by Ex Fabula blogger, Steph Kilen
The “Faking It” event at Bayview Brew Haus on Tuesday, Jan. 10 could not have had a more appropriate start: The first name drawn from the hat was that of a first-time storyteller and attendee, let’s call him “Joe.” Leah quickly sussed out that Joe didn’t exactly understand that when he put his name in it was to get on stage and tell a story on the theme “Faking It.” So, Leah literally, but delicately, gave Joe the boot and the real first story teller of the evening took the stage. We applaud Joe however, for exhibiting exactly the kind of “warrior courage” we discussed prior to this event and hope that a slightly more prepared Joe joins Ex Fabula for the February 15 event at Stonefly Brewery.
Clarence “Sammy” Aumend told of how he found out how his mother had faked many of the important facts of his life after she brought him to the U.S. from the Philippines as a young child. At 15-years old he found out the man he thought was his father, wasn’t. As an adult he found out he never had U.S. citizenship and that he two “cousins” were actually his sisters. Mom never got around to telling him any of this.
Ruby Brooks, another first-timer took the stage and told the audience about her father, “The Best Daddy in the Whole Wide World.” Rounding out the first-timer round, Paul Warloski, at 16-years old, faked interest in politics, and in particular George H.W. Bush working on his campaign in order to get at the campaign managers daughter and wine cellar. He learned his lesson though, and promises he would now only work for a political campaign if it was Obama’s with the promise of Halle Berry and a 12-year old Scotch.
After the break, Rory Trainor shared the story of having to fake being hypnotized. Husband and wife team, Brad and Andrea Hoeschen recounted the many ways “faking it” had played a part in their law careers and how Andrea could fake it no more and quit her job. Marge Eisman explained how she has been faking being a 54 year-old person with a lot of work experience having never held a job longer than a year.
Leah Leone explained how her ADD made “faking it” an essential skill for getting her PhD. Then, Grant Hagen regaled how he and his army buddies once faked their way to free third row tickets at a Led Zeppelin concert.
The last storyteller to take the stage, took the prize of Audience Favorite. Tracy Lehrmann stunned the crowd with the story of her ongoing and extensive support of a friend she thought was battling cancer, only to find out that it wasn’t cancer she was suffering from, but Munchausen Syndrome.
Thanks to all the storytellers and everyone who came out and packed the Bayview Brew Haus. We had so much fun, we’re thrilled we only have to wait a couple of weeks for the next event. Join us Saturday, January 28, 8 p.m. at Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall, 1920 S 37th St., for the next installment of our Terminal Milwaukee series, when the theme will be “Generation Gap.”
Photos from “Faking It” coming soon.
