The Moth at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee – Sept. 8, 2015
By Molly Snyder
The Moth StorySLAMS are not for the faint-hearted nor the easily offended and last night’s event was no exception. The theme was SURPRISE and the shared stories included references to urine in a squirt gun, a dead, bloated possum and other things we won't mention here!
However, the stories provided more than shock value. Ten randomly-chosen storytellers dished up true tales that ranged from hilarious to heartbreaking.
Noel filled the room with uneasy silence when his story opened with “I didn’t know the gun was loaded.” Jim received life-can-be-so-disappointing solidarity chuckles when he told of a high-paying music gig that was unexpectedly on a stage next to the port-a-potties and Jen incited a collective swell of compassion over her fear of having to leave her young daughter if she was framed for a crime that she didn’t do.
Jennifer, who won the event with the highest number of points awarded by judges, shared a story about going on a date with a man whom she met on the Internet and admitted to killing multiple members of his family. (True or not true, she didn’t stay for dessert.)
Equally as entertaining as the story tellers was the host, Christy Hall Watson. Bawdy, brilliant and borderline evil, Watson brought the audience to heightened levels of LOLing with her quips and insights. During opening comments she told the audience that the real surprise of the night was not the theme of the stories, rather the fact she wiped her nose in one of the notebooks that were given as gifts to audience members.
Later in the evening, Watson bulls-eyed an arrow of truth when she said this: “The most important rule of a Moth StorySlam is that you (the audience) give up the love to each and every person who has the balls to get on this stage.”
Word.
(Want to hear more from Molly? She is taking the stage Wednesday, Sept. 16 for The Moth "Main Stage" at Turner Hall Ballroom.)
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Guest Writer: Molly Snyder is a full time senior writer for OnMilwaukee. She's also a radio personality, poet, storyteller, partner and mom who occasionally wins competitive eating contests.
This event was part of a new series curated by Radio Milwaukee & its community partners: Cultural Commons.