Tao of the Story Slam

Tao of the Story Slam with Adam Wade

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Check below to see the full schedule for each session, see if your class skips a week for a holiday, and check out the date and time of your class show(s).

Class Description


“In my opinion, if you take the time to prepare a story and you put your name in the hat at a story slam/story competition, no matter the results, YOU ARE A WINNER!” – Adam Wade

Story slams and competitions often seem intimidating to the beginner storyteller. Instead of putting their names in the hat, these performers decide to wait until “they’re ready.” But what if you are “ready” now and you just don’t realize it?

Adam Wade’s ‘THE TAO OF THE STORY SLAM’ is here for you. This six-week class will not only help you polish your stories into slam ready material, but it will also teach you how to mentally prepare for a contest so that you won’t psych yourself out. No more pre-show jitters or post-show, “What ifs?” Classes consist of student stories prepared during the week with feedback from Adam and your peers. Finally, while competition can challenge you to become a better storyteller, the ultimate victory is the community and friendship forged along the way.

Prerequisite: Must have completed 'Adam Wade Storytelling Class'

Instructor: Adam Wade

"Wade is a truly gifted storyteller." - The New Yorker Magazine
"Mr. Wade is an enchanting storyteller." - New York Times
"Adam Wade is one of the best storytellers on the planet." - The Daily

Adam is a well respected and seasoned teacher of his craft. Besides proudly teaching storytelling here at the Magnet since 2010, he has conducted workshops at The New York Times, the United Nations, UNICEF, PEN America, Pinterest, Etsy, Breakthrough Human Rights Organization, and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), as well as Fleishman Hillard, Edelman, Makerbot, Sir Kensington's, and ADP. He has also taught special advance storytelling classes for students at New York University, CUNY Grad School of Journalism, Mercy College, and Pace University. In December 2017, Adam teamed up with Airbnb to create his very own NYC Storytelling Experience.

For the last fourteen years, Adam has been a fixture in both the New York City storytelling and comedy scenes. He's the winner of 20 SLAMS at The Moth (18 StorySLAM victories and 2 GrandSLAM Championships) with 20 different winning stories.

He's toured North America with The Moth Main Stage and has been featured on NPR's The Moth Radio Hour and The Moth Podcast. His stories have also been heard on NPR's Snap Judgment, NPR's All Things Considered and locally on WNYC.

He's performed on shows such as Magnet Theater's Armando Diaz Experience (guest monologist), Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre's Asssscat 3000 (guest monologist), Night Train with Wyatt Cenac, Whiplash, Sweet, Mortified, and RISK.

He's been profiled in the New York Times, The New Yorker Magazine, and Time Out New York and has appeared on HBO's GIRLS, Comedy Central's Inside with Amy Schumer, ESPN, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He has also written for New York Times, New York Press, Glamour Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, and Hoboken Reporter.

Adam Wade’s unique audio memoir You Ought to Know Adam Wade was released in January 2020 and was produced by Audible. It was the #1 new release in the Performing Arts category on both Audible and Amazon for 4 straight weeks (and in the Top 5 for 12 straight weeks). This innovative “biopic for your ears” combines his honesty onstage with his intimate reflections in the studio. Adam’s debut storytelling/comedy album Adam Wade: The Human Comedy (2015) was enthusiastically lauded in Sarah Larson's profile of Adam in The New Yorker. In 2018, he released his second album Adam Wade Live at The Magnet Theater, which quickly shot up to #2 on the iTunes Comedy Chart.

Full Session Schedule


Session Schedule*

  1. Feb 27, 2024, 6:30pm - 9:30pm
    at Ripley Grier (520 8th Ave, 16th fl)
    (btw 36th & 37th Sts)
  2. Mar 5, 2024, 6:30pm - 9:30pm
    at Ripley Grier (520 8th Ave, 16th fl)
    (btw 36th & 37th Sts)
  3. Mar 12, 2024, 6:30pm - 9:30pm
    at Ripley Grier (520 8th Ave, 16th fl)
    (btw 36th & 37th Sts)
  4. Mar 19, 2024, 6:30pm - 9:30pm
    at Ripley Grier (520 8th Ave, 16th fl)
    (btw 36th & 37th Sts)
  5. Mar 26, 2024, 6:30pm - 9:30pm
    at Ripley Grier (520 8th Ave, 16th fl)
    (btw 36th & 37th Sts)
  6. Apr 2, 2024, 6:30pm - 9:30pm
    at Ripley Grier (520 8th Ave, 16th fl)
    (btw 36th & 37th Sts)

Show Schedule*

  1. Apr 16, 2024, 6:00 PM
    at Magnet Theater
    (254 W. 29th Street)
  2. *scheduling subject to change