July’s story slam drowns the Haven Social Club

By Mathew White

EDMONTON — Although the sun may have been shining, it was a particularly dark night at the Haven Social Club Wednesday, as the Edmonton Story Slam Society filled the room with tales of demons, disease and melting eyeballs.

There wasn’t a seat to be found as 11 writers each braved the spotlight, competing for his or her chance at the $165 grand prize.

For most of the night it looked like Anglia Redding was going to walk away with the money.  Her story about a young man who wishes to be handsome forever had the bar in hysterics when the man finally got his wish with an ironic twist.

But with only three writers left, story-slam veteran Dawn Dumont knocked Redding out of first place and was able to hold onto the spot long enough to take home the prize.

“I feel really good,” said Dumont.  “It was really close so I feel like I earned it tonight.”

Before Dumont took first place, however, she was nearly beaten out by Mike Hamm, who told a futuristic love story.

“I was like ‘oh, that’s it’,” said Dumont when she initially saw Hamm’s score.  “And I was so disappointed.”

But fortunately for Dumont, Hamm went 37 seconds over the allotted time limit and was therefore deducted two points.

This is not Dumont’s first time competing at the story slam, nor is it her first time winning.  In fact, Dumont has won more than half the time she has competed.  She said comedy is what gives her the edge.

And comedy is something that comes quite naturally for Dumont, so much so, that she’s been a stand-up comedian for the past eight years.  She is also a published author, just releasing the novel, “Nobody Cries at Bingo” in May.

Wednesday night’s first-place story is titled, “Jasmine”, and according to Dumont, it’s based on a true story.

“Everything that was in that story was true, except for the part about my mom winning the lottery, she never said that,” said Dumont.  “It was my uncle who said he won the lottery.”

Listen to Dawn Dumont’s story, Jasmine, here:
Julystoryslam by westedmontonlocal

Rounding out the evening’s top three was Angela Redding in second place and Ryan Bronsgrove in third.

Edmonton Story Slam

The Edmonton Story Slam Society is an organization that gives local writers a chance to share their work with a live audience.  The rules of the competition are as follows:

• Each writer has five minutes
• For every ten seconds over the limit, 0.5 points is deducted
• Story must be original and unpublished
• Five judges each give a score out of 10 and an average is taken from the middle three scores
• Contestants must be present when their name is called or they’re disqualified
• Contestants are gonged after seven minutes
• Audience members are asked to donate towards the first-place prize

The next story slam is scheduled for August 17.