In partnership with the #WhatSheSaid Project, the third season of Story Slam returns on First Thursday on Main at the CMA. Story Slam is a forum for sharing and discovery with a format based on The Moth podcast. Local storytellers share brief, unscripted autobiographical stories on a theme. Shannon Ivey, MFA, a professional actor, activist, and lover of a good tale, serves as the evening’s host. Recommended for mature audiences. Free with membership or admission. Cash bar.

The goal of #WhatSheSaid is to begin and sustain a conversation with women stakeholders in the Columbia area centering on community issues (public health, barriers to accessing care, reproductive health) through first-person storytelling. Using improvisation, Theatre of the Oppressed exercises, and story slam formats, performers engage community members in socially responsible community action and connection.  For more information on Story Slam or to participate, visit www.whatshesaidproject.com. Submission deadline is February 16. This program is supported in part by Central Carolina Community Foundation and the SC Arts Commission.