Tell Your Story
We all have stories worth telling
What's yours?
How does it work?
Tell at an open-mic StorySLAM
The doors open and you, the storyteller hopeful, put your name in The Moth “hat.” Half an hour later, the first name is picked. Over the next two hours, ten stories will be told and scored by teams of judges from the audience. At every open-mic event, a winner is crowned. After ten SLAMs, the winners face off in a GrandSLAM.
How to tell your story at a StorySLAM
Consult the upcoming events page to find a theme that speaks to you.
Craft and compose your on-theme story.
Memorize the beats and practice, practice, practice. Stories must be no longer than five minutes.
When you get to the event, put your name in the hat. If you’re picked, it’s your time to dazzle. If not, take another look at the calendar; there will be another theme variation that might fit your story. Stretching your story to fit a new theme might bring out new elements you hadn’t recognized before.
Remember the judging criteria: Was the story told within the five-minute time frame? Was it on theme? Did the story have a conflict and a resolution?
My father... insisted that he could teach me better than anything I'd learned at school. So, he taught me things like how to smoke in the car...
Kind of Blue
And you should have seen their little faces when nothing came out of that piñata but raw broccoli.
Eddie’s Fourth Birthday
How to Tell A Moth Story
A few tips before you take the mic
Moth stories are told, not read. We love how the storyteller connects with the audience when there is no page between them! Please know your story “by heart” but not by rote memorization. No notes, paper, or cheat sheets allowed on stage. And most importantly, use our stage to practice civility and respect.
Identify the stakes
Stakes are essential in live storytelling. What do you stand to gain or lose? Why is what happens in the story important to you? If you can’t answer this, then think of a different story. A story without stakes is an essay and is best experienced on the page, not the stage.
Start strong
You can only make one first impression!
Craft a first line that will grab the attention of your audience. You may want to start in the action: “The mountain loomed before me…” or you may want to provide context or backstory before you get into the meat of it: “Even since I was little, I wanted to stand on top of the Himalayas…”
Know your story well enough to have fun
Watching you panic as you reach for your carefully constructed next line is harrowing for the audience. Instead, make an outline, memorize your bullet points, and play with the details. Enjoy yourself. Imagine you are at a dinner party, not a deposition.
No standup routines, please
The Moth loves funny people but requires that all participants tell a true story.
No rants
A list of complaints is not a story! Can your discontent be part of a story? Might help you sort things out. Stories=Therapy!
No essays
Your eloquent musings are beautiful and look pretty on the page, but unless you can make them gripping and set up stakes, they won’t work on stage.
No fake accents
If your story doesn’t work in your own voice or that of your people of origin, please consider another story. In our experience, imitating accents from other cultures or races rarely works and often offends.
Please use our stage to practice civility and respect. Please don’t include racism, homophobia, misogyny or any form of hate speech.
