Closing Chapter One of Oral Fixation

Last night closed out season one of Dallas’ new storytelling series, Oral Fixation. Created by Actress, Writer, Pilates Guru, and story telling sorceress, Nicole Stewart, these evenings give us a monthly night of pause to hear true tales from seven, brave tellers. While some, like recurring presenter Mac Lower are stage professionals, others are normal folks with a lot of something to say.

I moved to Dallas just before the new year, concerned that I wouldn’t find the same sense of community and creative passion that I’d experienced in my old digs. My worries were quelled when I attended my first Oral Fixation, themed “One Night Stands.” As I watched seven strangers attempt every literary angle imaginable with those three words, bravely sharing stories that I wouldn’t reveal to my dearest friends, I knew this city would be just fine. And last night’s show filled the larger of the two Kitchen Dog theaters with a stand-by list, so others must agree.

Tuesday’s tales revolved loosely around the title “Cooking With Gas” and gave us stories of death, lost and found love, manual labor and lacrosse. But nobody could touch Sarah Hepola. Currently writing a book on drinking (Can I just go ahead and pre-order that one?) she cuts straight to the morning she woke up in a dog bed after an office holiday party. Somebody else’s dog bed, mind you. From there, we are addicted to her addictions, to her zest, to her humor. She’s ourselves and our friends at our best and worst, simultaneously. I want to see a lot more of her. Sarah, please start a podcast, stat.

If you missed this chapter of Oral Fixation you’ll be able to catch up soon. Stewart promised this season’s programming would be converted to video and put online in the near future. Season Two’s themes will be announced during the summer, so you’ll have plenty of time to draft your own tales for the next installment. Also, if the amount of people this show attracts is any indication of story telling’s fanbase in Dallas, I think there’s room for a spin-off series based on purely fictional tales. Somebody take charge: we’ve got a lot of yarns to spin.