Do you have a science story you’re dying to share? Are you looking to sharpen your science storytelling skills with supportive feedback from expert performers and science communicators? Or maybe you’d just like to hang out with the Story Collider gang on a Friday night and enjoy some new and original stories?

If so, join us for our third-ever 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.

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! The theme this month will be "Back to School."

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.

Gastor Almonte is a standup comedian, storyteller and writer. He has appeared on Comedy Central’s This is Not Happening, PBS and Vice. He’s debut special, Immigrant Made, can be seen on Amazon Prime. His debut album of the same name debuted at #1 on iTunes, Google Play and Amazon. His appearance on World Channel’s Stories From The Stage was a 2020 Webby Award winner.

Erin Barker is the artistic director of Story Collider, as well as a writer and editor, and the first woman to win The Moth's GrandSLAM storytelling competition twice. She has appeared on PRX'sThe Moth Radio Hour, and one of her stories was included in The New York Times-bestselling book The Moth: 50 True Stories.

Ben Lillie is a former particle physicist who left academia for the wilds of New York's theater district, and a cofounder of The Story Collider. After leaving Story Collider in 2017, he founded Caveat, a space for intellectual nightlife in New York City. In pandemic times, he’s been streaming The Untitled Universe Project on Twitch, from his family’s lavender farm.

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.

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!

Science Story Slam: Back to School