Not to be missed!  This weekend, First Person Ars and the  Free Library of Philadelphia will partner to bring you a first-of-its-kind StorySlam in Philadelphia. The Slam is FREE and will take place as part of the Free Library Festival at the Parkway Central Library on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 5:00 p.m., Saturday April 18th on the Bank of America Stage (Montgomery Auditorium). A team of five storytellers from the ranks of the best storytellers to grace First Person Arts’ StorySlam stage will face an able team of storytellers hailing from Chicago’s Windy City StorySlam. The theme will be “Mortified.” Here’s a preview of the storytellers you’ll see from both teams:

Representing Philadelphia:

NOTE: Angel Hogan, a veteran of the First Person Arts stage and our good friend from way back stepped in graciously to handle a last-minute substitution.  Thanks, Angel!

Ryan T. Barlow got into storytelling accidentally, but now he can’t get enough of it and is hoping it leads to a career in being professionally funny.

Amy Malissa wields the power of killer karaoke, understands the true meaning of Halloween and has the uncanny ability to identify actors by the sound of their voices alone.

Tre Rials, a seasoned storyteller, earned a spot in last year’s Grand Slam where he recounted a story of love, loss and revenge, and recently won the inaugural Raven Society StorySlam with a tale of a fateful night at Little Pete’s.

A recovering token, New Age enthusiast, and educator, Katonya Mosley recently became the scary enraged Black woman at work, and she is thrilled to have made peace with the stereotype.

Rob Kogan’s day job is in the world of transportation consulting. The top storyteller at First Person Arts’ “Hidden Talents” Slam at World Cafe Live, this is his second StorySlam appearance.

Here’s a playlist featuring some of the highlights from the StorySlam careers of the Philadelphia team:

And representing Chicago:

Jose “The Door Guy” Rivera. He was the door man at Windy City. One night he got on stage, the rest is history.

Sam Snow has never rehearsed a story he’s told at the Windy City Story Slam, everything with him is off the cuff. He’s a current Columbia College Chicago Fiction Writing Student.

Max Glaessner is the reigning All-City, Windy City Story Slam Champion.

Nicolette Kittinger is a current Columbia College Chicago Fiction Writing Student. She won the big one the night legendary author Irvine Welsh read at the Windy City Story Slam.

Bill “The Butcher” Hillmann is founder and host of the Windy City Story Slam.

NOTE: Due to a last minute conflict, Enid Maldonado Ruiz stepped in for Jose Rivera.

Here’s a series of videos featuring storytellers from the Windy City Story Slam: