The buzz starts before 7 pm down on the sidewalk in front of the Victoria Event Centre on Broad Street on the third Thursday of every month. There are greetings and hugs in the lineup as people wait to get into the storytelling event Confabulation.
Confabulation producers Cassandra Togneri and former Camosun student and Nexus writer Carol-Lynne Michaels say the event was started in Montreal eight years ago by comedian and storyteller Matt Goldberg. Togneri was helping out on the show in Montreal, but when she moved to Victoria, she thought of expanding Confabulation. At the same time, Goldberg’s co-producer was moving and wanted to start the show in Toronto. Now it’s held in all three cities.
“When I first moved here,” says Togneri, “I was working in an office with Missy Peters of Paper Street Theatre and I was telling her about this idea and she said, ‘Oh, I know someone, Carol-Lynne Michaels, who’s been wanting to do this type of thing for years now.’”
Michaels had been coaching in the Canadian Improv Games; she wanted to start a show but didn’t want to do it on her own. (Anyone can tell a story at Confabulation, but those looking to tell their story need to register beforehand at confabulation.ca.)
“I already had project budget sheets ready to go, looking at different venues and people I’d like to approach,” says Michaels. “Our very first show was part of the Fringe Club in August of 2016, a soft launch, stories from different Fringes across the country.”
After that soft launch, Confabulation moved to the Victoria Event Centre. Michaels says that getting a turnout of 200 people was a landmark for the event.
“That was the threshold we were really excited to hit last year, where we had a huge audience,” she says, “out the door, around the corner.”
Togneri and Michaels credit their audience for Confabulation’s growth.
“Every third Thursday [of the month] they put on a nice little party for themselves beforehand right up until the shows start,” says Togneri. “It’s a nice vibe. This is the number-one way that I’ve been meeting people in Victoria… absolutely.” (Although Confabulation is usually on the third Thursday of every month, December’s is on the second Thursday.)
One of the things Michaels really likes about Confabulation is that the audience and participants create an environment that “feels like we’re all in this big living room together” listening to stories.
“We brought something new to Victoria and people were really excited about it,” she says. “They didn’t necessarily know they wanted to go to a storytelling show, but they’re so willing to just try it and come with their friend. Our biggest advertising has been word-of-mouth.”
Each month’s event has a theme; December’s is “family stories.” Michaels says this theme can open up the storytelling to family myths and legends and other stories people keep alive within their families.
“It’s an interesting show because you think it’s going to be this sweet holiday show and there’s a lot of interpretations of the family theme,” says Togneri. “Family conflict—difficult, interesting, wild stories… There’s quite a range.”
Confabulation
7:30 pm Thursday, December 13
$10, Victoria Event Centre
confabulation.ca