When I was in NYC recently, I got to sit in on a session of The Moth. The moth is an American-based story slam, where people come to tell their true stories to a particular theme. These people were all so interesting and had interpreted the theme so differently I was left in tears. We spend so much time fact-checking people's realities, it was a privilege to get to sit in an honest room of ordinary people, telling their extraordinary lives, even if just the tiniest sliver. The Moth has its own podcast and events all over the country. They provide storytelling courses to the voices we are not hearing enough and do great work in reminding us of what stories count.
I have wanted to try this for a while, and since it is my birthday I thought it would be a good enough reason to force everyone to come. This story night, very generously hosted at The Glory, London, will be a storytelling event made up of all of you. Much like The Moth, you do not have to be a performer, or even a confident public speaker to be part of this night. Unlike The Moth, we will not be judging or scoring your stories. It will be ever so casual and likely hung-over. If your New Years resolution is to try new things, tell more stories, listen to more people, get out more, do whatever La asks, spend more time in Dalston this could be a lovely place to start.
How it works!
Everyone who comes will bring a story. A TRUE story. The stories can be inspired by the theme TIME. You can bring notes if you want, or just get up and chat, it does not have to be formal. Everyone's names will be put into a hat, and we will draw out the order of storyteller. Depending on how many people we may not hear everyone's story. If this is your worst nightmare, chat to me and we can figure out a compromise that makes you comfortable. There should be no elements of racism, transphobia, homophobia, islamaphobia, misogyny, anti-semitism, ableism or any other discriminatory attitudes in these stories. That goes without saying. If you want someone to run your story by, talk to Lara! If we don't know each other, message us as the event organiser on Outsavvy.This event is ticketed as PAY WHAT YOU CAN. 100% of the proceeds will be going to Shelter from the Storm, a housing shelter in Islington that I volunteer for. To learn more about them have a chat with me or go to: https://sfts.org.uk
More info on The Moth: https://themoth.org
