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 month, we present our show at 19:00 Central European Time so that our fans in this time zone can join in the fun easier!
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
Fiona Calvert is a final-year PhD student at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, where she studies the role of the immune system in Alzheimer’s disease, with a focus on, in her unbiased opinion, the coolest cells in the world — microglia. She told her first Story Collider story in March 2018 and has most definitely added storytelling to her growing list of obsessions (which also includes Grey’s Anatomy and Louis Theroux documentaries).
Our Coaches
Michaela Agapiou is a molecular biology PhD student at the University of Leeds, UK, where she studies how sperm cells are made in fruit flies. She was pretty delighted when she discovered storytelling podcasts could keep her entertained while dissecting thousands of flies, and even more delighted when she found out that science storytelling is a thing. She loves to talk about feelings and most of hers are currently about her thesis and whether her bonsai is doing ok. You can follow her on Twitter @MichaelaAgapiou
Reyhaneh (Rey) Maktoufi has defended her Ph.D. in Media, Technology, and Society at Northwestern University. She is a science communication researcher, content producer, and trainer and is currently a Rita Allen Foundation Civic Science Fellow in Misinformation at WGBH/NOVA. Her main fields of interest are science communication, misinformation, curiosity, public engagement with scientists, and science communication in media. She was a visiting researcher at the Adler Planetarium, where she studied science communication and facilitated workshops on communication skills and she's also a producer at The Story Collider podcast. Before starting a Ph.D., Rey has been working as a health communication facilitator and cancer preventive/palliative care campaign manager in Tehran, Iran. Rey currently enjoys working with different nonprofits such as the Communicating Science Conference (ComSciCon). She also engages in science outreach through writing blog-posts and making science comics and has been interviewed on outlets such as the Smithsonian Magazine and the SETI Institute's podcast Big Picture Science.
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!