Shaun Sperling & Tara Clancy: StorySLAM Favorites - The Moth

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Moth – "Sean Sperling & Tara Clancy: StorySLAM Favorites"

Release Date: June 24, 2014
Host: Dan Kennedy
Episode Title: Sean Sperling & Tara Clancy: StorySLAM Favorites

Introduction

In this special episode celebrating Pride Month, host Dan Kennedy presents two compelling stories from The Moth’s Open Mic Story Slam series. Both storytellers, Sean Sperling and Tara Clancy, share deeply personal narratives that explore themes of identity, authenticity, and transformation.

Sean Sperling: Going Viral and Finding Purpose

Timestamp Highlight: [02:10] – Sean introduces himself as an Internet sensation and sets the stage for his Bar Mitzvah story.

Sean Sperling recounts the unexpected journey of his 1992 Bar Mitzvah video going viral two decades later. Initially a private memory, the video features Sean performing a choreographed dance to Madonna's "Vogue," a choice that reflects his longstanding admiration for the pop icon. Despite his initial reluctance, Sean decides to share the video with friends, who inadvertently catapult it into the spotlight by sending it to celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.

Notable Quote:
"And Perez Hilton calls it the greatest video on the Internet." [07:45]

The viral explosion leads to widespread media attention, including appearances on major platforms like the Today Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live. While the fame brings Sean immense joy and fulfillment—realizing his 13-year-old dreams—it also introduces significant challenges. He navigates the pressures and emotional turmoil of sudden fame, highlighting the often-overlooked aftermath of going viral.

Notable Quote:
"I realized at that moment that this was something bigger. I love my life... I had this purpose of inspiring people to be themselves." [06:30]

Sean reflects on the duality of his experience, celebrating the positive impact while acknowledging the personal costs. His story underscores the importance of authenticity and the courage to embrace one's true self, even amidst unforeseen circumstances.

Post-Story Update:
Since his performance, Sean has emerged as a civil rights activist and attorney, leveraging his platform to inspire others through keynote addresses and workshops on authenticity and self-confidence.

Tara Clancy: From Chaos to Calm – A Journey of Love and Recovery

Timestamp Highlight: [09:01] – Tara begins her story with a raw depiction of waking up in an unfamiliar, disoriented state.

Tara Clancy shares a vivid account of a particularly dark night marked by heavy drinking, which leads to a series of disorienting and dangerous situations. She describes waking up with injuries and only partially remembering the events that transpired, ultimately realizing she was in the apartment of Shawna, a high school crush nicknamed "Boom Boom Shauna."

Notable Quote:
"I went from being a blackout drunk to being Mary Poppins. I went from one deep end right into a whole other deep end." [13:00]

Tara details the complexities of her relationship with Shawna, highlighting the challenges and growth that followed their initial encounters. Their bond, rooted in shared experiences and mutual understanding, evolves from tumultuous beginnings to a stable, loving marriage with children.

Notable Quote:
"We are legit lesbians, even though I was a jobless, homeless alcoholic." [12:15]

Her narrative emphasizes the transformative power of love and support in overcoming personal struggles. Tara illustrates how embracing vulnerability and seeking connection can lead to profound personal growth and fulfillment.

Conclusion of Tara's Story:
Nine years later, Tara and Shawna find themselves reminiscing about their past, symbolizing the enduring strength of their relationship and the journey they've undertaken together.

Closing Remarks

Dan Kennedy wraps up the episode by highlighting the inspiring journeys of both storytellers. Sean Sperling and Tara Clancy exemplify the resilience and authenticity that The Moth seeks to showcase, offering listeners powerful lessons on embracing one's true self and the complexities of personal transformation.

Final Note:
The episode serves as a testament to the human spirit, celebrating the courage it takes to share one's story and the profound impact it can have on both the storyteller and the audience.

Additional Information:

Sean Sperling: A civil rights activist and attorney based in Chicago, Sean has transformed his viral moment into a platform for advocacy and inspiration. Learn more at seansperling.com.
Tara Clancy: An accomplished writer for prestigious publications such as the New York Times Magazine and the Paris Review Daily, Tara is currently working on a memoir titled "The Last of the Mohicans, if the Mohicans were your bus driver." Discover more at taraclancy.com.
Upcoming Event: The Moth main stage will be featured at the Southampton Writers Conference at Stony Brook University on Friday, July 18th. For more details, visit themoth.org.

End of Summary

Transcript

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Dan Kennedy (1:40)

Welcome to the Moth Podcast. I'm Dan Kennedy. Today we're celebrating Pride Month by bringing you two stories from our Open Mic Story Slam series. Now the first one that you're gonna hear is by Sean Sperling. I think it's hilarious about a very interesting Bar Mitzvah. It was told live at a Story Slam in Chicago last year. The theme of the night was Aftermath.

Sean Sperling (2:10)

I don't want to brag, but for the sake of the story I need to tell you right up front that you're all sitting in front of a Internet sensation. It's true. I am a viral. Or I was. Or I am, however you look at it, a Viral Superstar. On August 10th of this year I uploaded a video to YouTube. It was a video of my 1992 Bar Mitzvah. It was the portion where after I read from the Torah and became a man, I did a full on choreographed dance to Madonna's Vogue. You know it. I'm not dead yet because Naturally, my theme of my bar mitzvah was Madonna, right? I'm not a very easily embarrassed person. I say whatever on my mind. But I kept this video secret for 20 years. I mean, I talked about it, but I didn't tell anybody there was a video of it. But as time went on, I just felt like it was time. So I sent it to my friends. The link, just a few friends, and I asked them not to put it on their social media, Facebook, Twitter, because I just wasn't ready for that. But on August 15th, my friend Scott emails me while I'm at work and he says, I need to send this to Perez Hilton, the celebrity blogger. And I was like, yeah, sure, why not? What's that going to do? 9:35. Easy email to Perez Hilton. You must watch this video. 9:40 Response from the Perez Hilton. Two words. I'm dead. The next 10 minutes is a Facebook chat between my friend Scott and I that just consisted of OMG, holy shit. What the fuck is going on? At 10:02, I get the message. Scott says, Go to Perez Hilton.com right now with about a million exclamation points. I go to the side and in between, like, I don't know, Angelina Jolie and Beyonce, there I am. The video that I've been hiding for 20 years is there for the world to see. And Perez Hilton calls it the greatest video on the Internet. The next three hours are like a blur as cnn, msnbc, Huffington Post, I was delisted's hot st Slut of the day. Apparently that's a big deal. Gawker, Chicagoist, everything. It's everywhere. My social media is going out of control. I leave work that day and there's 25,000 hits on YouTube so far. And I'm laying in bed and I feel an energy through my veins, which turned out to be like over a million people watching it just on YouTube. In a matter of a couple days, I wake up to emails and texts and phone calls from friends and family who saw me on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and wgn. I'm driving to work and I get a call from the Today show. They want to fly me out that night to be on with Matt Lauer. The next day, I get in my office, I open my inbox, and I am reading hundreds of emails from people, strangers. And here's where it really hits me. It's kids saying that the video is inspiring them and parents, which is the best part. Saying that they only hope that they can instill upon their children the confidence that I had at 13. Well, I sat at my desk at my conservative law firm, mind you, and I cried. I was crying for a lot of reasons. I was crying because honestly, I was really fucking excited to go viral, I can't lie. But it was really more than that because I realized at that moment that this was something bigger. That I love my life. I loved it before this all happened in my day to day. But like many of us, I always knew there was something bigger, a bigger purpose for me and this was it. I know it's funny, but all of a sudden I had this purpose of inspiring people to be themselves, right, and to have confidence in their lives. And I knew was the moment. Well, the next three months I am all over the place and it is a whirlwind. I'm in New York and la, in and out on the Today show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Huffington Post live. I'm doing a million interviews. I'm trying to balance all of this. At one point, Jimmy Kimmel Live wanted to put me on Skype and I just told him, hey, actually Jimmy Fallon's on the other line and they want to fly me out. Big mistake because he wasn't really on the other line. I was just trying to play this Hollywood game. I didn't know what the hell I was doing, but. But I was all over the place. I went to three Madonna concerts as guests of Madonna's manager. At one of them, Madonna and I sang like a prayer together. I mean, 13 year old dreams coming true, right? Finally I end up on the Ellen DeGeneres show where I meet and dance with my idol. It was all of my 13 year old dreams coming true. But I have to tell you, while all this was happening, nobody tells you what it's really like to go viral. I mean, I am very grateful. I was given an amazing gift and I know it's leading to much bigger things, but it's really hard. You go to these high highs and low lows and everybody's giving you these false hopes and you have these great expectations and you're trying to play this Hollywood game and you don't know what you're doing. I really wonder how honey Boo Boo does it. Actually, I would really like to talk to her. And I risked my partner, my job, I risked everything. And I don't regret it. I really don't. But it's hard. Nobody tells you what it's like after. And now I'm left cleaning up the aftermath of going viral. Thank you.