The 10 minutes following storyteller Jay O'Callahan's performance of Forged in the Stars told far more about its success last night than the length or intensity of the applause it garnered, and there was no lack of applause.
One of the opening speakers of the University of Otago's inaugural Scienceteller Festival, Mr O'Callahan had to wait a good 10 minutes before answering media questions, as a stream of people shook his hand, hugged him, and used expressions like "an unforgettable experience".
One man, a graphic designer, stopped to discuss aspects of communicating science, which might also suggest the story hit the nail right on the head.
The convention this week, held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the university's Centre for Science Communication, is attracting film-makers, writers, playwrights and scientists for a five-day gathering. It features writing workshops, documentary and film-making, exhibitions and lectures from several guest speakers, all to celebrate storytelling and science.
Mr O'Callahan is a prominent United States storyteller who last night at the university stood with only a red table, a white stool, and a glass and jug of water to deliver Forged in the Stars, a story he said the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) had commissioned him to create about three years ago.
That story, which he said was "a love story to Nasa", was also a love story in itself; a number of stories within a story, told with humour and a quiet passion.
It involved the romance of Kate and Jack, the story of the moon landing, the stories of those who made it happen, the tragedy of the Challenger space shuttle explosion, and the ongoing journey of the Voyager space probes. And Kate and Jack lived happily ever after.
Mr O'Callahan, who has performed Forged in the Stars everywhere from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to the the Johnson Space Centre, said he would be working in Dunedin for the next few days, before travelling up the West Coast.
He said last night's audience showed a warmth that impressed him, and which he had seen throughout the city, from the university to bus drivers he had met.
"It's wonderful," he said.
