was to be here in Nelsonville this October.

​

Our committee especially feels both devastated and honored to have been able to meet Mike for such a short time. He gave us great feedback last year and was very supportive of everything we were trying to accomplish. All of this being said, Mike's slot remains his. We will open with a short speech to honor Mike's legacy and impact on ALAS, and then the stage will be yours.

 

Share a story that is near to your own heart. Anyone is welcome to step on up and share a story in Mike's honor!