I am delighted by the storytelling evenings that have sprung up on stages around town. It is the perfect evening of performance to treat yourself to in the dead of winter.

Why?

1) your fancy pants are not required.

2) the stories are surprising
-some are funny*
-some are heartbreaking*

*_many are both_

3) its like cozying up with the most interesting person at the cocktail party—and you don’t have to tear yourself away to mingle with the dullards.

I don’t know if you all listen to NPR with quite the OCD fervor that I do—storytelling abounds: This American Life, et al—have you also heard that the popular storytelling show The Moth is coming to Portland in January?

Tickets went on sale Dec. 1 and the Jan 18 performance is already sold out.

Luckily for us (me) there are local storytellers on stages all over town about in the new year. I got to see some of them onstage at the Baghdad this week in an evening of holiday themed stories called Word to the Wise(men).

Keep an eye out for the following—don’t worry, we’ll remind you as they get closer.

January 21: True Stories at Mississippi Studios
February 12: Mortified at the Mission Theater
March 24: Back Fence PDX at the Mission Theater

PS: Was anyone at the show on Wednesday night? Adam Shearer, from the band Weinland, was the host. He asked the audience to text him their "Dirty little Christmas Wishes" and then read them throughout the evening. Hilarious, and sort of inspired, if you ask me. I’m wondering if Shearer is paying for it though, how many awkward texts has he had to delete this week, after giving out his number onstage at the Baghdad?