The Moth Mainstage: Tightrope

The Moth Mainstage comes to the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Tuesday, December 8, from 7:30 to 10:00 PM. It's the signature live show from The Moth, a global storytelling nonprofit that's been around since 1997. The organization's whole thing is built on true personal stories told live and without notes, and this Portland stop is presented in partnership with Literary Arts.

As for how the night actually works, it's a two-act evening centered on a curated lineup of tellers — writers, artists, adventurers, community members, and some unexpected voices — who share true stories from their own lives. The stories are told in the room as they're recorded for future episodes of the Peabody Award-winning The Moth Radio Hour and The Moth Podcast, so you're hearing them as they're captured for the record. A notable host usually introduces the tellers, and a musical act rounds out the night.

This particular show is built around the theme Tightrope, which gathers stories about what happens when there's no clear path and only the courage to keep moving forward. If you've never seen The Moth before, that's the core of it: people standing on a stage telling something that actually happened to them, no script and no notes, in front of a live audience.

Beyond this one night, The Moth is a nonprofit with a mission to inspire people to listen and share openly, think and feel deeply, and expand their understanding of one another. Since its start in 1997, it's presented more than 70,000 true stories across 11 countries and four continents, produces over 600 live shows a year, and guides thousands of new storytellers through its workshops. Tickets for the Portland show run from $30 to $95, and it runs from 7:30 to 10:00 PM at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway.