Stories on the Lawn
Win, Lose, or Draw
Moth-Style Storytelling at the Neill-Cochran House Museum
Thursday, November 14 | 7:30PM
Doors at 7:00, Performance at 7:30
*Due to an ongoing landscaping project this event has been moved indoors.
Tickets
$15 General | $10 Student | $0 NCHM Member
Join us for a night of Moth-style true personal stories inspired by the election season. Local storytellers tell personal tales at one of Austin’s most historic residences.
Meet our six wonderful storytellers below! There will be a live bluegrass music performance prior to the stories and during intermission.
Tickets:
$15 for general admission tickets, $10 for students, and free for NCHM Members. Admission includes complimentary cocktails for attendees over 21 courtesy of event supporter Tequila 512. All proceeds from Stories on the Lawn support the Neill-Cochran House Museum.
Free parking is available behind the Museum.
Cocktails generously provided by:
STORYTELLERS
Tom Booker is a writer, director, teacher, and creativity coach who loves to play chess and the accordion, even though he sucks at both. He is the former owner and artistic director of The Institution Theater in South Austin, which closed in March 2020 because COVID refused to “Yes and…” him. When he's not working as a professional merrymaker, Tom can be found at one of Austin’s quirky coffee shops reading a recently purchased self-help book that he will probably never finish.
Christopher Jasinski
Christopher Jasinski is New York-born, North Carolina-raised, and Texas-fed. After 15 years in public affairs, corporate communications, and tech—working with the likes of Edelman, the Obama Administration, and HP—he figured it was time to stop crafting other people’s stories and start telling his own. In 2024, that meant stepping onto a stage, mic in hand, wondering why on earth he agreed to do something that’s both thrilling and deeply uncomfortable.
When not behind a mic, you can find him chasing tacos, convincing himself that hiking is totally his thing (it’s not), or debating if AI will steal his job—or just write his grocery list.
Sara Laas
Sara Puig Laas spent most of her career interviewing people, whether for newspapers, for employment, or for TV in her native Laredo, TX. For a 2005-2006 Writers League of Texas program on public access TV, she loved working with authors like Molly Ivins and Ann Patchett. Now she enjoys writing and telling her own stories. She’s excited to share that her book of poems, Feeling My Way Along, will be out this month!
Chris Mack
Chris Mack is an engineer who moved to Austin in 1990 and couldn’t figure out how to leave. He taught at the University of Texas part time for 25 years and every now and then starts up a software company. He’s married to a story teller, and this avocation appears to be contagious. He is not exactly a YouTube celebrity, but his channel LithoGuru has over two million views, and his resemblance to Count Dooku has been commented upon more than once.
Susan Mack (Storyteller and Co-Producer)
A regular on the Austin storytelling performance scene, Susan Mack has more than 20 years experience with corporate and personal storytelling.
Aaron Salinas
Aaron Salinas is a writer, actor, and director hailing from the crown jewel hidden in the mesquite, Kingsville, TX. He comes from a longline of storytellers, who you’ll meet at any South Texas watering hole. Catch him on different stages throughout Austin, or at parks with his sweet pup, Mango Chamoy. They would love to share a meal, or hug, or both if you’d let them.
Pooja Shah
Originally from Mumbai, Pooja Shah has called Austin home for 5 years. During the day she works as a Data Analyst in e-books, which is the closest she’s come yet to a lifelong dream of becoming a librarian. After work, you can find her salsa dancing, playing Skeeball, and throwing the best themed parties around. As a certified yapper, she enjoys telling stories and listening to them, as another way to connect with people.
Mike Mournighan (Co-Producer and Emcee)
Mike Mournighan is an Austin based improvisor, twitch streamer, and storyteller. He is also the newest co-producer of Stories on the Lawn! During his lifelong journey to become funnier, Mike tripped over storytelling and fell in love with the art's sincerity and deep human connection. Since that accident, he's won the Austin Story Slam, become a teacher, and begun coaching in the local scene. Mike manages www.storytellingaustin.com as a free aggregator for local events and he'd love to hear your story.