by Abby McMillen
That insatiable tug on a person’s heart to abandon routine in pursuit of purpose: it’s a feeling we can all recall and relate to.
Personal evaluation of happiness occurs in a wide range, from grandiose epiphanies to little daily realizations, and everything in between. For Jennifer Capo, the enchantingly wild mind behind a community-centered storytelling series called “Life Aquatic: Ocean Dwellers & Storytellers,” there came what she describes as a “mountaintop moment.” Sifting through the elements of her life that brought her true joy amplified a craving to follow the trail to the things she felt deeply passionate about, all of which were connected by a single common thread — an “undeniable love of stories and storytelling.”
“I’m a writer and performer with an big imagination by nature,” she said. “But last year was an incredibly tough year with some personal failures. I knew the only way that I could accept these failures was to continue to create a life that makes me smile when I look back at it. So, I took a few breaths, put my hand on my heart and thought about the happiest moments of my life. They were when I was exploring, creating events, discovering new things, and connecting people. Stories give me that. Especially true stories.”
Capo is a natural storyteller. Her word-weaving resume is dappled with points of fiction writing, acting stints, and most recently, video technology. All of these experiences produced an adoration for spoken words, but Capo was dissatisfied with the stale and predictable formula of author and audience, one reading from a written page, the other sitting captive. An ideal storytelling experience, she decided, would fly in the face of rote performance. There was a need for the element of discovery, both for the audience and the speaker. Thus, “Life Aquatic” was born.
Brought to life here in the South Bay, connected through sea-themed tales, catalyzed by Capo, the performances each hold a life of their own. “Life Aquatic” is a musically accompanied adventure, entirely unscripted, crafted to unite lovers and explorers of the ocean as well as “people who are willing to look at the world with a new perspective,” Capo says.
Her recipe for perfect unpredictability revolves around three uncontrolled human elements: first, her storytellers, who are all hand-selected based upon the summary of their tales (but debut their performance on the night of the event); musicians who are encouraged to improvise emotively along with each narrative as it is being told in order to better elucidate each story arc; and finally, audience members, all of whom are experiencing something that’s new but intrinsically familiar.
“We all have our reasons and our stories,” Capo said. “It’s about…being open to different perspectives. I believe that when we hold on so tightly to our own opinions and ideas we stop listening and learning. It’s difficult to make discoveries and grow in that space.”
The January 19 edition of “Life Aquatic” marks its second appearance at Sloopy’s Beach Cafe in Manhattan Beach, which Capo describes as an “oddball” and “intimate” venue. Sloopy’s is a comfortable and organic space; patrons are greeted by wine and appetizers, then quickly swept in to each storyteller’s memories and grounded moments through an orchestrated ebb and flow of story style.
Morgan Sliff, a local surfer who has now surfed 550 consecutive days, was among the storytellers and audience members last time.
“Life Aquatic cultivates connections,” said Sliff, who is one of the eight performers again this Thursday. “As a storyteller, you get to share something special and personal, and as a listener, you get to live another life and step into a strangers adventure for a few minutes.”
Capo directs it all, from her cast of stories to the perfect placement of each to illuminate her own story arc; a narrative of the narratives, in a way. The act is truly just as much for the sake of the storytellers themselves as for the audience. Each occurrence is an authentic and paramount life event, and the beauty is in the telling, rather than the receiving, of the performance.
Underlying all other elements, though, Capo’s desire to break conventionality shines through. Her brainchild echoes this “flirtation with the unexpected”; “Life Aquatic” promises an atypical, captivating, and out of the ordinary evening, sprinkled with surprise, delight, and hopefully some “creation of magic.”
“Put a cast of 8 storytellers that don’t know each other in a room listening to each other,” Capo said. “Then musicians listening and enhancing the stories, then an audience listening to both. I don’t know. Maybe some magic can slip in there and they walk away with new perspectives.”
Life Aquatic, featuring Join Marion Clark, of Surf Academy, as she goes to the North Shore to accept an unexpected invitation; Jo Newman, writer and actress, goes on an ocean cruise and stirs up trouble on deck; Bob Sievers, big wave surfer, goes underwater for a big wave holddown; musician Mitch Chang brings the cinematic sounds alongside many more storytellers, one night only. Thursday January 19, 7-9:30 p.m., Sloopy’s Beach Cafe, 3416 Highland Ave., Manhattan Beach, $10 in advance (suggested, tickets available on Eventbrite.com) or $15 at the door.
