Photobooth

February 13, 2008

I’m giving a reading in mid-March at The Whistlestop Bar in South Park, San Diego.

I read there a few months ago (my essay from Pindeldyboz, “Son of Kong”). This time i’ll be reading (with three other people) about Photobooth photo strips. You know those booths that they have at malls, and stores, and fairs where you pull back a curtain and sit down and get to try four different poses and then a few minutes later a strip of photo comes out with those poses. (photobooth pic from the Andy Warhol Museum and this person’s Flickr acct). Apparently they’re really big at weddings now. I guess we just missed that bus, huh Ted?

Anyway, we put up a Craigslist Ad last week asking for people to scan their own photobooth photos and email them to us so we can put them up on the screen during our reading. Four writers will respond to a series of chosen Photobooth photos– in quick, sharp readings. We’re also going to have a DJ playing groovy music, possibly our own photobooth set up where for $1 the audience members can take their own pics. Cool, right?

Well, as of today we haven’t gotten a single photobooth photo from that Craigslist Ad. We have had various friends send theirs to us, and I even sent a few that I found in an old photo album of my mother’s from the 1950s. They are of my mom’s cousin Rena– a woman I never met (in fact, I don’t think I ever knew anything about her). That’s Rena on the left, though. Pretty cool chic, eh?

Ted and I are leaving for San Francisco tomorrow–YAY! (i’ll blog about it next week but just a little va-cay for us)– but we (the organizers and readers of the Photobooth reading) are still looking for Photobooth pics so if you have them send them! You can send them to me, or to Jess, one of the readers who is putting, with her boyfriend, Jason, the graphics/photobooth program together.

Here’s the Craigslist writeup with more info:

Photo booth Project- Send us your photo booth pictures!

Local Djs the Deadbirds have teamed with a group of San Diego writers to present a night of Photo booth Pictures, Thursday March 13^th at the Whistle Stop Bar.

The concept is that locals (though anyone is welcome to send pics) send us their photo booth strips (in their entirety please), then the writers will choose the best photo booth strip to respond to by writing a narrative. The stories based on the pictures will be presented on March 13^th at the Whistle Stop. There will also be a visual provided will all of the photo booth pictures. After the reading, the Deadbirds will spin 60s, Britpop, and Indie.

Please send us your wackiest, funniest, and most inspiring photo booth pictures this week. We will be accepting entries until Friday, February 15^th.

March 13^th will be a great night with three different mediums presenting their reflections on the art of the photo booth. Can’t wait to see what you send us.

The readers are:

Rob Williams (that’s me!)

Jess Jollett

Sydney Brown

and

Ryan Griffith

So, again, if you have any photobooth pics (WHOLE STRIPS PLEASE, IF POSSIBLE) scan them and send them to us! If you’re in San Diego, come by and see the show Thursday March 13 at the Whistlestop. And if you’re not in San Diego, still send your pics so we can laugh at you!
Send to me at: rob@robwilliams.org

and i’ll forward them on to Jess. Come on, you know you wanna!