Kinky Sticks and The Moth

You never know what to expect from The Moth. Even its organizers can’t be sure what will happen.

Organized in eight cities, The Moth is a storytelling event in which audience members are encouraged to stand up to tell a story on a given theme. The stories are limited to five minutes duration and must be told extemporaneously. Prospective storytellers put their names into a hat and are drawn at random; each open-mike night is limited to ten stories, so one can’t be sure of being picked. If selected, a reader has only a few minutes to prepare to take the stage. Storytellers are scored by judges, and the winner of each open-mike night goes onto to the next round of competition, The Moth Grandslam, which invariable sells out immediately to audiences of several hundred people.

Each storyteller is recorded, whether at open-mike or at the Grandslam. The best are chosen for NPR, podcasts and DVD release.

Participating as a storyteller can be a harrowing experience. I’ve prepared on several occasions, only to go home without being selected. I was chosen once, told my story and had ‘em eating out of my hand, only to run afoul of the five minute limit. I didn’t go on to the Grandslam.

By contrast, my darling Lori Baird has the luck of The Moth. She’s been picked twice to tell stories and won each time. You may already know her as a storyteller—Lori is the wiseacre behind Kinky Stick Figure. (Lori has shed her former pseudonym “Lynsey” because, well, Lori’s more famous and all.)

On May twenty-fourth, you’ll find Lori at the next Grandslam—that is, if you can get tickets. They went on sale today. The venue is B. B. Kings Blues Club. That’s right, Kinky Sticks is going to Broadway.

Today also saw the release of Lori’s first Moth podcast, recorded at her first event. I joined her that night at the Bitter End. See, I had a vested interest in hearing how this story turned out. Perhaps you’ll figure out why.



G Marks the Spot