Join us for our science story slam! Our community of storytellers offers a warm, supportive environment in which storytellers of all backgrounds and levels of experience can experiment (pun not intended!) with personal narrative. This show will be presented at 19:00 India Standard Time so that the show is easier to access for our fans in this time zone!
If you’re interested in telling a story, you’ll have the opportunity to put your name in the virtual hat at the start of the show. Five lucky storytellers will get the opportunity to share their stories on screen. (For more guidance on telling a story at one of our slams, see our advice at the bottom of this page.) If you would prefer just to be a part of the audience, that’s fine too!
Our two coaches -- representing expertise in both story performance and science communication -- will offer each storyteller advice and encouragement to help them bring out the best in their stories.
Tickets are $10 and are on sale now at the link below! Our slams are limited to only sixty spots, in order to preserve a sense of community, so reserve your spot while you can!
Our Host
Jitesh Jaggi is a recent immigrant from India, currently living in Chicago. He ended his career in Finance one day when he lost all his data that he forgot to save on an Excel sheet, and realized that he just didn't care. That tipping point led to him becoming a writer and he is currently working on a book of essays. A two-time Moth StorySlam winner, he also coaches individual and corporate clients in telling their professional stories. Jitesh recently joined Story Collider as a co-producer for Chicago but the goddang pandemic has put that on hold. He loves writing bios because he can refer to himself in the third person.
Our Coaches
Devon Kodzis has a degree in biological sciences and professional experience in teaching, animal training, and education outreach, and science program design. She is currently working on masters degree in biology. Her passions include reading about food, and shouting at the Antiques Roadshow with her cat.
Devon began her storytelling experience at Dallas Comedy House in the fall of 2016. Since her first showcase, she has produced and performed in storytelling shows with Gettin It Storytelling, and has performed in shows including Truth in Comedy, Backyard Story Night, Ladies Night, and has participated in the 2017 and 2018 Dallas Comedy Festivals.
Meisa Salaita is enamored with the beauty of science. Through her work founding and directing the Atlanta Science Festival, she spends her days trying to convince everyone else to fall in love with science as well. To that end, Meisa also writes, has produced radio stories, and hosted tv shows - all in the name of science. Meisa has a Ph.D. in chemistry, has birthed two humans, and requires a shoehorn be present in every room of her house.
GUIDANCE FOR STORYTELLERS
Stories should be five to six minutes long. (You’ll see a warning flash on screen when you have one minute left.)
Stories should have a beginning, middle, and end, and should involve some kind of personal change, whether it’s big or small.
Your story must be a first-person narrative -- in other words, it must be about you!
Because this is Story Collider, your story should be connected to, or inspired by, science in some way.
TECH GUIDANCE
Try to have a pair of headphones handy, in case we experience feedback.
If you can, test out your camera and microphone ahead of time, here: https://www.crowdcast.io/setup
If possible, try to make sure you’re in a low-traffic area with minimal ambient noise.
If you’d like to be really thorough, you can find our full setup guide for storytellers here!