Stories must be submitted for consideration through the Academy phone line (413-482-8607) during the open audition period for each show. Share the first line of your story as you would tell it the night of the slam. Your first and last name, email, and phone number need to be recorded on voicemail. Please speak clearly and slowly, and please spell your email address. 

Stories must be personal, first-person narratives, and from your life experience.

Stories must be told without notes, props, costumes, or musical instruments.

Your story must relate to the theme.

Your story must be 5 minutes or less! We’ll give you a one-minute warning at the four-minute mark to help you keep on time.

You must be 18 or older and reside in New England.

If you’ve participated in a Valley Voices story slam or auditioned for previous seasons you are welcome to re-audition. (If you’ve taken home the gold in The Best of Valley Voices, you may not compete in the next season.)

If you take 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in a slam, you cannot participate in other slams during the season (you will be moving on to The Best of Valley Voices).

All storytellers must sign a waiver allowing the Academy of Music to photograph them during the event, and for use of their images in promotional materials.

The top 3 storytellers for each slam will go on to compete in The Best of Valley Voices at the Academy of Music on Saturday, April 25, 2026. If you place in the top three during a slam, you must commit to sharing a story for The Best of Valley Voices.

Members of the Academy of Music Theatre will select 10 storytellers and 2 alternates for each slam based on the first lines auditioned.

Selected storytellers will be notified and are invited to participate in a storytelling workshop before the Story Slam to hone their story.

At each slam, audience members vote for their favorite story, and the top three storytellers advance to The Best of Valley Voices in April.

The top 3 storytellers for each slam will go on to compete in The Best of Valley Voices at the Academy of Music. If you are in the top three, you must commit to sharing a story for The Best of Valley Voices.

For more information, contact Melanie Slabaugh, the Academy of Music’s producer for Valley Voices Story Slam, at 413-584-9032 x101, or at valleyvoices@aomtheatre.com.