The Moth: Anything Goes

The Moth brings its StorySLAM to Crescent Ballroom on Thursday, May 14, with a special edition called Anything Goes. If you've never been to a Moth show, the format is pretty simple: people from the audience get up on stage and tell a true, personal story from their own lives, without notes. It's not stand-up comedy, though it can get funny, and it's not a rehearsed monologue. It's just someone telling a story to a room full of strangers.

What makes Anything Goes different from a typical StorySLAM is the lack of a theme. Usually, these shows center on a specific prompt—something like "First Times" or "Wrong Turn"—and the storytellers have to fit their tales into that box. This one throws the themes out and gives the storytellers carte blanche to share whatever they want: the deep cuts, the archived memories, or the stories that have never quite fit anywhere else. It's designed for the people whose name didn't get pulled from the hat at a themed show, or for anyone who finds a blank page daunting, and it draws inspiration from the event's past themes to get the ideas flowing.

If you've got a story you've been sitting on, this is the kind of night where it actually fits. And if you'd rather just listen, that works too—the whole point is hearing a handful of people from the community stand up and tell something true. It's a low-stakes way to spend a Thursday night in downtown Phoenix, and since there's no theme to worry about, the stories can go anywhere.

Doors open at 7 PM and the show starts at 8 PM at Crescent Ballroom, 308 North 2nd Ave. Tickets are $17 in advance and the same price on the day of the show. One thing to keep in mind: the venue restricts admission to ages 21 and over, so you'll need your ID.