The Story Collider LIVE: True, Personal Stories About Science

The Story Collider returns to the Crawford this summer! Join us for a night of hilarious, heartbreaking, and heartwarming stories about science. Whether you haven’t touched a test tube since high school or have a closet full of lab coats, this is for you.

Most widely known for a weekly podcast that The Washington Post has called “delightful, devastating, and endlessly listenable,” The Story Collider brings together scientists, performers, and everyone in between to share true, personal stories about how science has impacted their lives.

Hosted by Bryan Kett (he/him). Stories by systems engineer Tracy Drain (she/her), playwright/ teaching artist/live storyteller Christopher Moncayo-Torres (he/him), writer/actor Jess Nurse (she/her) and writer/director Paul Davis (he/him).

In partnership with:

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Story Collider

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Bryan Kett (he/him) is a former high school science teacher from outside of Chicago. He got tired of telling his students not to drink the chemicals in chemistry lab, so he began taking writing classes at Chicago’s famed Second City, which led to him earning his master’s degree in Creative Writing from DePaul University. Bryan serves as Producer for The Story Collider and instructor for The Story Studio. His work, which blends science, humor, and personal narrative, has been featured on various NPR stations, Rainn Wilson’s SoulPancake, TED.com, RISK!, and The Moth Podcast. He is still an advocate for not drinking chemicals in chemistry lab.

Tracy Drain (she/her)

Tracy Drain is a systems engineer who has helped to develop, test and operate a variety of robotic spacecraft over the past 25 years. A life-long learner, she loves encouraging people to nurture their curiosity and explore the wonders that surround us. She serves on the planning committee for the National Academy of Science’s Science and Entertainment Exchange, and the advisory boards for ASU’s Interplanetary Initiative and UofK’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, taking long walks, watching random shows (primarily sci-fi, documentaries and Korean dramas) and studying languages - Spanish and… Korean! (If you see her on the street, please don’t hesitate to teach her a joke in either of these languages.) Tracy works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory where she is currently the Chief Engineer for the Europa Clipper mission.

Christopher Moncayo-Torres (he/him)

IG: @christopherfromqueens

Facebook: Christopher Moncayo-Torres

Christopher Moncayo-Torres is an Ecuadorian-American playwright, teaching artist and live storyteller, born and bred in Queens, NY, and new-ish to living in LA. Most recently, he performed alongside his Ecuadorian father (yes, really) in “No Sabo”, an award-winning, solo-ish show about rekindling their once estranged relationship, despite their language barrier. He’s now working on a live-ish cooking show with his mother.

He also hosts the monthly storytelling-workshop show, Fail Better Story Time at Studious Coworking Space in LA’s Chinatown. More info can be found at www.failbetterarts.com

He’s an instructor for The Moth and host for their StorySLAMs. He’s also a 2x Moth StorySLAM winner who has been featured on The Moth Radio Hour podcast.

Jess Nurse (she/her)

@jessisnotanurse (instagram, threads, twitter, Spotify, Venmo)

Jess Nurse is a Boston born, NYU graduate and Los Angeles transplant. Her writing career began at the tender age of eight when she wrote a play about a horse, hosted a play reading and no one came. Devastating. She's working it out in therapy. An actor as well, she has guest starred on several TV shows and regularly pops up on the commercials of those shows. Very meta. Very multiverse. Jess wants to thank her Mom and Dad, her sisters Lizzy and Becky and her newborn niece Feather who is already cuter than the cutest Pixar baby. For more of her face and funnies: @jessisnotanurse.

Paul Davis (he/him)

Instagram: @pauldavisfilmmaker

Paul Davis writes and directs horror movies. His last short won Screamfest and Ravenheart, two of the biggest horror film festivals in the U.S. and Europe. He is currently editing his follow-up short, and raising funds to shoot a feature film. Interested in helping with that? How nice of you, please hit him up on instagram @pauldavisfilmmaker or GangOfLightProductions@gmail.com. Paul is passionate about storytelling. He has had stories air on NPR and published in Reader’s Digest.

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