When everyone walked in, they received a beach ball and two glow sticks.
We'd received an e-mail ahead of time with some reminders: namely to wear pajamas, and to bring a Sharpie. I didn't let my mind wander too much, but figured I would find out when I got there, and once I got the beach ball, I put two and two together.
Chelsea Cain took the stage first, and told everyone they had to use the requested Sharpie to write a few words on their balls (literally): an adjective, a noun, a place, a body part, and a number.
A few minutes later, Chuck took the stage. The rest of the night was filled with stories being read by each author (I hadn't ever heard of either of the others, sorry to admit, but it made me want to check out their work for sure). We played some games, listened to some great stories, and almost burned down the University of Milwaukee after a beach ball got stuck in a light fixture. And the words? They were to play an awesome version of Mad Libs at the end of the show.
Without giving too much more away, I will leave that as my explanation, and just say this: if you have the opportunity to see Chuck Palahniuk live, do it. It will truly be an unforgettable experience. Here's some other photos from the night, and if you haven't already, check out Doomed.
