Life Out Loud
Lip Service gives writers an outlet for their true stories

Lip Service founder and co-producer Andrea Askowitz.

Alternatively, or maybe ironically, the Miami-based Lip Service Stories, a cross between a good book and a good play, advertises itself as “the smartest, hottest, most honest literary event in South Florida.”

Created in 2006 by Andrea Askowitz, a self-described “Gringa, Lesbo, Afro-Jew,” a single-mom and a native of Miami, Askowitz returned from living in Los Angeles and realized there was a void in the South Florida literary scene. So, three years ago when she approached Mitch Kaplan, the founder of Books & Books in Coral Gables, and inquired whether or not there were any what she calls “stories out loud,” he challenged her to create one, and thus, was born Lip Service Stories.

Askowitz, 41, who considers herself a writer, performer and comedic storyteller, is also the author of a book entitled, My Miserable Lonely Lesbian Pregnancy, a humorous look at her life and experience while pregnant with her first child, Natasha, now 5. Eight months ago she had a son, Sebastian. She says, “I love telling, listening to and hearing stories. Lip Service is good theatre. ”

“Because I’m a lesbian, I’ve always had a bit of identity confusion. Even before I knew I was a lesbian, I knew I was different. I thought I was black.”—Andrea Askowitz

Lip Service, held quarterly at Books & Books is a fraternal twin to its near-relative, the poetry slam or its cousin, the Def Poetry Jam. However, unlike those events, where the audience can be brutal and at times insulting, and will rate the performer, sometimes with jeers or boos, the audience at Books & Books is nothing if not supportive. And, instead of reading poetry, each performer/writer writes a short, real-life, true narrative from their own experience.

Nick Garnett reads one of his pieces at Lip Servioce’s Write Out Lous event at the Miami International Book Fair.

“I like to think of us in the oral tradition of NPR’s ‘StoryCorps Project’ or Ira Glass’ ‘This American Life,’ but even better because you can see the authors,” says Askowitz. “It’s a cross between theatre and literature. The performance is compelling since you become an intimate voyeur into someone else’s life.”

Lip Service solicits stories on their website and is open to everyone. Anyone can submit an original work to Lip Service where it will be reviewed by Askowitz and her co-producer, Esther Martinez. They receive approximately 40-50 submissions each cycle and from there choose eight pieces to be performed, each of them eight minutes long.
Martinez, 31, also a native Miamian and a graduate student in the MFA program at FIU, considers herself a memoirist and draws upon material from her unusual childhood. Helping Ourselves recounts her immigrant family’s unorthodox shopping habits.

“It’s OK to talk about your life in a way that’s not always flattering,” Martinez says. “Some things may be shameful or inappropriate, but writing about them is part of the process of reflecting and coping with your past.”

“Maybe it only becomes stealing when you drop a couple of ahi cachuchas into your pocket, instead of your mouth.”—Esther Martinez.

Andrea Askowitz reads her work at Books & Books at a Lip Service event.

Together, Askowitz and Martinez look for stories that surprise them and recount something new, especially funny and sad stories. They prefer stories with emotional journeys and stories that transport the listener to new and interesting places. Many of the participants are writers, such as Askowitz and Martinez. However, for others, such as Judy Valdes, 41, a property manager and mother of four, it was a first-time and novel experience. She wrote and performed her piece, Cuba 1980, about her family’s exodus from Cuba as part of the Mariel boatlift and their voyage to a new life in the United States.

“And while I didn’t understand anything about leaving my country, I understood we were in search of something as strong as life.”—Judy Valdes.

“It was one of my most rewarding experiences,” says Valdes. “I had never done anything like this before. I practiced in front of other participants and everyone offered their support and advice. I was nervous and excited and I learned how to read, make eye contact with the audience and breathe deeply at the same time.”

Tim Curtis, a 50-something, award-winning sculptor from Miami and the 2006 recipient of the South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship for Visual and Media Artists, recently took up writing and was thrilled to have two of his short pieces accepted into Lip Service. His piece, Asshole, despite its crude title, is a comic, self-deprecating look back at his first sexual experiences in high school. He performed both pieces live and now incorporates the written word into his spiritually-themed sculptures.

“Even in that tiny car Jill had managed to crawl on top of me. Her back now pressed hard against the headliner, my bare butt scraping the floorboard. Like circus clowns, we were crammed between the dashboard and back window, arms and legs entwined…”—Tim Curtis.

Steve Moss, the operations manager at Books & Books, is also a performer. Last February, he had the honor of being the opening act with his original piece, Walter B. Walters.

“It's a special feeling to hear the audience laugh at something you have written and that you think is funny, too,” says Moss. “Of course, I had a slight advantage in that I use the podium every night to introduce the events.”

“We are all dressed in our best spandex-parachute pants and itchy Guyana shirts as the big gold Lincoln Continental silently rolls to a stop outside Rehearsal Bay #5.”—Steve Moss.

Manuel Martinez reads at Write Out Loud at the Miami International Book Fair.

According to Moss, the event gives new authors a forum from which to expand their confidence, skills and abilities as well as providing a chance for aspiring authors to be discovered.

Lip Service has evolved into a community-oriented event for people who not only appreciate literacy and a good story, but for anyone who loves language and the spoken word.

From a business perspective, Lip Service has been a win-win for Books & Books.

“Lip Service has become a staple at Books & Books and has blossomed into one of the most largely attended, most popular events,” says Moss. “There are always at least 150 people on hand to hear their friends, relatives, or just plain strangers read their true stories out loud.”

The next Lip Service performance is Saturday, September 26, 7 p.m., at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, 305-442-4408. For story clips and submission criteria, visit www.LipServicestories.com or e-mail info@LipServicestories.com. Lip Service will also perform as part of the MiamiBook Fair’s Write Out Loud Program in November.

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