Tuesday kicked off a three-day event at the Stevens Building’s Corner Theatre.

Running through tonight, the venue will host the NIU School of Theatre and Dance’s Storyteller’s Theatre.

One presentation, which features at least nine performers, costs $3.

Theater and dance professor Patricia Ridge directed the nostalgic extravaganza.

“It’s been going for a good six or more years,” Ridge said. “Storyteller’s Theatre is usually held in April, though, also serving as a final presentation for my THEA 215 storytelling class.”

This year, Ridge has moved the Storytelling bonanza to mid-March, and her classes will perform stories in front of Brooks Elementary School as a final.

Ridge spreads performances by her two classes over three days: 11 were held on Tuesday, nine on Wednesday and nine will be held tonight.

The theater has bluegrass music playing on the PA system and house lights that remain on for the string of performances.

“The lighting did what it was supposed to do,” said L.D. Lungren, stage manager of the production.

The art of storytelling has always been very intimate, and Ridge wanted as much connection between the audience and the performers as possible. By letting the audience be seen and stared at in the eye at moments of impact, the connection can be very powerful.

“Storytelling allows people to connect heart to heart,” Ridge said.

The art of storytelling is one of the oldest forms. It may be this nature that contributes to the undeniable nostalgia involved.

The theater is typically inhabited by theater students and those brave enough to hear students at their most extroverted.

Ridge performs every night and has performed her personal stories in years past.

The emcee, Ben Cannon, a theatre and dance student, has hosted Storyteller’s Theatre for three years in a row.

Even though students perform on stage alone, fellow performers sit front row, exploding into laughter at a whimsical flick of the wrist or comic crash of a line.

Words like effervescent are tossed around nonchalantly, and concepts ranging from crashing a junior high dance to the teen werewolf were dabbled on with little or no reverence for pop-culture.