The Moth Radio Hour is a popular weekly radio show and podcast featuring true, personal stories told live on stage without scripts or notes, showcasing diverse experiences from humorous to heartbreaking. In that spirit, Storytelling @ The IVY hopes to connect an Easton audience with authentic narratives from everyday people and professional storytellers alike, exploring universal themes of life, love, loss, and courage.
If you’re interested in sharing your story and being a part of Storytelling @ The IVY, fill out the short form below. We’d love to here from you!
Below you’ll find a short list of dos and don’ts for presenting your story.
What to do
It must be TRUE
Storytelling at The IVY is strictly nonfiction.
KNOW your story well enough so you can have fun!
Stories are told, not read. We love how the storyteller connects with the audience when there is no PAGE between them! Please know your story “by heart” but not by rote memorization. Watching you panic to think of the next memorized line is harrowing for the audience. Make an outline, memorize your bullet points and play with the details. Enjoy yourself. Imagine you are at a dinner party, not a deposition.
No notes, paper or cheat sheets are allowed on stage.
It must have STAKES
Stakes are essential in live storytelling. What do you stand to gain or lose? Why is what happens in the story important to you? If you can’t answer this, then think of a different story. A story without stakes is an essay and is best experienced on the page, not the stage.
Start in the action.
A story needs action and the action must have consequences. What is gained or lost? What is the urgency? What is the conflict? What is the goal and who or what is blocking it? How did the trip from Point A to Point B change or shape you?
It must be YOUR STORY TO TELL
Were you there? Are you one of the "main characters"? Your involvement in the events as they unfold is essential. No journalism.
What we WANT
Hook us in. Make us care about you. Paint the scene. Clearly state your fears, desires, the dilemma. Make us invested in the outcome. Introduce the conflict. Make us worried for you. Impress us with observations that are uniquely yours. Rope us into the moment when it all goes down. Conclude as a different person: Triumphant? Defeated? Befuddled? Enlightened? ... CHANGED.
Finally, it must be ON TIME
Stories should be 5 minutes long, plus a one minute grace period.
Storytelling at The IVY's mission is to promote the art and craft of storytelling and to honor and celebrate the diversity and commonality of human experience.
GOOD LUCK!
...and what not to do
Below are a few things that we believe are counterproductive to craft of storytelling as well as some suggestions.
If your story suffers from any of these problems, please go back to the drawing board
We promise your story will be better for it!
Please don't caricature or "explain" a culture that is not your own (e.g., putting on fake accents or telling us about the "customs" of a community you don't belong to).
Please don't make another person's identity (class, gender, race, orientation, body type, etc.) the punchline ... or the story line. Your story, your struggles.
Please don't use another's identity as a prop or plot point. (If you choose to include another person's race, orientation, physical appearance or able-bodiedness, be sure that it is intrinsic to the story.)
Please don't celebrate unwanted sexual advances in your story.
SUGGESTIONS
Steer clear of meandering endings
They kill a story! Your last line should be clear in your head before you start. Yes, bring the audience along with you as you contemplate what transpires in your story, but remember, you are driving the story, and must know the final destination. Keep your hands on the wheel!
No standup routines please
The IVY loves funny people but requires that all funny people tell funny stories.
No rants
Take up this anger issue with your therapist, or skip therapy and shape your anger into a story with some sort of resolution. (Stories = therapy!)
No essays
Your eloquent musings are beautiful and look pretty on the page but unless you can make them gripping and set up stakes, they won’t work on stage.
No fake accents
If your story doesn't work in your own voice, or that of your people of origin, please consider another story. In our experience, imitating accents from another culture or race rarely works and often offends.
Please use our stage to practice civility and respect.
Please don't include racism, homophobia, misogyny or any form of hate speech.