Shoplandia: Creating Comedy in the Studio

Today we're hearing from Jim Breslin, the founder of West Chester Story Slam, who has just written his first novel. I asked Jim to reflect on writing comedy.

I was recently at Chester County Book Company, reading a short story from my newly released novel Shoplandia. The story I read took the form of a fawning letter written by an Iowan woman to a show host who works at the Shoplandia home shopping channel. In the letter, we learn much about the mother, her husband and her dreams for her daughter. Although the letter is humorous, it is also tinged with a sadness about this woman’s plight in the heartland.  

So anyway, I was reading this story in front of fifty people and the laughs were tremendous, and this was obviously exhilarating. People laughed at the right places. It was strange though, because I felt a sadness welling up for this fictional woman’s predicament. The moment reminded me of this quote.

The author and Joan Rivers

“Tragedy is when I get a hangnail. Comedy is when someone else falls into an open sewer and dies.”        - Mel Brooks

Having written the character of Shoplandia customer Marie Ellen Marstan, I feel her pain more than the typical reader might. I had to remind myself she’s not real! And I find this interesting, particularly because of the subject of this novel.

You see, I worked as a producer at a real shopping channel, QVC, for seventeen years. Over this time, I worked closely with the show hosts, my fellow producers and the crews, soap opera celebrities and infomercial pitchmen. Many have become friends. There really hasn’t been a novel written with an insider’s perspective of what happens inside the TV studio of a home shopping network. There’s a real mayhem in a live TV studio. So when I set out to write Shoplandia, my goal was to capture that spirit of a frenetic live TV studio and the bonds that form between the people that work or visit.

Throughout Shoplandia, disasters occur. There’s love, sex, death, and pooping moose candy dispensers. There’s a motivational guru, a reality TV star, and a retired drunk baseball player. But in the end, Shoplandia is about those that work hard to keep the show on the air, the sales stream flowing, and American shoppers entertained. 

My hope is that stories can be funny and sad and powerful when the protagonist is somebody worth rooting for. I hope you will read Shoplandia, and let me know if you agree.

You purchase the book here

Jim Breslin’s Shoplandia is being published on May 15, 2004. There are three events to celebrate the launch. Learn more at jimbreslin.com.

SHOPLANDIA Book Launch

Thursday, May 15th, 6-8 p.m., short presentation at 7 p.m.

Chester County Book and Music Company

957 Paoli Pike

West Chester, PA 19380

Open to the public. For more info, click HERE.

SHOPLANDIA Book Launch Weekend

Sunday, May 18th 3-5 p.m.

BOOKPLACE,

2373 Baltimore Pike

Oxford, PA. (717 951-6418)

For more info, click HERE.

SHOPLANDIA Book Signing/Discussion

Tuesday, May 20th 6:30 p.m.

Henrietta Hankin Library

215 Windgate Dr, Chester Springs, PA 19425

(610) 321-1700

Author and Story Slam Producer Jim Breslin Recommends: Short Stories for my Sons

As part of our series of author recommendations, this week we're hearing from Jim Breslin, whose short story collection, Elephant: Short Stories and Flash Fiction, debuted in 2011. Jim is currently working on a collection of interlinked stories about men and women searching for the American Dream while working in the TV studio of a home shopping network.  Jim spent seventeen years as a producer and executive at QVC. He is the founder of the West Chester Story Slam and the Delco Story Slam, which include live monthly events and podcasts.

Introduction: We’ve heard that men don’t read, that boys don’t read, but it’s not true. With two sons in college, I’ve been thinking recently about short stories by men, short stories for men. It was during my college years that I first read John Cheever and discovered Raymond Carver. It was also during this time that I developed a love for the short story.

So with that in mind, here’s a few short stories that I’d recommend to my sons:

“Real Life” by Donald Ray Pollock

Simply read the opening sentence:  “My father showed me how to hurt a man one August night at the Torch Drive-in when I was seven years old.” This story details a family’s trip to the drive-in where both father and son take part in a violent clash in the men’s restroom, and the father’s behavior careens from bad to worse. This story is funny until it isn’t, and it provides insights on how not to raise your sons when the time comes.

“Bethlehem is Full” by Boomer Pinches   

This story studies the theme of shared accountability of a couple in terminating a pregnancy. After the girlfriend has an abortion, a couple takes a trip to Australia where the landscape appears as barren as their future. After a series of bleak and symbolic adventures, the couple rescues a stray dog in the Outback. When the girlfriend decides to return home, her boyfriend takes accountability for his lack of previous actions.

“Why Don’t You Dance” by Raymond Carver 

Really, I’d like my sons to read all of Carver. No writer packed punches like Carver’s fiction did when I was nineteen. But “Why Don’t You Dance” is the classic, the Carver story that my professor read aloud on my first day of creative writing class. A man sits alone in his front yard, having placed all his furniture on the lawn. When a young couple stop by, thinking it is a yard sale, he entertains them, offering drinks and dancing with the young girl. So spare and haunting, the story still gives me chills.  

“On The Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien  

From the collection, The Things They Carried.  

This is about a young man due to report to duty for the war in Vietnam. Wrestling with his options, he leaves his meat-packing job in Minnesota, packs up and drives north. He stops just short of the Canadian border at a campground and spends the week contemplating whether to flee or be sent to war. It appears to be a question of how one defines courage.

“Killings” by Andre Dubus 

Gripping from the start, this story explores it all - death, love, and the morality of revenge. What is the role of a husband and father in protecting his family? This story is chilling because of how logical Dubus makes it seem. This sad tale was turned into a movie, In The Bedroom.

Here’s some other notable mentions:

"The Killers" by Ernest Hemingway

"Goodbye, My Brother" by John Cheever

"So Much Water, So Close To Home" by Raymond Carver

"What We Talk About When We Talk About Ann Frank" by Nathan Englander

"Are These Actual Miles" by Raymond Carver

What are some short stories you’d recommend, or have recommended, to your sons?

Interview with Jim Breslin of West Chester Story Slam

Today’s interview is with writer Jim Breslin who has an imaginative storytelling venture, West Chester Story Slam.  The West Chester Story Slam has developed a loyal following in the Philadelphia area over the past four years. Jim has just launched Delco Story Slam in January, 2013.

About Jim: He is a short story writer, editor and publisher. His first collection, Elephant: Short Stories and Flash Fiction came out in 2010. He also published Chester County Fiction, an anthology featuring sixteen stories. For seventeen years, Jim was a TV producer at QVC, the world’s largest shopping network. He’s also has written food and beer reviews for print and online publications.

SARETT: Describe how the West Chester Story works?  Can anyone go and tell a story?  

BRESLIN: Yes, they can! Before the show, anyone who wants to tell a story signs a release and we put their name in a hat. Stories should be true as you remember it, be about five minutes long and fit the theme of the night. We post the themes on the website.

West Chester Story Slam is the second Tuesday of the month, 8 p.m.,  at Side Bar in WC borough. Reserved seats are recommended since these shows do sell out. Tickets are $8 and can be ordered through West Chester Story Slam by clicking here.

Delco Story Slam is the fourth Wednesday of the month, 7 p.m., at Burlap and Bean, an awesome coffee house in Newtown Square. Tickets and tables can be reserved through their events page, and we usually have seats available the night of the show.

SARETT: There are a lot of comedy clubs, but few “storytelling” venues.  How did you come up with this idea?

BRESLIN: I’m a fan of The Moth storytelling podcast and urban story slams such as Windy City Story Slam and First Person Arts Story Slam in Philadelphia. One day I tweeted “Is there anything like The Moth out in West Chester?” and a friend replied, “No, but you should start one. We’d come.” So I did.

SARETT: Lots of us came from families with great storytellers.  Was yours one of them?  

BRESLIN: I’m the oldest of eight kids from an Irish Catholic family, so yes! It’s common to get a call from a sibling and the first thing they say is “I got a story for ya...”

SARETT: You’ve been doing the slam for a while. By now, you’ve seen a lot of winners and losers?  In your mind, what’s the great secret to a successful “story” for the slam?

BRESLIN: I think the best stories are surprising and reveal something about the storyteller. Often, a person shows up just to watch, but at at intermission they put their name in the hat, basically on a lark, and they win. Everyone has great stories.

SARETT: I see lots of fun topics for the slams -- where do you get the ideas for them?  Do audience members supply them?  What was your favorite topic?

BRESLIN: I lay out the entire following season in December. I have solicited ideas from story slam fans through Facebook, I’ve gone through my iPod playlist, books, and I keep an eye on what others slams throughout the world are doing. One of my favorites was "Celebrity Sightings.” We heard amazing stories about people such as Lee Marvin, Johnny Weismuller, Bill Murray, and the Queen of England.

SARETT: Are there other ventures in the area that are similar to yours (and do you see catching on?)  

BRESLIN: First Person Arts in Philadelphia holds two slams a month. Bradley Beck just came to our Delco Story Slam and told a great story. He is starting a Storytelling event in Philly called Liberation and they have a Facebook page.

SARETT: Are the stories recorded so that others can buy them?  Do you produce books?

BRESLIN: People sign a release so the stories can be recorded and put on Youtube. I choose three stories from each story slam and produce a free monthly podcast that is available for MP3 players and iTunes. Next year is our fifth anniversary, so I have ideas in the works for something special. We’ll see.

SARETT: I enjoy stories when I can read them aloud.  As a writer, I always read aloud, too.  But do you think there’s a basic difference between the oral story and the written one?

BRESLIN: This is an interesting question. I think Norman Mailer said something about how he thought his stories should not be read aloud. I’m not a fan of author readings, where their head is down reading. Story Slams work because they are totally different - they are more akin to the bar stories that people tell - there’s no notes allowed.

SARETT: Tell us about other projects that you’re working on.

BRESLIN: I’m on the final push for my latest book, a collection of stories where the characters work at a fictional home shopping channel. It has been a long process but I poured my heart into these stories.

Thanks to Jim for stopping by. Jim’s writing website can be found here. He is on Twitter at @jimbrez.

Available on Kindle