StoryTime at the Cactus Cafe: June
Paul Normandin performing with Stephanie Hagemeister in the Hideout's Fancy Pants Improv show. Photo by Michael Yew. On Tuesday, June 26, local speaker, writer and commentator Mary Gordon Spence and improvisor and story teller Paul Normandin got this month’s StoryTime at the Cactus Cafe started with a story.
Open Mic portion of the evening. Some stories may contain strong language.
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Featured StoryTellers
Mary Gordon Spence
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Austin writer and raconteur (and long-time on air KUT fundraiser) Mary Gordon Spence has had a lifetime of magic moments — from flashing Texas-based Secret Service Agents on an elevator and baptizing her father in a South Texas river to making best friends with every passenger on Southwest Airlines flight when she rolled on a case of Shiner Bock. And she graciously invites listeners into her world where routine events are rarely dull.
This former First Grade Valentine Queen—and first on her block to get a hula-hoop—grew up in a small Texas town where family storytelling and sing-alongs were everyday rituals. While friends were reading comic books and watching Howdy Doody, Mary Gordon was listening to dramatic tales of Texas history and stories of political wins and losses.
A master of diversity, Mary Gordon has lived in Latin America, taught students from kindergarten to college, directed statewide environmental programs, written Texas history materials, drafted legislation, and worked for former president Lyndon Johnson.
Mary Gordon is the mother of two way-above average adult children and their way-above-average spouses, and grandmother of the brilliant and talented William (6), Caroline (4), Henry (1 ½ ) and fresh-born Griffin.
Paul Normandin
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Paul Normandin tells stories. Whether as a Project Manager for the State of Texas, President of the Ultimate Players League of Austin, or raconteur at Gnap! No Shame Theatre, Paul loves to tell a story to anyone who will listen.
Paul weaves improvised, communal tales on the Hideout stage with his troupes In Our Prime, Two Guys From Yonkers, and Apocalypse Improv. Paul is a graduate of both The Hideout Theatre and the Merlin Works Institute for Improvisation and a member of the Central Texas Storytellers Guild.
Podcast: Download (47.8MB)
