Competition

Carapace is often compared to The Moth because it has a similar, although altered format, and has roots in The Moth. The most notable differences are that Carapace doesn’t charge, and stories are not judged at Carapace. There is no competition. At The Moth in November I observed how these differences change the nature of the community, even though there is some significant overlap between attendees. Carapace storytellers have shared that they do experience some disappointment when they put their name in the hat and don’t get called. Benjamin shared that one way to counteract this is to bring a friend:

So January 2012

I developed the way that I originally came to Carapace

which was,

you bring somebody else,

and you become as invested in them getting on the stage as you.

So that that way you aren’t

in your own head,

worrying about your own piece,

trying to figure out whether or not you’re going to get the stage,

make sure that you do it right,

and drive yourself crazy.

I observed at The Moth, however, that potential storytellers not only got disappointed about other people getting a chance to tell (instead of themselves) they also worried about other storytellers beating them if they did tell. If they were up against a regular favorite, they were dismayed that their likelihood of winning was lower. The competitive nature of The Moth makes it a little harder for the storytellers to be fully invested in each other’s stories.

I believe that people are complex and that individuals can feel these things and still enjoy other storytellers and be happy for their friends. Nevertheless, that particular concern doesn’t even come up in the absence of competition.

I got to tell a story the night I was at The Moth, and had my own feelings about being judged. One thing I specifically worried about was possibly hearing one of the judging groups deciding on my score:

I got the highest scores of the evening up until that point, but I was only third, so I didn’t get my hopes up. I had been worried that I’d be able to hear the judges behind me conferring, but I couldn’t. And I actually forgot about it while they were deliberating on me, paying attention to the MC reading slips.

I’ll admit that although I didn’t want to pay attention to the competition aspect too much, I did think it would be exciting to win. I’ve gotten low scores at other competitive events before and can usually brush it off. I thought I might have my feelings hurt, though, if I actually heard the judges saying negative things.