Everybody loves a good story; it’s part of being human. Every culture on the planet has an oral tradition in some form, in part because storytelling goes as far back as human language. Every communal human activity has a story at its heart, a reason for people to cooperate. The stories we tell each other are how we define ourselves and our culture. Stories have great power to stir the hearts of people, perhaps the most power of any human creation. A good story, well-told, is work of art and a treasure beyond comparison. Such a treasure forms the core of our most beloved works, from the Bible, to Hamlet, to Star Wars.

The debut performance of “NOW HEAR THIS: A Story & Music Performance Series” was a celebration of that art of storytelling. The brainchild of Sacramento-area actor Atim Udoffia, “NOW HEAR THIS” was a new theatrical attraction in Sacramento: local actors performed dramatized readings of three pieces of short fiction with live musical accompaniment.

Udoffia, a professional actor of stage and screen, is intimately familiar with the art of storytelling. In the desire to further the art of the oral tradition, she spent the summer collecting works of short fiction from authors around the nation, and then selected the three she found the most striking. To add depth, professional musician Clifford Childers—also Udoffia’s husband—variously selected and composed the pieces of music to be performed live with each story. Childers then assembled a group of local musicians: guitarists Victor Contreras and Ross Hammond, and drummer Jon Bafus.

The night’s performance drew a crowd of close to forty, packed close in Riverside Boulevard’s Gold Lion Arts. First was spoken-word artist David Scott, with a riveting performance of Mark Wisniewski’s urban thriller “Straightaway.” Udoffia herself came next, with Art Edwards’ gentle and melancholy “Tree Limb Chair.” To conclude, West Sacramento actor and media professional Ethan Ireland performed his father Patrick Ireland’s “Slugger,” a dark and twisted work of crime fiction originally deemed “too gritty” for the pulp magazines of the 1990s.

“NOW HEAR THIS” received a warm and enthusiastic audience response, and many members requested more. As a result of her show’s success, Udoffia is now considering a monthly performance of “NOW HEAR THIS.” The show’s upcoming performance dates will be made public as soon as they are available.