Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam!

At Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam!we support women storytellers and other marginalized people (the queer community; trans women, nonbinary and intersex folks,  and people of color). We provide a virtual stage. We teach aspiring storytellers the skills necessary to make their words shine. The stories they write are 4 minutes in length; about 500 words. They're tasked with writing a true story based on a preselected theme. 

Human beings are storytellers. All of us. Whether we're writers or not, every human being has a at least one story to tell. The act of getting on a stage, and sharing our truth with one another is life-giving and esteem-building. It's crucial in this time we're living through, to be witnesses and truth-tellers.  

We want to hear the life-changing stories. The teenage love affairs, the workplace drama. Stories about inequality, racism, sexism, violence, ageism, and trauma. Stories about broken hearts and second chances. Stories that could be a little TMI! The art of taking a 2000 word essay and distilling it to its essence is a skill that can be taught and learned. Discovering how few words we need to tell a story that effectively amuses, moves, angers, or enlightens an audience in 500 words (give or take), is a valuable lesson in brevity. It teaches communication skills. It illustrates the impact a 4-minute story can have.  

We're sharing our stories at a time when our voices are being silenced around the US and on the global stage. We publish videos of the storyteller performances  and share them on platforms like Substack and Youtube.

We offer empowering one-on-one teaching and group workshops in the art of writing and craft. The how-to's of all of it. Our storytellers are feminist writers on Substack, the publishing platform. Our writers have enormous hearts. Some  of them are introverts. Some quake at the idea of performing. We encourage them to feel the fear, and then, do it anyway.

The people who've performed for their first time, who were terrified at the outset have  discovered new parts of themselves, and want to come back and do it again.

That's the biggest reward of all.

In the future, we want to welcome more people who have a desire to tell their stories on our virtual stage. Men are welcome as audience members and one day, we hope to invite feminist men to tell their stories on our stage. But, until then, they can sit, listen, and applaud! 

xoNan Tepper