The Moth, WBEZ and Vocalo host Chicago’s seventh GrandSLAM Championship on Wednesday, May 21st at Park West in Chicago. Hosted by WBEZ’s Don Hall, the show will feature ten champion Moth StorySLAM raconteurs who’ll spin five-minute true tales on the theme “The Showdown.”

No notes, no scripts – just pure, old-fashioned, unadulterated storytelling.  Hear tales of whims, wildcards, split-second decisions and other game-changing shifts. The winning storyteller will be determined by guest judges chosen from the audience.

Competing for The Chicago Moth GrandSLAM Champion Title are: Renee Albrecht-Mallinger, Erica Clark, Erin Diamond, Susan Haarman, Arch Jamjun, Andi Nelson, Jim Padar, Jeffrey Qaiyum, MacKinzie Weaver and Scott Whitehair.

About The Moth StorySLAM and GrandSLAM
At each StorySLAM, The Moth provides a stage, a microphone, a theme, and a host to guide the festivities. Storytellers toss their name into a hat and wait for their chance to share a crafted story from their life.   If chosen, they have five minutes to regale the crowd.  As with all Moth events, no notes or scripts are allowed. In Chicago, StorySLAMs are held on the second Monday of each month at Haymarket Pub and Brewery, and on the last Tuesday of every month at Martyrs’. The GrandSLAM is the championship round, when 10 StorySLAM winners take the stage to crown the year’s Champ.