The Des Moines Storytellers Project hosts live storytelling at Hoyt Sherman Place
The Des Moines Register will again work to build community and empathy through a series of events featuring true, first-person stories told by Iowans.
We're excited to once again welcome fans and storytellers to the historic Hoyt Sherman Place theater for another year of storytelling.
Des Moines Storytellers Project's 2024 season
We are excited to return to the historic Hoyt Sherman Place for another three-show season in 2024.
The remaining shows this year are:
Travel — June 18
Overcoming — Oct. 22
Each show is held at 7 p.m. at Hoyt Sherman Place, 1501 Woodland Ave.
Order Des Moines Storytellers Project tickets
Tickets for individual shows cost $14 or $30 for VIP and are available to purchase via Ticketmaster or at the Hoyt Sherman Place box office.
Questions can be directed to events@dmreg.com or 515-619-6548.
Season ticket packages are available each year until the day of the first show.
Tell your story at the Des Moines Storytellers Project
The Des Moines Storytellers Project strongly believes that everyone HAS a story and everyone CAN tell it. None of the storytellers who take our stage are professionals. They are your neighbors, friends or co-workers, and they are coached to tell by Register journalists.
Want to tell your story at one of our upcoming Storytellers Project events? Read our guidelines and submit a story at DesMoinesRegister.com/Tell.
About the Des Moines Storytellers Project
The Des Moines Storytellers Project is a series of storytelling events in which community members work with Register journalists to tell true, first-person stories live on stage.The project is dedicated to the idea that oral storytelling and journalism have the same goals: Serving and reflecting a community while fostering empathy.
It started in 2016 and has presented more than 200 stories across more than 35 shows.
Past 2024 Des Moines Storytellers Project shows
Community: Feb. 27, 2024
Rewatch the entire show:
Read each teller's story:
Jim Sayers: How this Iowan discovered community in an unexpected place — prison
Erlin Kakkanad: An Iowan's son asked about his skin color. It led her to embrace her identity, write book
Jordan Brooks: How this Iowan creates community through works of art
Kenny Gaskin: How this Iowan, one of the few Black male teachers, builds community in his classroom
Deborah Svec-Carstens: Out of tragedy, her community as an expat in Paris helped her find herself
Past 2023 Des Moines Storytellers Project shows
Family: Oct. 24, 2023
Rewatch the entire show:
Read each teller's story:
Sam Blum: How one Iowan found family and belonging obsessively listening to metal music
Sonya Jackson: How my pioneering great aunt and too-fun grandmother inspired me to dream big
Luisita McBurney: How one Iowan discovered family is not always about the people who share your DNA
Louise O'Donnell: How my parents raised 14 children in small town Iowa
Ehsanullah Shaban: I fled Afghanistan and came to the United States. Then I found a new family.
Travel: June 20, 2023
Read each teller's story:
Olesya Holker: An immigrant born under Soviet rule finds passion and purpose through travel
Keith Knapp: I was on the trip of a lifetime. Then, the pandemic happened.
Monica Leo: A trip behind the Iron Curtain reminded this Iowan we're more alike than we are different
Shir Agha Safi: After years of fighting the Taliban, Afghan refugee helps others create new life in Iowa
Susan Sims: A solo backpacking journey in communist China leads an Iowan on a unique adventure
Love: Feb. 14, 2023
Rewatch the entire show:
Read each teller's story:
Dan Dogulas: I traveled the world in search of adventure. I also found the love of my life.
Anissa Deay: As marriage becomes complicated, Iowan leans on relationship motto 'no man left behind'
Sam Freese: As my husband faced criminal charges, I struggled to find self-love
Patrick J. Kearney: What this Iowan learned about love watching his mother battle multiple sclerosis
Sarah Trone Garriott: This Iowan's first wedding was to a pair of satanists. What that taught her about love
Past 2022 Des Moines Storytellers Project shows
Love: Stories of companionship, desire and commitment, Feb. 15, 2022
Rewatch the entire show:
Read each teller's story
Linh Ta: Too American or too Asian? How this Iowan learned to love all sides of herself
David Grieser: How I married another guy's fiancée, and overcame the gossips' doubts
Preshia Paulding: How one Iowan found out the hard way: If someone truly loves you, you’ll know. If not, you’ll be confused
Chad Elliot: From heartache to inspiration: One man's lessons in writing love songs
Lea Haravon Collins: Brick-by-brick: How a bisexual woman found love with a straight white man, despite their differences
Growing Up: Celebrating family and culture, April 26, 2022
Rewatch the entire show:
Read each teller's story:
Blake Carlson: How grandma’s eccentricities taught this Iowan to embrace his disability
Jeff Clothier: First love and first heartbreak: How a sabotaged prom night led to healing and a friendship
Tony Dahlman: When Saddam calls: A birthday tradition showcases an act of familial love
Aymi Paradise-Flores: First, she learned how to fall. Then she became Ballard High School's first female wrestler.
Voyages: Life-changing experiences through travel, June 14, 2022
Rewatch the entire show:
Read each teller's story:
Erik Dominguez: Finding a new connection: How journeying back home to Tucson let this adopted Iowan move forward
Brenda McGuire: How three trips around the world helped one Iowan find love close to home
Coral Thede: During a nightmare stop in Paris, a master manifestor lets go and lets the universe provide
Robert Warren: From a crowded car to a rundown fishing lodge: 1969 vacation taught 6-year-old the meaning of family bonding
Bad Advice: Accepting, ignoring, or just plain regretting another person’s help, Aug. 30, 2022
Rewatch the entire show:
Read each teller's story:
Galit Levy: How a parental kidnapping led to a lifelong pattern of listening to my own bad advice
Rick Kievits: I took advice that was too good to be true — and was deported. Here's what I learned.
Kiranmai Yarlagadda: How I overcame childhood advice to move past insecurity and embrace myself — and my past
Randy Brown: How a former ISU basketball coach found new purpose after a stint in federal prison
Julie Gammack: How I drowned out advice to keep my job as a Register columnist and took a huge leap of faith
Obsessions: Our unabashed passions, from relationships to hobbies — and everything in between, Oct. 25, 2022
Rewatch the entire show:
Read each teller's story:
Julie Burtnette: How one Iowan used her imagination to deal with her father's death — and later start a museum
Cody Goodwin: I thought I'd left wrestling behind. Now, as a journalist, I'm inspired by others.
Tim Johnson: How a near-death experience led this Iowan to an obsession with feeding the world
Billy "B.Well" Weathers: This artist’s obsession? Surpassing every expectation
Generosity: The kindness I didn't see coming, Dec. 13, 2022
Rewatch the entire show:
Read each teller's story:
Rusty Johnson: From foster care to fostering gratitude: How lifelong generosity shaped this Iowan's life
Stevie Lang: A kind friend paid for this Iowan's therapy, leading to a new chance at life
Guillermo Romano Ibarra: How friendship helped this Iowan learn to live in a wheelchair after a bike crash
Patsy Shors: How a brief car ride from a stranger taught me a lifelong lesson about generosity
Yenny Briceno Soley: How two women became my American moms as I sought political asylum in Iowa
Hear past stories from the Des Moines Storytellers Project
The Des Moines Storytellers podcast is the perfect way to revisit favorite stories or hear ones that you've missed. Look for us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite podcasting platform.
Have questions or need assistance? Contact the Des Moines Storytellers Project team at events@dmreg.com or 515-619-6548
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines Storytellers Project | Find Tickets or Tell Your Story