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The Moth Mainstage comes to Wharton for first time, presents emotional storytelling

May 28, 2014

Horace Sanders was late to his own divorce. Auburn Sandstrom went from being a struggling addict to the proud single mother of a Princeton graduate. Tina Zimmerman witnessed a man die steps from her house and dedicated her life to the clergy. Taylor Negron owned a chimpanzee as a child and was once accused of having sexual relations with his grandmother's mink hat. And Bobby Stoddard caught a baby mid-air.

These quirky, creative individual stories all came together in different, unique ways — in a real twist of fate.

The Moth Mainstage, an artistic collection of storytellers, was welcomed to East Lansing for the first time on Wednesday with a packed crowd at Wharton Center. Each Moth performance handpicks speakers with one common theme — for this performance, the theme was "Twist of Fate." 

Detroit resident Horace Sanders was the first storyteller Wednesday evening and told his own personal story about loss and love. Sanders married, divorced and then remarried his wife over the course of 12 years, and had nine children along the way.

Sanders said he wanted to encourage people with his story.

"When I would hear positive things when we weren't together, when things weren't working out, it would encourage me," Sanders said. "So if I could encourage somebody, and have fun talking about the woman I love the most and our kids, and be entertaining, that's a trifecta."

His wife, LaFawn, said she had no idea the story of their marriage was going to be a part of the show and was pleasantly surprised it was. 

The Moth Mainstage Director Jennifer Hixson was excited about the show's first-ever visit to East Lansing and was pleased with the nearly-full house.

"I guess at any Moth show you're hoping (the attendees) connect with the people and the varied experiences they've had and you hope they let you into a world you maybe have never been to, but still feels familiar," Hixson said. "I hope they had a great time; I laughed and I cried."

Social science education senior Adam DeBoe attended the event because he is a long-time Moth Radio fan, and said he enjoyed the performance. 

"I like storytelling and I like listening to The Moth on the radio, I figured it would be fun," DeBoe said. "It has been better than what I ever expected."

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