New York stories

Ksenya Kashpur - 171(2)

The art of storytelling has been around since the beginning of time, from the Lascaux Paleolithic
cave paintings through Homer and Shakespeare. Many eras also proclaimed storytelling's
demise: the advent of the printing press, radio, television, the Internet. But audiences are
always clamouring for a good true story, as evidenced by live comedy, the memoir glut and so-
called reality television.

In New York City , the savviest of visitors make a beeline for The Moth, the storytelling
competition where ten audience members volunteer to tell true tales (under five minutes long),
which are often broadcast on its popular podcast. But in the 14 years since George Dawes Green
created the event, the audience line to get into the weekly New York events - unlike in Chicago,
Detroit and Los Angeles incarnations - can start a couple of hours in advance. More than 100
people are often turned away for space limitations on any given night.

But while The Moth has become a victim of its own success, it also spawned a bevy of other
storytelling events around Manhattan and Brooklyn. Some even feature the same Moth winners,
as well as authors, comedians, one-person-show stars and non-professionals who just want to
share a good yarn. While the Moth StorySlam is the only show that draws all its performers from
a lottery and judges it as a competition, other shows in the city feature unique components,
such as adhering to a specific theme or mixing in improvisation, music, fiction and audience
participation.

The Liar Show features four writers and comics who tell 10-minute personal stories. But only
three of them are true. The audience must interrogate the performers to determine who is
lying. "I started 'the Lie' idea specifically because at other shows there was always the post-
show 'How much of that was true?' or 'You must be exaggerating, no?' - that kind of thing," said
Andy Christie, the host who founded the show nearly five years ago. "I thought if the doubt is
already there, why not have fun with it?" Recent stories included a man whose stomach staples
opened up, a preschool trip to the butterfly museum gone awry, being attacked by a pit bull and
a surprise party whose guest never showed.

Many storytelling shows like Ask Me Stories, Stories at Perch and N.Y. Confidential: Stories
Exposed explore changing themes like "tripping" and "secret identity". But at The Story Collider
the theme is always science. "I discovered I was more interested in talking about how science
affects people, about the emotional side", than "becoming an expert in something maybe 10
people cared about", said Ben Lillie, who was a high-energy particle theorist before he founded
The Story Collider.

For a more risqué evening, try Stripped Stories, about people's private lives. This is Awkward:
Stories About Love, Lust and Lubrication and RISK! "a fun-house mirror version of This
American Life", said founder Kevin Allison, referring to the popular US public radio program,
currently based in New York, featuring many personal stories, including some told in The Moth.
Allison tries to feature people like comedians Sarah Silverman, Janeane Garofalo and Kevin
Nealon, as well as actors like Lili Taylor of Six Feet Under, to expose lesser-known sides of
themselves. Recent themes included "son of strange eex" and "in the flesh".

Under St. Marks, a performance space under a church in the East Village, features the poignant
StorySlam winner and host Peter Aguero, whose BTK Band improvises a chorus to accompany
four raconteurs' true tales. "It's as if Tom Waits and The Moth delivered a baby from the gaping
maw of Chaos," Aguero said. [The venue also features Told, which is hosted by This American
Life production manager Seth Lind.

Lind said the podcasts from The Moth and This American Life have made storytelling
popular. "Now shows are popping up everywhere because it is accessible - everyone has had
something happen that is worth sharing, and you don't have to have insane performance chops
to pull it off. I think there will be a storytelling TV show pretty soon, then we can all say it was
cooler way back when," said Linde, who recently filmed a TV pilot of Told.
Unlike comedy clubs, storytelling is not always funny. "The first story I ever told at The Moth
was about taking my father off of life support," said Daisy Rosario, who works as a producer of
the live Moth shows and hosts her own storytelling show called Sunday Stories. "Afterward a
few people came up to me and told me they had been through taking someone off life support,
but that they rarely, if ever, talked about it."

Stories can be funny, poignant, long or short, said Leslie Goshko, whose show, Sideshow
Goshko mixes trivia games and giveaways with storytelling. "A good story [has] conflict,
fleshed-out characters, story arc - but really, a huge thing is honesty. Be true to your
personality, your situation, and your emotions at the time of the story," she said. "One of the
best compliments I can get after a show is, 'Oh my god, I can totally relate! That reminds me of
this one time... '"

Storyteller Steve Zimmer, winner of 12 Moth StorySlams and two GrandSlams (the final round
featuring 10 slam winners), explained the appeal of this burgeoning form. "The best thing about
storytelling is that you can hear a good movie in six or seven minutes. There's nothing like it if
it's well done."

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write:

T – (true) if the statement agrees with the information

F – (false) if the statement contradicts the information

NG – (not given) if there is no information on this

1. The Moth has analogues in Manhattan and Brooklin.

2. The Liar Show offers the audience to find out which three of the 10 presented stories are
true.
3. The most frequent subject of the story Collider is the Space.
4. The Stripped Show was founded by Kevin Allison.
5. Storytelling is never exciting.
6. Sideshow Goshko involves poignant stories.

Complete the sentences below. Choose NO MORE THEN TWO WORDS from the text for each
answer.

7. The time limit for telling a story in the Moth is … .

8. The idea of having fun with the present doubt belongs to … .
9. St. Marks holds the poignant StorySlam under the church in the … .
10. Steve Zimmer managed to win … Moth Story Slams.
Questions 11-13.

Choose THREE letters A-F.

Which THREE of the following can present a good true story for the audience?

A. The Internet.
B. Printing press.
C. Live comedy.
D. Radio.
E. Teality television.
F. Memoir glut.
14. Choose ONE letter a-c.

In Leslie Goshko’s opinion, …

a) storytelling is not always funny.

b) storytellers should act naturally.
c) stories mix trivia games and with storytelling.