The Mackinac Island story has been a work in progress for a long time, but I finally got a chance to work on it again. This time, I turned it into a five-minute story for First Person Arts in Philadelphia. This April, I participated as part of “Team Detroit” in the Philly vs. Detroit StorySlam. This is the result of a ton of editing, multiple workshops, and a lot of practice. I’m really happy with it!

This is the story of an ill-fated affair with a dude who met all my requirements for the perfect nerdy boyfriend … almost. I’m really proud of how it turned out! From “Fangirl: the absolutely true story of how fictional characters ruined my life.” Recorded for “Story League Story Contest 3: My Secret.”

“Thug Appeal” is probably my oldest story. I think there are definite advantages to performing something that’s very familiar to you. It takes away the anxiety of “OMG, am I going to forget crucial plot details?” For the stage, I framed the incident with details about my obsession with fictional criminals. I think that added framing grounds the story in my most common theme: fangirl expectations vs. reality.