The Moth offers center stage for writers, actors, average Joes and Janes

We all have a story to tell -- whether at a dinner party, at lunch with friends or telling your spouse about the workday.

The real, often amusing, everyday stories are the driving force behind a popular monthly event.

Every third Tuesday and last Monday of the month, budding storytellers put their name into a hat hoping to be one of the 10 selected to participate in an event called the Moth.

And from the looks of the packed audience -- many standing in the back or leaning in from any available entryway -- there is an eagerness to hear the stories about people's lives, each set to a predetermined theme.

While the monthly events at L.A.'s El Cid and the Air Conditioned Supper Club in Venice provide a chance for average Joes and Janes to tell the tales they've undoubtedly told at numerous dinner parties, with a $7 cover charge it becomes the cheapest stage show in town. The limelight is available to anyone, but this being L.A., many of the performers are actors, writers and comedians -- some trying out new material, others just doing what they love.

Read my whole story here. The next slam is 7:30 tonight at El CId.

-- Gerrick D. Kennedy

If you go:
On the third Tuesday of each month at:
El Cid
4212 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles

On the last Monday of each month at:
Air Conditioned Supper Club
625 Lincoln Blvd.
Venice

Tip: Arrive around 7:00 to sign up and volunteer to judge (tables go quickly)

Photo: One of the brave tells a story in front of the packed audience at El CId during a recent Moth Story slam. Credit: Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times