The Moth Houston GrandSLAM

The Moth brings its Houston GrandSLAM to The Heights Theater on Tuesday, December 1, and it's a different beast than the usual storytelling night. If you've been to a StorySLAM, you know the drill: an open mic where anyone can sign up, tell a true story from their life on a specific theme, and let the audience decide who wins. The GrandSLAM is what happens after that. It's the championship round, where the winners from those StorySLAMs return to compete for the crown in front of a full slate of local storytelling pros.

That's the core of it—real people telling true stories, no notes, no scripts, just them on stage. Because it's a competition, the stakes are a bit higher than a regular night, and the judges are people who know their way around a good story. The Houston edition is open to all ages, so it's as much for a family night as it is for a group of friends.

It's happening at The Heights Theater, 339 W 19th St, Houston, TX 77008. Doors open at 7 PM, and the show starts at 8 PM, though the lobby opens at 6 PM if you want to get there early and settle in. If you've never seen a Moth show before, the GrandSLAM is a great place to start—you get the best of the local circuit on one stage in a single night.