STORY CLUB PITTSBURGH
About
We give you a mic and 6 minutes. You tell us a story.
Story Club Pittsburgh is Pittsburgh's premiere live storytelling show, where real people share real stories on stage. We blend the raw energy of an open mic with the experience of live theater, creating an unforgettable night of connection, humor, and heart.
WHAT WE OFFER
Story Slam
THE HEART OF STORY CLUB.
Story Slams are live storytelling events where anyone can take the stage. Each event features a theme, eight storytellers, and a room full of energy. Storytellers sign up the day of the show. If your name is drawn, you'll have six minutes to tell a true story from your life that connects to the theme. Audience judges keep score, but the real win is sharing a story that sticks.
It feels like the whole room leaning in, laughing together, and then going completely silent when someone says something that hits deeper than anyone expected.
WHEN & WHERE
First Tuesday of every month at City of Asylum — 7:00 PM Select third Tuesdays at Bottlerocket — 7:30 PM We're always open to partnering with local organizations to bring Story Slams to new spaces and communities.
RUN TIME · Approximately 2 hours
Interested in hosting or partnering? Contact us →
Bridging Divides
STORIES THAT BUILD UNDERSTANDING ACROSS DIFFERENCE.
Bridging Divides brings together people from communities that don't often interact or don't always see eye to eye. Through storytelling, we create space to listen, reflect, and encounter one another in a more human way. The format is similar to a Story Slam, with one key difference: most storytellers work in advance with our producers to shape and refine their stories. The result is a powerful, intentional experience designed to foster empathy, connection, and more civil conversation. This program is built in partnership with organizations who want to bring people together in meaningful ways.
It feels like walking in with assumptions and leaving with a story you can't shake and a person you see differently.
RUN TIME · Approximately 2 hours
Interested in partnering with us? Contact us →
Salon
AN INTIMATE STORYTELLING EXPERIENCE, HOSTED IN YOUR HOME.
Salon is Story Club in a living room. You invite at least 25 guests, and together, you become the storytellers. We work with you to shape the evening: setting the theme, guiding the flow, and offering light coaching so guests feel prepared and confident to share. The result is a warm, engaging, and personal experience built around the stories already in the room. It's perfect for people who want something more meaningful than a typical gathering. Think of it as a house party with purpose.
It feels like your living room filling with laughter, then going quiet as someone shares a story no one saw coming and everyone leaves knowing each other better.
RUN TIME · Approximately 2 hours
Interested in hosting a Salon? Contact us →
HOW WE GOT HERE
Story Club was founded in Chicago by Dana Norris in 2009 as a place for real people to share real stories. The format is simple: true, personal narratives with a clear arc — a moment where something shifted. No scripts, no stand-up, no poetry. Just stories.
Story Club Pittsburgh launched as part of that national community and has grown into one of the city's most beloved live events. We host monthly shows at City of Asylum on the North Side and Bottlerocket Social Hall in Allentown.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Who tells stories at Story Club?
Anyone. We have open mic slots at each show. Open mic participants sign up before the show and are chosen randomly during the show. Each storyteller has 6 minutes to tell their story. Story Club loves having new storytellers on stage.
What kinds of stories are told?
Story Club Pittsburgh is all about true, personal stories told live, on stage, in 6 minutes or less. The storyteller should be the main character in the story: something you lived through, witnessed firsthand, or were right in the middle of. We love stories that have a clear beginning, middle, and end, and that give us a sense of where it's happening, who's involved, and what's at stake. The best stories zoom in on a specific moment—or a few connected ones—and show us how something shifted: your situation, your thinking, your world. You are welcome to bring notes to help stay on track (we get it—nerves are real), but stories should be told not read. If it happened to you, we want to hear it.
THE TEAM
Jacob Williamson
PRODUCER
Jacob Williamson is a Pittsburgh-based community builder and producer with Story Club Pittsburgh. His work lives at the intersection of faith, justice, service, and civic life. He is drawn to stories that are honest, vulnerable, and rooted in the strange grace of ordinary life.
Alan Olifson
HOST / PRODUCER
An award-winning humor columnist and comedian, Alan was also the regular host of Pittsburgh’s monthly Moth StorySlams. He created the acclaimed storytelling series Wordplay at Bricolage Theater and the storytelling/talk show Speakeasy at Arcade Comedy Theater. His book, Manchild: My Life without Adult Supervision, from Six Gallery Press, is available wherever you buy books—hopefully somewhere local.
IN THE NEWS
Pittsburgh Magazine
A Story to Tell and a Moth Reborn at Story Club Pittsburgh
Story Club Pittsburgh fills the void left by The Moth’s pandemic closure, combining the spontaneity of an open mic with live theater through true, nonfiction personal storytelling.
BY SINEAD MCDEVITT
READ AT PITTSBURGH MAGAZINE →
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Story Club Fills the Void Left by The Moth
Alan Olifson and Kelly Flanagan Dee launch Story Club Pittsburgh at City of Asylum, bringing back live storytelling with a more flexible, diversity-focused format than its predecessor.
BY JEREMY REYNOLDS
READ AT PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE →