Benefit for Morningside Shelter: Storytellers on a Mission April 19, Hosted by Peter Sagal

Southern Vermont-based The Hatch presents its third Storytellers on a Mission event featuring nationally renowned storytellers who will tell hilarious stories to raise money for a great cause. The event’s recipient is the Morningside Shelter in Brattleboro, Vermont, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. The event will be held on Saturday, April 19 pm at 7:30 p.m. at the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro.

The evening’s storytellers will be hosted by Peter Sagal, Host of NPR’s Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! and will feature Cindy Pierce, Elna Baker, Peter Aguero and Ian Chillag, with additional special guests. All performers have performed on critically acclaimed stages that include The Moth, National Public Radio (NPR) shows, Comedy Central programming and much more.

Event organizers The Hatch launched in early 2013 to produce entertaining events for the community and donate the proceeds to nonprofit organizations in Vermont. The two storytelling events held in 2013 packed the house and raised more than $20,000 each. With the following lineup of performers, The Hatch anticipates another successful and hilarious night of storytelling; a good thing, as the stakes are higher for this event. The goal of the April Hatch event is to raise $35,000 in honor of Morningside Shelter’s 35th anniversary.

With a 35-year history in this community, Morningside Shelter has provided a temporary home to thousands of people in need of stable housing. The organization believes in making that experience as dignified as possible. As many of its residents are recovering from various traumatic experiences, mental health issues, and/or recovering from substance abuse, the shelter’s “Design for Dignity” project aims to provide a safe space that is calming and therapeutic, while encouraging thriving, self-determination and new beginnings. The money raised by the Hatch Storytellers event will help fund this project. The event’s lineup currently includes the following talent:

Elna Baker is a writer and comedic storyteller. She’s appeared on The Moth Radio Hour, This American Life, BBC Radio 4, All Things Considered, WTF with Marc Maron, Studio 360, The Joy Behar Show and is featured in the book The Moth: 50 true stories. Her memoir The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance was published by Penguin, earning four stars in People Magazine and the 2010 AML award for best humor writing.

Cindy Pierce is a comic storyteller, college speaker, innkeeper, wife and mom. She performs a variety of comedy shows as well as educational shows for parents, college students and teenagers. Pierce is the co-author of Finding the Doorbell: Sexual Satisfaction for the Long Haul. She won the Best Amateur Storyteller at the Nantucket Film Festival in 2012 performing alongside Adam Wade, Tom Bodett and Mike Birbiglia. Pierce and her husband Bruce live in Etna, N.H., where they own and run Pierce’s Inn.

Returning for his second Hatch event, Peter Aguero was born and raised in the wilds of South Jersey and now resides with his lovely wife in the wilds of Queens. He is a Moth GrandSLAM Champion, host of Moth StorySLAMs, and an instructor for the MothSHOP Community Education Program. He is also the lead singer of The BTK Band, New York City’s hardest-drinking improvised storytelling rock band. His story about “finding his true love” dazzled the packed house at the inaugural Hatch event in early 2013.

Taking a turn on the live end of a microphone for Storytellers is Ian Chillag, producer for Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!. A humorist who has produced, written and voiced for various radio and television shows, and a Moth veteran, Chillag also co-hosts the popular podcast How to do Everything.

The evening’s host is Peter Sagal, host of Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, NPR’s Peabody-award-winning weekly hour-long satirical news quiz. Since Sagal became host of Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! in 1998, it has become one of the most popular shows on public radio, heard by more than four million radio listeners and another one million podcast listeners.

Tickets to Storytellers on a Mission are $60 front orchestra, $40 rear orchestra, $25 balcony and can be purchased online at CatamountArts.org. As the lineup of storytellers has been known to tell late-night stories with late-night content, this event is not suitable for children. The event begins at 7:30 pm.

A limited number of Premium Ticket packages, which include two front orchestra seats, two tickets to an after party with Peter Sagal and a thank you acknowledgement in the event program, will be available for $1,000. Additionally, thirty-five 35th Anniversary Sponsorship packages, including two rear orchestra tickets and special acknowledgement in the event program, are available to supporters for $350. For these premium packages, contact Libby Bennett at 802-257-0066 x101.

Vermont Public Radio (VPR) is once again media sponsor for Storytellers on a Mission. VPR will broadcast an edited version of the program at a later date, with introductions and commentary from Tom Bodett, local resident and regular contributor to NPR’s, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! Supporters of the event include Foard Panel and Farnum Cellulose.