On June 13, four members of the CTP team joined emcee Bethany Van Delft for the evening at the WBUR CitySpace to act as judges for The Moth’s StorySLAM event. 10 storytellers took the stage to share a five-minute story on the theme of the night: Pride. As an event devoted to the art and craft of storytelling, we asked our resident judges what they took away from this experience.

From Left to Right: Lizzie Morrill, Lauren Kimball, Bethany Van Delft, Mark Bappe, Kevin MacKenzie Jr.

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Kevin MacKenzie Jr. 

Associate Creative Director

Telling stories is inherently human and has the amazing ability to connect us. After just the first story, a room of strangers instantly felt closer. The sense of community filled the space as different stories of pride made me laugh and consider things I may have taken for granted or didn’t realize before. 

It was hard to put a number on a story that was so personal and real. But that was our job and if I do say so myself, we did it exceptionally well, haha. Host Bethany Van Delft was amazing, she never let the energy waiver with off-the-cuff banter and personal tidbits. I’d give the night a 9.8. (Only because 10 would be an amateur judge number.)

Lizzie Morrill

Account Supervisor

I think we can all agree that storytelling is an art form (and a profession for us agency folks!), and what impressed me most was each speaker’s ability to make us feel something in the five short minutes they were allotted. We heard about brief interactions with strangers at the hardware store, a community coming together to fundraise, and working through imposter syndrome – but at the heart of all of these seemingly unremarkable moments was a story of human connection that left us with something to think about. Their vulnerability was inspiring and it reminded me to continue looking for stories in my everyday life. 

Lauren Kimball

EVP Managing Director, Operations

Each storyteller only had five minutes to make their mark, create an emotional connection and engage us in a way that we’d give their story a high score. That’s really damn difficult in my opinion.

But what I learned is that these storytellers weren’t there to please the audience or the judges, but to fulfill their own desire to stand up on the stage, be vulnerable, and to get a taste of a meaningful creative outlet. And that was a pretty cool thing to be a part of.

Mark Bappe

SVP, Creative Director

It always impressed me that people are willing to stand up on stage in front of a live audience, without a script, a tele-promoter or cue cards, and share something incredibly personal. The audience was always supportive, but as a judge, it was awkward having to critique everything, telling these brave people their story arc fell flat or something that had meaning to them just wasn’t that interesting. 

To anyone who has the confidence to stand up and tell their story without anything to hide behind (other than a microphone) I applaud you without judgment.