• Reporter profile
• More by Dylan Smith

• Latest
• Most Commented

• Radar van locations, traffic incidents & today's gas prices
• TUSD lawyer appointed assistant city manager
• J.C. Scott: Reforming state sales tax
• DSM-5, controversial update to psych manual, released
• Ancient African coins suggest Australia was ‘discovered’ earlier than 1606

• Poll: Flake among least-favorite senators after gun-bill vote7
• Buckley: My first and last days at the Tucson Citizen4
• Pima County, Humane Borders mapping migrant deaths4
• Pima prof: Probation based on hearsay from small groups4
• El Rio for all, not 'for sale'3

Thanks to

Posted Jul 3, 2012, 7:37 am

Dylan Smith TucsonSentinel.com

Customers: are they really always right? Find out as amateur storytellers reveal their personal tales at Thursday's Odyssey Storytelling event.

University of Arizona lab coordinator Ray Moody; artist and geologist John Wakefield; poet, writer and teacher Elizabeth Tilley; realtor Pat Archie; pastor and Wingspan program coordinator Erin Russ; and others will reveal their tales of customers, right and wrong.

From the group, which organizes monthly sessions of members of the public telling ten-minutes thematic tales:

Customers: are they really always right? Stories from the clerk facing the raging latte addicts and drunken 'last call' lunatics. Have you been that customer? Be honest! Demanding quality or accepting the schlock. Why do the road workers seem to stand around? To learn the answer press one now, or say "agent." Over or under worked? Over or under paid? Your tax dollars at work! So much red tape! Customers and employees can agree that someone is "right," and sharing stories about our righteousness is cathartic. Who have you served? Who has served you?

Although Odyssey Storytelling performances are briefly rehearsed, "the stories are not read or memorized, they are told from the life experiences and creativity of the teller," the group's website said.

Got stories to tell?

Odyssey Storytelling asks members of the public to tell their own stories, related to a monthly theme.

To submit a story for consideration, send the group a one-paragraph synopsis of your story and a brief biography.

Says Odyssey:

The themes are meant to be interpreted from a broad range of perspectives. If you are shy about telling a story, we give lots of support and helpful hints. There is a rehearsal a week before the event to run through the stories, get feedback, meet the other storytellers and enjoy some munchies.

Future themes include:

• August 2: Happy Campers: the Great Outdoors
• September 6: At the Movies
• November 1: Religion: God, Allah, Yahweh, No Way
• December 6: The End of the World As We Know It