“When I was …“
Those three words have launched thousands of stories on The Moth, the juggernaut storytelling show that began on national public radio nearly 30 years ago.
Since then, The Moth has collected over 50,000 oral stories from ordinary people (kids and adults alike) across the planet. Not to mention, it’s inspired many a Friday night notes-free oral storytelling memory for families like mine.
From the silly to the serious, our family has “mothed” our experiences across the dining room table for years. We glued ourselves to The Moth Radio Hour on most Sundays when my kids were tweens and teens. The stories were often riveting and often led to interesting post-show discussions.
A new species of Moth
So, what is a Moth story? The concept is simple: Stand up in front of your audience and tell a 5-minute story. The rules are simple too—even a young child can be a moth:
- The story has to be true
- No notes! The trick is to practice telling your story aloud.
- The story must have happened to the storyteller (i.e. it’s not about someone else).
- It has to relate to the chosen theme.
- It should last no more than six minutes. Five minutes is the goal, but there’s a one-minute buffer.
To understand how The Moth story sessions go, head to KUOW radio on Sundays from 1-2 p.m. when the station airs The Moth Radio Hour.
READ AND LISTEN: The Best Mother She Ever Had
“Mothing” at home
The Moth provides an excellent framework for an entertaining afternoon or evening of storytelling with kids. Here’s how to do it:
- Invite friends (both kids and adults) to the event.
- Make snacks and ask friends to bring more.
- Set up chairs in the living room (or wherever you host your Moth) and create a “stage.” Make it simple: a fireplace makes a good stage, and so does any part of a room where listeners can clearly see and hear the storyteller.
- Create a “mic.” A carrot works. As does a wooden spoon.
- Pick a theme. Here are a few from the actual show: camp, busted, adventure, gratitude, celebration, school, beginnings.
- Assign someone as the timer. The clock starts when the story begins. A warning is given at 4 minutes. A DONE bell is given at 6 minutes.
- Anyone who wants to tell a story puts their name in a hat. Pull names to choose which storyteller starts and who goes next.
- Start the show! Most shows are limited to 10 storytellers and take a break after the first five.
Your homemade Moth can include just the storytelling or you can make it a real Moth Story SLAM-style challenge. To do so, pick three judges. (Make sure at least two are kids!) They get to vote on each story using a scale of 1-10. Was the story on time? Was it on the theme? Was it told well? The story with the most points is the winner.
The Moth and kids
The Moth Radio Hour often runs stories with mature content, although most are fine for kids middle school age and up. As I said, listening has led to some doozy conversations.
However, the makers of The Moth recently launched the Grown podcast. As its creators describe it, Grown is about “the nebulous, the liminal, the just plain weird time between those awkward teenage years and adulthood.”
Grown is a great listen for families with tweens and teens and a real eye-opener for parents who will learn quite a bit about what it’s like to be a tween or teen today.
The Moth has also curated a list of stories told by kids for use in classrooms. The themes include Hot Wheels, Pool Party, The Prom, and My Grandfather’s Shoes.
How to tell a good story
What makes a good story? Here are a few tips from the experts at The Moth:
- Know your story “by heart” but not by rote memorization. Get into it with your voice, hand gestures, and sounds.
- Start with the action.
- Have stakes: “Why is what happens in the story important to you or your child storyteller?”
- Have a great first line that grabs attention. Or, as Moth educators put it:
- NO: “So I was thinking about climbing this mountain. But then I watched a little TV and made a snack and took a nap and then my mom told me to wash the dishes . . ..”
- YES: “The mountain loomed over us. We only had our trail mix and snow boots, and we had to get someplace to start a fire before sundown or freeze to death for sure.”
- No fake accents. Imitating accents from a culture not your own rarely works and often offends.
See The Moth in Seattle
The Moth holds monthly StorySLAMs in various venues around Seattle. Moth StorySLAMS have no minimum age, but some venues do, so check before you go.
I recommend live events for mature kids aged 12 and up. Be warned some may be explicit and contain profanity. Themes in November and December include: Yes! Chef, Outgrown, Silver Linings, and Reunion. To find events, go to themoth.org/events and put Seattle in the finder.
Read more from our storytelling project:
Learning txʷəlšucid and telling the stories
Living, breathing, working for my culture
A family of Moths: Recreating The Moth StorySLAM at home
‘Out of my heart a story will come: Storytelling in schools’
Why do we tell stories around the fire?
