Hellos and Goodbyes: Woniya Thibeault and Mike Birbiglia

The Moth

Arts, Performing Arts

4.6 • 25.4K Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2023

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On this episode of the Moth Podcast, Catherine Burns, our former artistic director, shares the very first story she ever directed, and the last. This episode is hosted by Catherine Burns.

Storytellers:

Woniya Thibeault survives in the wilderness

Mike Birbiglia gets his heart broken

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, Moth Family. Have you listened to our new podcast, Grown yet?
0:03.7	Grown, that's GR-O-W-N, is a podcast filled with true stories all about the joys and pains of
0:09.6	growing up. Listen with a young person in your life, or by yourself to hear Moth Stories,
0:14.7	Storyteller interviews, and audio diaries from young voices that tackle family dynamics,
0:19.6	heartbreak, culture, mental health, and so much more. If you love listening to Moth Stories,
0:25.1	then share Grown with a young person in your life. Find it by searching GR-O-W-N on all major
0:31.3	podcast platforms. Welcome to the Moth Podcast. I'm Katherine Burns, your host for this episode,
0:39.6	and for over 20 years, the Moth's artistic director. I stepped down last month, but I can still
0:45.2	remember the spring night in 2000 when I attended my first Moth Show. I was swept away by the
0:50.6	mesmerizing stories and the energy of the warm crowd. I floated home. I became, in turn,
0:57.3	a grand slam contestant and a volunteer in what was then called the Moth Community Program.
1:02.6	Soon after, in one of the greatest blessings of my professional life, I got the chance to work
1:07.4	at this groundbreaking organization, which at the time had just two full-time employees.
1:13.2	Thank goodness for our many volunteers. The job has taken me to places I never thought possible
1:18.6	when I started that first day. Directing a show on the main stage of the Sydney Opera House,
1:23.6	rehearsing a story at Dawn in a trailer at the Bronx Zoo. Sitting after hours in the Tower of
1:28.7	London as the Ravenmaster put his beloved birds to bed, then ran his story for us in the Moonlight.
1:35.0	This job has been one of the great loves of my life, and I've been blessed to be a part of
1:38.5	growing an organization that means so much to so many. I know I'm leaving the Moth in the hands
1:43.3	of many brilliant people, as I pursue a number of personal dream projects. So, on this episode,
1:49.7	as a way to say goodbye, we'll be hearing the first story I ever directed, and also the last.
1:55.9	Let's start at the end, with a story that was told by Wognia Tibo just a few weeks ago.
	...

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