Literary Arts and The Moth are bringing a new lineup of storytellers to Portland. Each Moth Mainstage show features five tellers who have developed their true stories with help from The Moth’s directors. Join us on December 10 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, and celebrate the ability of stories to honor both the diversity and commonality of human experience, and to satisfy a vital human need for connection.
This year’s theme is “Family Matters.”
THE HOST:
Amber Wallin is a Los Angeles-based comedian, host, and filmmaker who has amassed over a million followers on TikTok and Instagram (@burr_iam) where she annoys her family, sings to her indoor plants, and creates characters inspired by her wig collection. For weekly laughs, subscribe to her family podcast, Fly on the Wallin, which she co-hosts with her husband.
THE STORYTELLERS:
Diego Aguirre is a New York City-based actor, dog walker/sitter, and a Marine Corps veteran. Ecuadorian by heritage and born in the United States, Diego resided in Ecuador from the age five to seventeen. Upon graduating from high school, he returned to the United States and joined the Marine Corps. Diego was in one of the firsts units on the ground in Afghanistan, shortly after September 11th. Diego has a monthly storytelling residency with the Actors Theater of NYC, run by Alba Albanese and David Zayas Jr. Find him on Instagram: @diego.aguirre.actor.
Margot Brown is a Portland-based creative and founder of her own animation production company. Passionate about storytelling, Margot loves to captivate audiences both through animation and live performance.
Donald Harrison is a Philadelphia-based writer and pianist. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from the Michener Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and has worked as both a writing teacher and a learning experience designer. He plays and sings every Friday night at Tavern on Camac in Philadelphia and has performed as a storyteller and accompanist in venues around Philadelphia and New York City.
Zainab Johnson is a stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. Zainab’s comedy is based on her unique point-of-view, which was shaped growing up in Harlem as one of thirteen siblings in a black Muslim family. After graduating with a degree in Education and Math, and becoming a teacher, she quickly learned that she had a different calling. Zainab is currently a series regular on the Amazon Original hit series titled Upload by Greg Daniels and she is one of the hosts on the Netflix show 100 Humans. She has also starred as Dr. Hanniel in the brilliantly written web series Avant-Guardians. Zainab made her late-night stand-up debut appearance on NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers, and has had breakout appearances on HBO’s All Def Comedy and NBC’s Last Comic Standing. She has performed multiple times at the JFL Comedy Festival in Montreal: first as a “New Face of Comedy” then as one of “Variety’s Top 10 Comics to Watch”, and most recently on the longest running JFL show “Just for the Culture.” She is a paid regular at The Comedy Store, The Improv, and Laugh Factory in Los Angeles as well as the Comedy Cellar in New York City. Her first hour-long special, Hijabs Off, is available to stream on Amazon.
Eileen O’Brien only recently began to explore her longtime desire to develop her writing skills. In the process of that exploration, she discovered storytelling as an outlet for creative expression and became motivated by the potential to draw an audience into her story through a resonance with the universal and boundless experiences of being human.
THE MUSICIAN:
Adam Eccleston was born in Brooklyn, New York, in the Little Caribbean neighborhood, conductor, radio host, educator, and flutist, Adam Eccleston has gained international recognition as a soloist, recitalist, chamber, and orchestral musician. Adam has received top awards in competitions at Carnegie Hall and Kurhaus Wiesbaden in Germany, and has conducted ensembles in Panama, Dominican Republic, Belize, Canada, and throughout the United States. He was the Artist-in-Residence for All Classical Radio for two years and currently sits as Chair of the Recording Inclusivity Initiative, which brings to light the music of underrepresented composers. As a radio host and producer for All Classical Radio, Adam also guest hosts for the Young Artist Showcase on WQXR in New York City. Adam is a Powell Flute Artist and Principal Flutist of Orchestra Nova NW, and appears as guest artist around the country. Currently, he teaches flute and chamber music at Reed College and conducts ensembles at the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. He is a regular substitute flutist with the Oregon Symphony and is also a lead presenter in their ‘Symphony Storytime,’ pairing his love of music and reading with young people. Adam believes music can be harnessed to invoke social change and has worked extensively with El Sistema music programs across the United States.
The Moth is a nonprofit dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. For over 26 years, The Moth has presented over 60,000 true personal stories, told live, without notes, to standing-room-only audiences and virtually around the globe. Renowned for showcasing a broad range of human experiences, The Moth produces approximately 600 live and virtual shows each year and has an ongoing presence in 27 cities worldwide. Additionally, The Moth runs storytelling workshops for students, teachers, adults, advocates, and professionals from around the world through its Education, Community, Global and MothWorks Programs. The Moth Podcast—the 2020 Webby People’s Voice Award Winner for Best Podcast Series— is downloaded 100 million times a year, and each week, the Peabody Award-winning The Moth Radio Hour, produced by Jay Allison at Atlantic Public Media and presented by PRX, The Public Radio Exchange, is heard on over 575 public radio stations. The Moth has published four critically acclaimed books — the international bestseller The Moth: 50 True Stories (2013), All These Wonders: True Stories about Facing the Unknown (2017) and The New York Times Best Sellers, Occasional Magic: True Stories About Defying the Impossible (2019) and How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth (Crown Archetype, April 2022). The Moth has also released its first card deck, A Game of Storytelling (Clarkson-Potter). The Moth’s second podcast, Grown, is out now on all major streaming platforms. Learn more at themoth.org.
Tickets are selling fast for The Moth: Mainstage in Portland, on Tuesday, December 10, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Don’t miss out! Get tickets now for an inspiring and enlightening evening of live storytelling.
