Jayson Coleman
While many storytelling series like to focus on tales of happiness, success, or resilience, an upcoming event at the Pablo Center will be trying something new—sharing stories of failure, folly, and most of all, mistakes.
“Mistakes Were Made”, coming to the Pablo Center on March 13 at 7PM, will be the second “After Dark” edition of the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild’s “Sound & Stories” series. The “Sound & Stories: After Dark” series features five regional authors sharing stories for mature audiences, with the stories presented in “Mistakes Were Made” being described as “blunders so epic we have no choice but to enshrine them.”
“As it turns out, people are often quite interested in our screw-ups and darker moments, which makes this theme and this particular storytelling series work,” said Eric Rasmussen, a host and storyteller at the upcoming “Mistakes Were Made” event as well as at last year’s inaugural “After Dark” event.
Rasmussen is an Eau Claire native, author, English teacher, and editor of the Barstow & Grand literary magazine. He will be joined on the “Mistakes Were Made” stage by former Leader-Telegram reporter Dan Lyksett and Eau Claire native Laura Buchholz “whose sardonic sense of humor,” Rasmussen says, “never fails to entertain.”
“The most exciting part of the evening will be our special guests - two highly accomplished storytellers from the Twin Cities,” Rasmussen said of the final two performers taking the stage. Allison Broeren is an Eau Claire native who works as a theatrical performer and producer in Minneapolis. Rounding out the storytellers is Broeren’s friend, Jason Schommer, a storyteller and stand-up comedian who for years opened for Louie Anderson in Las Vegas.
In addition to the storytellers, music will also be provided by Creeping Charlie and the Roundups, a new band led by Jon Loomis, a local writer, poet, and musician.
While Rasmussen has a few reservations regarding sharing his personal stories of failure and embarrassment in front of a live audience, he is very excited about being able to entertain himself and the public with such tales.
“I don’t know if there will be any deep insights about failures and how to handle them, but there will definitely be tons of laughs, a few gasps, and an opportunity to enjoy the literary and performance talents of some familiar faces from around town and a few out-of-town guests!”
“Our first and biggest goal is entertainment,” Rasmussen said. “I don’t know if there will be any deep insights about failures and how to handle them, but there will definitely be tons of laughs, a few gasps, and an opportunity to enjoy the literary and performance talents of some familiar faces from around town and a few out-of-town guests!”
While pure entertainment is at the forefront for “Mistakes Were Made”, Rasmussen noted that of all the options for entertainment throughout the Chippewa Valley, this event stands out as being special.
“Just like live theatre, there’s something about an in-person storytelling experience that can’t be recreated onscreen or in a podcast,” Rasmussen said. “Our region is home to a wealth of talented writers and performers, so in addition to the stories themselves, evenings like this create a sense of community that makes for a uniquely memorable evening.”
As for the stories presented during the night themselves, they’re sure to be memorable for the audience, but ones that the storytellers would prefer to forget.
“The stories will cover a full range of boneheaded moves,” Rasmussen said, “from outdoor accidents on hunting trips, storming out of jobs with nowhere to go, and a full spectrum of errors committed behind the wheels of cars. It should be a blast!”
For those who won’t be able to make it to “Mistakes Were Made”, Rasmussen is hopeful that this won’t be the last time an event like this is held.
“After the success of last year’s ‘Sound & Stories: After Dark,’” Rasmussen said, “there’s a good chance the Writers Guild will continue hosting more mature storytelling events for the foreseeable future. And there are SO MANY performers we could tap, plenty to keep this series going for years.”
$10 all-inclusive tickets for “Mistakes Were Made” are available online for purchase here