Judging the Moth Story Slam

At the Bell House for Moth Story Slam

We were the best Moth judges ever, by the way-- Ellen, Audrey and myself.

The theme of the evening was "Persuasion." The place was packed; in Brooklyn everybody has a story, even if they really don't.

If you're a wanna-be Slam storyteller contestant, you stick your name in an NPR tote bag. If your name gets picked, you stand up on stage and tell a five minute story. That is judged. By me, Audrey and Ellen.

Our first test as a judging team proved stressful. We had about 6 minutes to come up with a name for our team befitting the "persuasion" theme. It being autumn and jacket and boot season and all, I fixated on suede. Like Pure Suede. Or Purr Suede for a cat-themed approach.

photo credit: http://qz.com/818849/daniel-gebhart-de-koekkoek-philippe-halsman-and-jumpology-what-cats-do-when-were-not-watching-in-photos/

Somehow I got from there onto the magic of pleather. Luckily, my team persevered without me.

Right under the wire, Ellen came up with The Tipping Point, and we went with that. Two other judging teams rounded out the panel, "Baby You Know Talk is Cheap," and "Strong Arm."

Strong Arm is a damn fine name.

The Story Slam producer came over and gave us big scoring cards printed with huge numbers to hold up at the end of each story. We had to memorize the rules and judging criteria. I put my drink down for this part.

Our highest scores went to a welder from Williamsburg and a woman in silver pants. Our scores were remarkably well-considered and consistently applied. At the end of the event, I firmly shook hands with one of the judges from "Baby You Know Talk is Cheap." It was a well-appreciated diplomatic overture.

Day 5