Telluride Theatre & Mountainfilm present The Downlow storytelling event 

TELLURIDE, COLO.  (May 24, 2023) – The annual Mountainfilm Downlow storytelling event will wrap up Memorial Day weekend with a night of storytelling on Monday, May 29 at the BoB Black Box Theatre at the Palm. 

The Downlow is hosted and produced by Laura Shaunette who founded the Downlow storytelling series in collaboration with Telluride Theatre over eight years ago. 

This special annual edition features a combination of local storytellers and guests of the Mountainfilm Festival. Each Downlow has a different theme, and this year’s theme will be “The Tipping Point. 

This is a one-of-a-kind Telluride event, akin to the Moth, where non-performers and people you see each day, as well as guests of Mountainfilm get up to bare their souls, recounting true events and share some outrageous, funny, touching and incredible stories for the community.  

“This event has always felt like a special way to connect with other folks in Telluride, whether they are passing through for an event or live here full time,” Shaunette said.  “There’s something about these mountains that draw us all in, and getting to hear personal stories from the folks that are in this box canyon, folks that you may have passed on the street dozens to hundreds of times, is really cool.  We try to make space for all kinds of stories - funny, emotional, exciting. There’s never a Downlow that occurs without the audience learning something new about someone in our community while also being entertained.  I think the whole thing helps us to understand each other better, as well as to intentionally make time and effort to listen.”

Confirmed storytellers are locals Yana Pollard and Joanna Spindler as well as Mountainfilm guests Jamie MoCrazy, Luke Mehall and Mark Pedri. And you never know who else might join this lineup after the inspirational festival weekend. 

This year’s theme is The Tipping Point. The event is free, but a hat will be passed. Telluride Theatre members and sponsors receive reserved seats. The show is rated R ages 18 and over.

The show will begin at 7 p.m. and doors open at 6:30 p.m.