The room is dark and crowded, with all sorts of people chattering with anticipation. 17 people in particular wait anxiously, scattered throughout the crowd. 17 names are in a hat, 10 of which will be chosen to tell a story. Tonight, 10 people will share some of the most intense, momentous, or bizarre moments of their life to a room overflowing with complete strangers.

The Moth, “True Stories Told Live,” is a New York-based show that comes to Michigan twice a month. It features several different types of shows, the most common of which is this one, the “Storyslam.” People come up with a story to fit the theme of the show, practice it on their own, and when the Moth comes around, enter their names in a hat and hope they are one of the lucky ten people chosen to tell a five-minute story.

Each show brings new stories, new storytellers, and a new theme. The Dec. 18 Storyslam was themed “Aftermath” and took place at Circus Bar & Billiards on South First St. in downtown Ann Arbor. The next one to come to Ann Arbor will take place on Feb. 19 at the same venue. The theme will be “Clumsy.”

The stories are rated from 1-10 by three teams of judges and the storyteller with the highest average score wins the night. This slam’s winner was a young man who explained how he really got to know his mother when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Many other incredible stories were told, ranging in topics from drunk-driving, to very unfortunate cases of poison ivy, to acid, to suicide. Hearing such moving stories from total strangers is a really amazing way to see the world with a new perspective, and to realize that everyone around you has a story just as great and awful and complex as your own. Maybe it will even give you the guts to participate and tell your own story next time around!

A few clips of stories told in the slam by Renee Pitter and host Satori Shakoor:
Renee Pitter  

Satori Shakoor

Part of a story told by Steve Amick, an Ann Arbor novelist, about him and his friends getting into some strange shenanigans: 

Steve Amick