"But what I think they did that was different, was this concept of taking a dinner party story, or a story you might tell at a bar, and elevating that. "Obviously, storytelling is maybe the oldest art form - people standing around the campfire, relating the events of the day," she says. (The Moth / Denise Ofelia Mangen)įor Burns, The Moth inspired a new recognition of the power of everyday stories. ![]() The idea was that everybody had to sit quietly and just listen while that person had the floor."Ī storyteller in performance on The Moth Mainstage. "He invited a hundred of his close friends to this loft where he lived, and asked five friends to come and tell personal stories. Homesick for those nights on Bullard's porch, Dawes Green decided to try to recreate the experience after he moved to New York City. So they started calling themselves 'The Moths.' They were like, 'The Moths will meet for cards and stories tonight.'" ![]() "And there were holes in the screen, and so the moths would flutter around. And they would tell stories and drink whiskey and play cards," Burns says. "He and his friends would sit around on their friend Wanda Bullard's porch. Catherine Burns, Artistic Director of The Moth You would have an astronaut on stage with some famous writer who wrote a movie you'd just seen and loved, next to, like, a dental hygienist. The Moth was founded by novelist George Dawes Green, who had grown up on St. It was just such a wide variety of people." "There were these magical nights of stories where you would have an astronaut on stage with some famous writer who wrote a movie you'd just seen and loved, next to, like, a dental hygienist. (The Moth) "You just had to show up and kinda fight your way in," she recalls. When Burns first started going to The Moth performances in New York City in the 2000s, there were no advance tickets.Ĭatherine Burns, Artistic Director of The Moth. And if you dig a little, it's easy to find deeper meaning in them in a genuine way." But often, in these stories there's something that speaks to who we are, and there's a reason we tell them over and over. "They might be anecdotal, like some crazy car crash story or something funny that happened on your trip 20 years ago. "One of the things I sometimes say to people is, like, 'What's the story that when you have a new friend, that you can't wait to tell them? Or what are the stories that your friends ask you to tell to their friends?'" She's also the editor of the new book, " All These Wonders: True Stories about Facing the Unknown."Īs she tells Day 6, we all have a story to tell. ![]() (The Moth / Dare Kumolu-Johnson)Ĭatherine Burns is the Artistic Director of The Moth and the co-producer of The Moth Radio Hour. It's developed an award-winning podcast and inspired spin-off events in countries around the world.Īudience members take in a storytelling event on the Moth Mainstage. Over the years, the organization has hosted more than 3,500 live events on six continents, featuring stories by everyone from Salman Rushdie to Carrie Brownstein. And if you dig a little, it's easy to find deeper meaning in them in a genuine way. Often in these stories, there's something that speaks to who we are. This week, The Moth is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its first storytelling event. It's come a long way in the two decades since. ![]() But when The Moth first launched in 1997, most of its performers had only ever told their stories around the dinner table.īack then, The Moth was an informal network of people who gathered in New York City's parks and apartment buildings to share true stories from their everyday lives. These days, personal storytelling is revered as an art form, celebrated globally with hundreds of podcasts and live events.
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