The Moth is coming to Skidmore
Popular storytelling nonprofit The Moth will lead three days of educational workshops
at Skidmore, culminating in a StorySLAM event on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Arthur
Zankel Music Center.
During the SLAM, 10 students will take to the microphone and tell a five-minute story
— without notes — about a personal metamorphosis or transformation. A Moth host will
emcee the event, which will be recorded for possible broadcast on a future episode
of The Moth Radio Hour — presented by PRX, the Public Radio Exchange, and airing on
more than 475 public radio stations nationwide — as well as on The Moth Podcast (free
at themoth.org).
The event is free but tickets are required; visit www.skidmore.edu/zankel and click “tickets” at the left, or call the Zankel box office at 518-580-5321.
The Moth is renowned for coaching storytellers from all walks of life and hosting
their performances around the country and abroad. Since launching in 1997, it has
presented more than 30,000 stories — including those by Malcolm Gladwell, Darryl “DMC”
McDaniels, John Turturro, Molly Ringwald, Tig Notaro, an astronaut, a pickpocket and
a hotdog eating champion. The Moth StorySLAM program conducts open mic storytelling
competitions in 29 cities in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
The organization’s education wing has been helping students in New York City public
high schools tell their own stories since 2012, but rarely offers the opportunity
at colleges. “It’s an especially huge deal that The Moth Education team is coming
to Skidmore,” says Adam Tinkle, director ofthe John B. Moore Documentary Studies Collaborative
(MDOCS) at Skidmore. “My hope is that their visit sparks a culture of storytelling
that can flourish at the college beyond the visit.”
In addition to the event emcee, four Moth Education instructors will come to campus
for the three days of workshops. In a Sept. 28 faculty workshop, they will teach Skidmore
professors methods for shaping and facilitating stories, as well as incorporating
storytelling practices into their classroom curricula. Up to 60 students will attend
three-hour workshops on Sept. 29 and Sept. 30 to explore Moth storytelling strategies
and techniques, brainstorm stories from their lives and receive feedback from Moth
instructors and fellow students. Selected students will tell their stories on the
stage at Zankel’s Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall on the evening of Sept. 30.
MDOCS is presenting The Moth visit through a generous gift by Eric and Lisa Green
P' 20.
