October 8, 2024
NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University students opened up about personal experiences and drafted true stories centered on change that were presented before a live audience last weekend. A two-day workshop led by Story Slam instructors from The Moth culminated in presentations that students said were empowering, inspirational and impactful for both the presenters and their audience.
The Moth is a nationally recognized podcast that presents story-telling events across the country to illustrate the connections that people share through first-person storytelling. The NSU students’ stories were crafted over two days and distilled into five-minute narratives. The stories were recorded and will become part of The Moth’s national archive.
“Taking the risk to perform and share such a personal story has been liberating and inspiring,” said Kiara Davis. “It was such a beautiful experience to work with caring and respectful individuals, which will forever hold a place in my heart.”
“The writing mentors from The Moth were diligent and eager to listen to everyone’s stories,” said Stephani Bradley. “I am more confident in sharing oral versions of my stories now that they’ve helped me get out of my own head.”
Fourteen students participated in the workshop and 10 chose to participate in the Story Slam. The workshops consisted of whole group activities and small group social drafting of stories. NSU Creative writing faculty Oona Zbitkovskis, Shea Montgomery and Rebecca Macijeski attended the whole weekend.
“We spent day one searching for what The Moth calls ‘story seeds,’ little snippets of insight or connection that could grow into a full story. By day two we were refining and tightening those stories,” Macijeski said.
“Trying to sum this experience up in a sentence is impossible,” Gabe Parker added. “I was not only awe inspired but blown away, empowered and left speechless. I know it’s now another point in my life that has helped me to find another piece of my voice and for that I am forever grateful.”
“One thing I learned this weekend is it’s okay to be nervous to speak in front of people,” added Chloe Boulas. “Even if you’ve done it a million times, you still get that nervous feeling. It was such a great experience and I would love to do it again someday.”
The Moth Instructors Julian Goldhagen, Nancy Ma and Casey Donahue brought a high level of expertise and presence to their work.
“Everyone here chose to show up. It’s not a small task to open up so vulnerably,” Ma said.
“I was refreshed by the sweetness and emotional intelligence the students brought,” Donahue said.
“The students were present for themselves and each other as writers, yes, but they were present for each other as humans first,” Macijeski said. “Storytelling belongs to all of us, whether we think of ourselves as storytellers or not. It was a joy to see the ways in which this whole experience helped our NSU students become more confident not only in their craft, but in the ways in which they see themselves in the world.”
“I am a changed person after this workshop,” Pete Gorham said. “I will carry with me what I learned into everything moving forward and I’m so grateful for this one-of-a-kind experience.”
Bringing The Moth to NSU was supported by the Department of English, Languages and Cultural Studies. Students from the Department of New Media, Journalism and Communication Arts provided technical support.
Information on The Moth is available at https://themoth.org/. For more information about the creative writing concentration in the English major or about the creative writing minor, e-mail creativewriting@nsula.edu. Information on all programs in NSU’s Department of English, Languages and Cultural Studies is available at https://www.nsula.edu/english/.
