Performances & Designs

I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving with family & friends and are now getting into the holiday spirit by decorating trees and reading Dickens!  I am busy preparing for my shows at Venue Theatre and The Strand Bookstore which are just days away.  I have also been creating some very special holiday items that are available for a limited time only at my shows and at StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com.  Why hang a store-bought Christmas stocking when you can have a personalized book stocking to encourage reading!

I hope all of you will have a chance to come to one of the shows because it is truly a celebration for me and I am going all out.  I started performing stand-up comedy in NYC back in 2002 so to return and perform my all-literary comedy act at The Strand Bookstore is such an honor.  Plus to perform in my hometown for the first time in ten years is pretty cool too.  Nothing makes me prouder than writing jokes that hopefully people enjoy but more importantly encourages them to read!

The show info is below…hope to see you there!

STAND-UP LIBRARIAN MEREDITH MYERS

“So a comedian walks into a library and decides to work there…”

You’ve seen stand-up, but not like this!  Comedian/Librarian Meredith Myers will perform an hour of hilarious literary entertainment for all ages as she riffs on pop culture icons, authors, story time, and books, books, books.  A combination of Pippi Longstocking and Sandra Bernhard with the style of Carrie Bradshaw, Myers entertains while educates about the importance of literacy and libraries as she addresses Melvil Dewey and the Dewey Decimal System, honors Edgar Allan Poe in a rock n’ roll musical parody, and dances on a book cart in a delicious holiday-inspired musical number all in literary costumes she sews herself!  There will most certainly be no shushing at this show!

VENUE THEATRE – 8pm

Friday, November 30^th & Saturday, December 1^st

$15 (bring a library card & it is just $10)

9125 US Hwy 19 N (at Mainlands Blvd in Pinellas Park)

For reservations, call 727-822-6194. Cash only.

THE STRAND BOOKSTORE – 7pm

Thursday, December 6^th

$10 Strand Gift Card (can be used for any Strand purchase)

828 Broadway at 12th Street (3^rd floor Rare Book Room)

For reservations/gift card purchase: Click HERE

Meredith Myers has a Masters degree in Library and Information Sciences from the University of South Florida and has been performing stand-up comedy across the country since 2002 after checking out a comedy book from her local library.  She wrote, produced and starred in her one-woman show Like a Publicist off-off Broadway in 2003, which received rave reviews and was based on her years working in public relations for celebrities Hugh Jackman and Jeremy Renner to Diana Krall and Whitney Houston.  Binding her experiences in comedy and libraries, Meredith created www.StandUpLibrarian.com in June of 2010 to educate and entertain people about the importance of libraries and literacy.  In 2012, she launched www.StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com so she would have something literary fabulous to wear!  She currently lives in St. Petersburg and performs at library and book events across the country. 

For press inquires and additional information on Stand-Up Librarian Meredith Myers, contact Meredith via email at StandUpLibrarianMM@gmail.com or visit StandUpLibrarian.com.

Book Stockings are available for a limited time at:
StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com

I can always count on the Kardashians
for some comedy material.

Happy Thanksgiving!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
(I made that turkey ornament in 3rd grade.)

Before we all begin a busy week of travel and turkey consumption (while the stores just bypass it all together to promote Black Friday), I wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU to all of the people who have made the past year a truly remarkable one in both personal and professional ways.  I am so grateful to my family, friends and fans who have offered me their love and support as I transitioned out of Los Angeles and back to Florida.  It has made all of the difference in finding my voice, my creativity, and learning the very important lesson that sometimes taking a step back is just so you can get more appropriate shoes for the next leg of your journey that are on sale right now at Macy’s!  Sorry, I was just distracted by a sales flyer in my newspaper.  What I meant to say was…I have a lot of shoes, wear many hats, and now have a literary purse business so if you want to buy something, shop here!  No that wasn’t my point – stupid Facebook pop up ad!  OK, seriously, my point is this…I am THANKFUL.  I have finally learned that I don’t really need the shoes at all.  I just need my feet.  They help me stand, take difficult steps and dance on a book cart, but more important than all of that, are the people who will catch me when I fall off that book cart: my friends and family.  Sure they might laugh at first but I know that when I start crying and screaming obscenities, someone is going to stop tweeting and call 911.  And that is something to be thankful for… 

Oh and because I am a librarian, I wanted to share with you the ‘Thanksgiving poem’ Over the River and Through the Wood by Lydia Maria Child.  Did you know it was a poem before it became a song?  Of course you did!  Well, I’m glad I didn’t try to shock you with a video about it then.  Anyway, HAPPY THANKSGIVING everybody!

Over the River and Through the Wood

- A Thanksgiving Poem -

By Lydia Maria Child

Over the river and through the wood 


To Grandmother's house we go. 


The horse knows the way 


To carry the sleigh 


Through white and drifted snow.

Over the river and through the wood 


Oh, how the wind does blow! 


It stings the toes 


And bites the nose, 


As over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the wood 


To have a first-rate play. 


Hear the bells ring, 


Ting-a-ling-ling! 


Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river and through the wood, 


Trot fast, my dapple gray! 


Spring over the ground 


Like a hunting hound, 


For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river and through the wood, 


And straight through the barnyard gate. 


We seem to go 


Extremely slow~ 


It is so hard to wait!

Over the river and through the wood~ 


Now Grandmother's cap I spy! 


Hurrah for fun!

Is the pudding done? 


Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

Walking through white and drifted sand...

Stand-Up Librarian Meredith Myers at NYC's The Strand Book Store: 12/6

STANDUPLIBRARIAN.COM

Contact: Meredith Myers 347-979-SHHH

StandUpLibrarianMM@gmail.com

                       

For Immediate Release

STAND-UP LIBRARIAN MEREDITH MYERS

BRINGS ALL-LITERARY COMEDY SHOW 

TO THE STRAND DECEMBER 6^TH

NEW YORK, NY (November 15, 2012) – “So a comedian walks into a library and decides to work there…”  Comedian/Librarian Meredith Myers, also known as The Stand-Up Librarian, brings her all-literary comedy show to The Strand Book Store on December 6^th. The event begins at 7pm and the purchase of a $10 Strand gift card is required to attend.

You’ve seen stand-up, but not like this!  Myers will perform an hour of hilarious literary entertainment for all ages as she riffs on pop culture icons, authors, story time, and books, books, books.  A combination of Pippi Longstocking and Sandra Bernhard with the wardrobe of Carrie Bradshaw, Myers entertains while educates about the importance of literacy and libraries as she addresses Melvil Dewey and the Dewey Decimal System, honors Edgar Allan Poe in a rock n’ roll musical parody, and dances on a book cart to Madonna, all in literary costumes she sews herself!  There will most certainly be no shushing at this show.

Myers has a Masters degree in Library and Information Sciences and has been performing stand-up comedy across the country since 2002 after checking out a comedy book from her local library.  She wrote, produced and starred in her one-woman show Like a Publicist off-off Broadway in 2003, which received rave reviews and was based on her years working in public relations for celebrities Hugh Jackman and Jeremy Renner to Diana Krall and Whitney Houston.  Binding her experiences in comedy and libraries, Meredith created StandUpLibrarian.com in June of 2010 to educate and entertain people about the importance of libraries and literacy.  In 2012, she launched StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com so she would have something literary fabulous to wear!  Her literary purses are carried by The Strand and are available for purchase at the show.  Myers currently lives in St. Petersburg, FL and performs at library and book events across the country.

This event will be located in the Strand's 3rd floor Rare Book Room at 828 Broadway at 12th Street.  The purchase of a $10 Strand gift card is required to attend and may be used at any time, towards any purchase at the Strand.

Members of the press with media-related inquiries about The Strand or this event can be sent to events@strandbooks.com or by calling 212-473-1452.

For press inquires and additional information about Stand-Up Librarian Meredith Myers, contact Meredith at 347-979-SHHH, via email at StandUpLibrarianMM@gmail.com or visit StandUpLibrarian.com.

###

Stand-Up Librarian at Venue Theatre: 11/30 & 12/1!

STANDUPLIBRARIAN.COM

Contact: Meredith Myers 347-979-SHHH

StandUpLibrarianMM@gmail.com

                       

For Immediate Release

STAND-UP LIBRARIAN MEREDITH MYERS 

BRINGS ALL-LITERARY COMEDY SHOW TO 

VENUE THEATRE NOVEMBER 30TH & DECEMBER 1ST

ST. PETERSBURG, FL (November 13, 2012) – “So a comedian walks into a library and decides to work there…”  St. Petersburg native Meredith Myers, also known as The Stand-Up Librarian, brings her all-literary comedy show to Venue Theatre on November 30^th and December 1^st.  Show times are 8pm and ticket prices only $15.

You’ve seen stand-up, but not like this!  Myers will perform an hour of literary entertainment for all ages as she riffs on pop culture icons, authors, story time, and books, books, books.  A combination of Pippi Longstocking and Sandra Bernhard with the wardrobe of Carrie Bradshaw, Myers entertains while educates about the importance of literacy and libraries as she addresses Melvil Dewey and the Dewey Decimal System, honors Edgar Allan Poe in a rock n’ roll musical parody, and dances on a book cart to Madonna, all in literary costumes she sews herself.  There will most certainly be no shushing at this show!

Myers has a Masters degree in Library and Information Sciences from the University of South Florida and has been performing stand-up comedy across the country since 2002 after checking out a comedy book from her local library.  She wrote, produced and starred in her one-woman show Like a Publicist off-off Broadway in 2003, which received rave reviews and was based on her years working in public relations for celebrities including Hugh Jackman and Jeremy Renner to Diana Krall and Whitney Houston.  Binding her experiences in comedy and libraries, Meredith created www.StandUpLibrarian.com in June of 2010 to educate and entertain people about the importance of libraries and literacy.  In 2012, she launched www.StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com so she would have something literary fabulous to wear!  She currently lives in St. Petersburg and performs at library and book events across the country.

For show reservations call 727-822-6194 or visit http://www.venueactorstudio.org/

Venue Theatre is located at 9125 US Hwy 19 N at Mainlands Blvd in Pinellas Park.

For press inquires and additional information on Stand-Up Librarian Meredith Myers, contact: Meredith Myers at 347-979-SHHH, via email at StandUpLibrarianMM@gmail.com, or visit StandUpLibrarian.com.

###

Performing For the TBLC

On Friday, November 2, 2012, I was the lunchtime entertainment for the Tampa Bay Library Consortium’s Annual Meeting.  I had never performed for a lunch before and the thought of competing with tossed salad and grilled chicken made me slightly uneasy, not to mention extremely hungry since I normally don’t eat before performances due to the fear of vomiting on my audiences out of sheer nervousness.  Plus you never really know if a person is red in the face due to the hilarity of your story time joke or because they are actually choking on a sliver of bone and need help.

I was also performing for most of libraries I had applied to work for at one time or another so the performance also felt like sort of an audition/job interview, which really makes things tough either way because when you are looking to get hired, you can’t really make fun of anybody and secretly that’s what people really want from comics – to say the things that everybody else is thinking & humiliate the jerks in the room.  For example, before I went on, a librarian came over and said that she wished I knew more of the personalities in the audience because if I could ‘roast them,’ that would have made her day.  I didn’t want to admit that I had my own list of people to roast – all across America - but due to having something called integrity and respect for myself, I wasn’t going to share any of my precious stage time talking about those sad individuals.  Besides, I am writing a book and wouldn’t it be better to save those juicy details for “The Today Show” interview with Matt Lauer?

Anyway, I also had the date of November 2^nd hanging over my head reminding me that it was exactly a year ago that my life would take a giant U-turn thanks to an article in the LA Times.  People who say there is no such thing as bad press aren’t trying to get a job in the very competitive and highly conservative library field.  Think you have an incredible resume?  Excellent references?  Make a great impression on job interviews?  None of that matters when there is a full-page story about you in one of the top papers in the country to create doubt in your abilities and intentions…to the entire industry!

At the end of the hour-long performance, I couldn’t help but to shed a tear.  I was so happy to be still standing at the microphone regardless of the obstacles put in my way.  To look out at an audience full of the librarians I long admired, most smiling and clapping, gave me hope that my unusual path, while always in development and exploration, unpaved and rugged, was always full of inspiration and adventure! 

It has been an incredible year of self-discovery and creativity for me in so many ways.  Launching Stand-Up Librarian Designs and sewing literary purses, constructing fun literary costumes with matching hats and headbands has absolutely been one of the highlights of this year.  A hobby I once gave up on, I decided to try once again and as a result, has found an audience of patrons who purchase them.  It still makes me laugh that I actually make my own outfits and have a merchandise stand full of things I created!  Now that is cool.

I cannot thank the TBLC enough for showing their support to me on such a day that sparked so many memories and allowed me to triumph!

Standing with my book cart before the show.

Performing literary jokes for the TBLC.

With Jessica Riggins of the TBLC.

ALWAYS Ask a Librarian!

Working at my merchandise stand.

“It’s the Great Pumpkin, CHRIS Brown”

***For a direct link to the video, click here: "It's the Great Pumpkin, CHRIS Brown"

(Not available on mobile phones)

I can’t believe I did another literary music video so soon after “The Raven is Hard to Handle” but I just love Halloween too much to allow it to go by without giving it some “Pumpkin Luvin.”  Everybody close to me knows I obsess around the holidays with anything pumpkin.  I think I am up to twenty pumpkin food items (my pumpkin tea & pumpkin sparkling non-alcoholic cider being my favorites), so of course being a designer, I also had to sew a pumpkin purse, then a matching hat, and just a week ago decided I needed a skirt too.

Wearing my Peanuts hat, wristlet purse, and skirt!

So once again the idea for “It’s the Great Pumpkin, CHRIS Brown” came from something I made!  But this time it also incorporated a joke I had been performing that mashed up the Peanuts classic It’s a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown with a book called Hip Hop Chris Brown.  Mashing up books has become my signature at my literary comedy shows.  I just love it!  But whenever I did the joke, I just knew it could be better with Brown’s music, some of his crazy dance moves, and a whole lot of humor.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown meets Hip Hop Chris Brown!

Choosing Chris Brown was a risky move due to his ongoing controversy with Rhianna.  As a comedian, there were so many jokes I could have incorporated into this thing but as I have chosen to be a comedian that lifts people up, not puts them down, I decided to focus on my love for the Peanuts gang instead. Besides, taking two extremes and mashing them together to promote books and having fun at the library (or at this case the pumpkin patch) is kind of what made me want to do it in the first place. 

Hip Hop Peanuts!
I made Brody this Linus/Snoopy security blanket scarf to wear.

And Busta Rhymes is an incredible rapper!  The speed to which he raps in that middle section is a true skill.  The minute I heard that song, I thought jeez, I bet he reads fast too!  And that is exactly what I tried to do.  I read the entire book really fast, cut it in two parts, and then put the tracks on top of one another so what you hear is actually the entire story!

For Busta Rhymes, I had to wear something batty!

It’s no secret I love to dance and dancing in a pumpkin patch was pretty cool.  Boy, did I want to break dance and do flips like Chris Brown but knowing me, I would probably trip on a pumpkin or land on a rake or something, and well, I have Halloween parties to attend and candy to hand out so maybe next year…when I have health insurance.

Dancing in a pumpkin patch?  A must-do this Halloween!

I hope this Halloween when you watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” on TV, you might think of me and little Brody drinking pumpkin juice and dancing to a great story.  Then maybe go to your library and sign up for one of the programs there.  Just be safe this Halloween.  Dressing up as someone else is fun for one night but if you are really lucky, you might find yourself dressing up all the time…and being IN those stories!

"Story time with the Stand-Up Librarian" is always a good time!

Shooting the video with my brother.
Thank you Tampa Bay Times!

Happy Halloween everybody...especially to my friend, Brody!

"The Raven is Hard to Handle"

On October 7, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe passed away at age 40 for reasons that to this day are still a mystery.  It almost seems a fitting end for the man who is often called the ‘Father of the Detective Story’ and while we may never know the true ending to his life, what we do know is that he had incredible talent for composing words in short stories, essays, book reviews, and poems like The Raven, published in 1845.

I would love to brag about all of the Poe works I have read but the truth is, classics like Poe’s aren’t always so easy for me to understand.  Sometimes I feel like Judy Holliday in “Born Yesterday” with a Poe book in one hand and a dictionary in the other looking up all of the words I can’t comprehend.  “I looked up every word!” OK, I just did a scene from that play in my acting class so I have the script “laying here…lying here.”

And I know I am not the only one who has this trouble of grasping language from another time.  At least I hope I am not alone.  Perhaps there are some kids out there that have my back on this?  I also have a hard time memorizing words.  It has always been a challenge for me as an actor and comedian to remember my lines – even the words I write myself!  So sometimes I need music to help me grasp the material.  I need rhythm.  Something to sway my hips to is also helpful.

It is with these admissions and to honor the great Edgar Allan Poe that I have created a literary parody song that was not only so fun to do but truly helped me learn these three verses of The Raven poem!  You are on your own for the rest of it.  Thanks to one of my favorite 90’s songs “Hard to Handle” by The Black Crowes, I am proud to share my brand new literary parody song “The Raven is Hard to Handle” where I actually sing!  Not necessarily well, but certainly with lots of passion and heart.  Oh, don’t you just love Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart? "Villains!" I shrieked. "Dissemble no more! I admit the deed!  Tear up the planks!  Here, here!  It is the beating of his hideous heart!"  No, I didn’t memorize that.  I have like 20 Poe books here on my desk leftover from the video shoot.

As is my mission as the Stand-Up Librarian, I want to promote libraries and show my love to my fellow librarians, so this video is no different.  There are several “shout outs” in my costumes and especially on my purse guitar!  I love literature as much as rock n’ roll, so grab a set of Raven wings and get ready to rock...at the library!

RIP Edgar Allan Poe!

The Raven parody idea came to me after making this hat!

Sitting in my "library" wearing my literary creations
that I made or re-styled from other pieces I had.

With my friend and acting teacher Corinne.
I asked her to shush me only 1 minute before we filmed it!

Wearing my silver & black Raven wings.
I originally had READ on the back in red but
it looked like dripping blood. Too dark even for Poe!

***Please visit: www.StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com if you want me to make you a Raven hat or headband!  Or if you are looking for some fashions that are literary fabulous!

Launch of StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com!

I am so very happy to share my new library of literary fashions at StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com!  If you love libraries as much as I do, you will certainly appreciate the design and layout I have created that not only educates people about the structure of the library but allows each patron of my library to keep all of the library materials checked out at the circulation desk.  It is literary fabulous!  

Won't you come be a patron at my library?

Welcome to Stand-Up Librarian Designs

 created by Stand-Up Librarian Meredith Myers

Fashions that are literary fabulous!

www.StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com

Express Yourself with Baseball & Endless Activities

It has been a very busy couple of weeks!  At the beginning of the month, I went up to New York City to see Madonna in concert at Yankee Stadium.  While the show was enjoyable, I still think my “Librarian Gone Wild” book cart drill should have been incorporated into the show somehow. Call me, Madonna!

"Librarian Gone Wild" seeing Madonna at Yankee Stadium!

While I was up in New York City, I had a meeting with my favorite bookstore, The Strand, and they loved my literary purses and cosmetic bags and will be carrying them in the store this fall!  I was also booked to perform in their rare book room for an event on December 6^th!  When I used to live in NYC, I spent just about every weekend wandering through the stacks and now I get to perform in them.  So thrilled! 

The Stand-Up Librarian at The Strand December 6th!

Just after getting off the plane in Florida, I had to turn around a performance in just two hours for a benefit honoring a friend moving back to NYC.  Inspired by Madonna’s show at Yankee Stadium, my love for baseball, and the song “Express Yourself,” (which I hadn’t done since high school), I  did a baseball-themed number that the audience seemed to enjoy – especially since I pulled off that Yankee shirt & revealed a Tampa Bay Rays t-shirt!  Watch the video here:

"Express Yourself with Baseball"

I have also been sewing a lot – preparing for The Strand order but also my holiday items that are available on a made-to-order basis, just ask me and I will make them for you!  I also decided that I needed to have a website entirely devoted to my designs so StandUpLibrarianDesigns.com is now operational and links directly to my Etsy Shop!  I am in the process of updating all of my websites but that is such a major job that it is taking longer than I expected!

It's the Great Pumpkin purse & hat, Charlie Brown!

And then there are performances!  I am preparing for my part in The Vagina Monologues at American Stage on September 30^th - something I have never done in my life is say the V or P or C words on stage or out loud, so this should be interesting (especially for my very conservative family members!)  Then the very next week I am booked to do my literary comedy show at a library staff day and since I love to write new material, not to mention choreograph new dance moves with that book cart, I am very excited about doing some of those parodies!

Plus, everyone needs a social outlet, so in addition to my acting classes that I do two days a week, I have now joined a book club that meets once a week & I have joined the St. Petersburg Shell Club that meets monthly!  Yes, we discuss seashells!!!  Oh, it is a happy day when you can show your latest beach treasure with a fellow conchologist who can appreciate it!

Seriously, nobody talks about Shell Club - ever!

Wow, a lot is going on!  So I need to get back to sewing, writing, reading, dancing, oh, - eating!  I always forget to do that one.  I hope all is wonderful and cooling off in your worlds, I just LOVE the fall season, don’t you?  Express yourself!

Broken Shells at the Dali Museum

Posing with my photograph on display at The Dali Museum.

Two of my hobbies I have yet to turn into careers are collecting seashells and taking photographs.  I would come to guess that very few people know that I am happiest combing the shore at sunset looking for whelks, shark eyes, tulips and conch shells.  Then photographing them and throwing them back into the sea because most of the beautiful shells are still living and deserve to keep living.  My name in Hawaiian means ‘Defender of the Sea,’ so that is what I try to do - preserve our beaches and sea life.

It is therefore such a thrill that I am able to share with all of you that one of my photographs is on display as part of the “Treasures of Your Town” exhibit at The Dali Museum here in St. Petersburg, FL.  The Dali!  I spent a lot of my childhood at the Dali Museum staring at ‘The Hallucinogenic Toreador’ trying to see all of the double images within the main image.  Are those just flies or a bull drinking water?  I always liked Salvador Dali as a painter because he combined his technical skills with such a vivid imagination that no matter how many times you might see the work, you would still find more discoveries.  I learned the lesson of perspective from Dali because everybody sees different things in the same painting.

For my photograph, entitled ‘Broken Shells at the Long Pier,’ I wanted to show the beauty in broken things.  Most of the time when I am on one of my sunset beach walks looking for shells, I am also looking for something else.  Peace within myself.  I usually approach the beach angry, frustrated, and heartbroken, but it is there on the shore within minutes of hearing the waves crash, seeing the birds fly, and feeling the cool water on my feet where I am reminded that being broken doesn’t mean you are beyond repair.

When I first found the scallop shell that is featured in the photo, I thought it was cute, even though it was broken, not perfect.  Then when I held it up to the sunset, I realized the broken piece actually resembled a palm tree.  It was through that bright light that another image began to grow!  If I had to explain the image further, I would say that the seashell represents the human shell and how so many of us have been broken due to unemployment, relationships, and life in general just not working out like we expected it to. 

Like Dali, I think this image is also about perspective.  Do you see a broken shell or do you see the bright light within?  Personally, I may have a broken shell but no matter what, I will always let my inner light shine.  So the next time you feel down, lost or broken, take a walk on the beach or go to an art museum.  Life is full of broken things…but that is where the true beauty is.

Should anybody want to see my photograph & the rest of the "Treasures of Your Town" exhibit at The Dali Museum, it will be on display in the Raymond James room August 24^th - Sept 9th.  It is free to see this exhibit.  

For more information on The Dali, visit http://thedali.org/

Part of my 'dead' shell collection on display in my home.