{"id":222098,"date":"2026-06-18T09:25:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T09:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/222098\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T09:25:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T09:25:17","slug":"were-human-too-lgbtq-storyslam-will-amplify-queer-voices-in-scranton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/222098\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We\u2019re human too,\u2019 LGBTQ Storyslam will amplify queer voices in Scranton"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone has a story. At the Big Gay Storyslam this Saturday, personal stories will be shared with a spotlight on the queer community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s something that’s very needed,\u201d said Amber Viola, a judge in this year\u2019s competition. \u201cThe space for people to be able to come out and just to be themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The annual event hosted by Scranton Fringe brings queer people and their allies to the stage at the Scranton Cultural Center for an evening of celebration and connection.<\/p>\n

Storytellers<\/p>\n

Charley Rude, a trans woman from Lackawanna County, attended the LGBTQ Storyslam as an audience member last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was my first year completely out as a queer person,\u201d she said. \u201cMy partner and I were looking for things to do where I could find my peers and start to become a part of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019ll be back this year as a performer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was absolutely flabbergasted that they wanted me to participate this year,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it was very interesting to sit and reflect upon my life and come up with a story that would fit the theme and really say something about who I am,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s theme is “Don’t stop me now.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Mmachi<\/p>\n

Mmachi Dimoriaku trained at The Moth, a storytelling nonprofit in New York City.<\/p>\n

Mmachi Dimoriaku chose the eight performers for Saturday\u2019s event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stories are all about resilience through the world telling them no,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Dimoriaku grew up in New York and was a student storyteller at The Moth, a nonprofit dedicated to the art. <\/p>\n

She moved to Northeast Pa. for college and has stuck around.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis area is a scene that invites everybody,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd this program highlights the best of what we have. But it also shines a light on [the fact that] we\u2019re human too.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is a storyslam?<\/p>\n

Storytellers will have about five minutes to tell the audience a personal story that is relevant to the theme.<\/p>\n

Unlike a stand-up comedy show, the stories are presented in a variety of genres.<\/p>\n

\u201cStory slams are more so an intimate space, similar to an acoustic concert,\u201d Dimoriaku said. \u201cYou\u2019re expecting something good to fill your heart\u2026 and you don\u2019t have to do anything but listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Big Gay Storyslam brings local performers to the stage for a live storytelling competition.<\/p>\n

\"Amber<\/p>\n

Submitted Photo<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Amber Viola<\/p>\n

Amber Viola will be a judge at the 2026 LGBTQ Storyslam.<\/p>\n

Drag comedian Pissi Myles is the host for the evening and keeps the crowd entertained in between stories. A panel of judges will choose a winner. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou have everybody’s different personalities coming through,\u201d said Viola, who was in the audience at last year\u2019s storyslam.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s such a cool experience, because even people that you do know, you may not have heard certain aspects of their lives or coming out stories,\u201d she continued. \u201cI’m looking forward to just listening and just being around a bunch of gay people.\u201d<\/p>\n

‘It’s so important’<\/p>\n

Rude grew up in Lackawanna County in the 80s and 90s. Events like this weren\u2019t happening around here then.<\/p>\n

\"Charley<\/p>\n

Submitted Photo<\/p>\n

\/<\/p>\n

Eugene Lucas<\/p>\n

Charley Rude, a trans woman from Lackawanna County, is co-owner of Strange Birds, a queer venue in Scranton.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t have any spaces to go to to have examples of people living that type of life,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn’t have the vocabulary, I had no mentors\u2026 There were no examples whatsoever of a positive role model as a trans person.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was difficult for me to find where I belonged and what my identity really was, and I struggled with it for a very, very long time, until I was a fully grown adult with a family,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

Rude is co-owner of Strange Birds<\/a>, a queer event venue in Scranton that opened just last month.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we really need is a queer space to make it safe for others so that they don’t have to hide their identity most of their life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

They host creative workshops, performances and other events for the queer community, to create more opportunities for inclusion, like the LGBTQ Storyslam.<\/p>\n

Strange Birds will host a Silent Disco<\/a> afterparty following the Big Gay Storyslam and a queer prom<\/a> later in the month.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a place where people can gather together and share their identities, who they are, how they live, and show that we just have normal lives\u2026 It’s so important,\u201d Rude said. \u201cBecause when you have to live your life suppressing who you really are, it always ends in tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information, go to <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Everyone has a story. At the Big Gay Storyslam this Saturday, personal stories will be shared with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":["post-222098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}