Korean American Story Virtual Roar 2021

ROAR Story Slam is an annual live storytelling competition hosted by KoreanAmericanStory.org. Six finalists, who have been specially selected from our submission pool, will perform their unique, creative, and authentic Korean American story for a chance to win a cash prize of up to $1,000. Each finalist will have no more than six minutes to tell their story, without the use of scripts nor props. The winners will be determined by audience vote, which will be revealed at the end of the event. Our goals are to encourage Korean Americans to recognize the significance and range of our community’s narratives, to document and preserve them and to showcase them for the community and the public beyond.

Our theme for this year’s Story Slam is “My Taboo”.
What are some of the “taboos” in your life? Though we love stories about family and food, we encourage you to explore other areas such as work, physical and mental health, relationships, language, sexuality, and society. Try different styles (narrative or spoken word) and tones (light or heavy, comedic or dramatic, or somewhere in-between), but all stories must be about your own real-life experiences, as you remember them.

Requirements

• Entrants must be at least 18 years of age.
• Submissions must be in English. Any Korean or other language used must be translated.
• This competition is intended for those who identify as Korean American, although entrants can reside anywhere in the world.
• Selected finalists must be able to compete live in the virtual ROAR Story Slam (including the post-event Zoom Q&A) on April 30th, 2021 starting 6PM EST check in and 7PM EST event.
• For the live event, stories must be told without scripts or props. (You may use/hold a script for your initial submission.)
• Access to a strong internet connection is required.
• Selected finalists are required to attend professional storytelling coaching sessions via Zoom.
• Selected finalists must agree to sign a waiver allowing the use of the live event video by KoreanAmericanStory.org.

Application Instructions

Please submit 2 videos:

(1) Performance Video

• Record a video of yourself telling your story in 4 to 6 minutes. No submissions shorter or longer will be reviewed.
• The video should be filmed at half-body distance (no close-ups) and ideally with a simple indoor background.
• Please upload your video to YouTube as “unlisted” and include a WRITTEN version of your story in the description section.
• If you are submitting something you have presented elsewhere, you are still required to adhere to this format. Please do not submit an old video unless it conforms to this required format.

• (2) Introduction Video

• Tell us about yourself! Your name, age, where you’re from and what you do (occupation). Share with us three fun facts about yourself and if you can, show a simple video visual of each fact. Eg: if your fun fact is that you picked up skateboarding during quarantine, get a friend to record you cruising!

• Duration: 2-3 minutes

• Format: Please film all footage horizontal and upload your video to YouTube as “unlisted”.