True Lives, Under a Spotlight – Washington Post Metro

Many people don’t like to advertise that they date online. But Suji Brown, a self-described “IT wonk” in black-framed glasses, stood under a spotlight in a U Street lounge Tuesday night and told a room of 200 strangers about weeding through the misspellers, the married men and “the guy who asked me if I had a fat” posterior.

Matt Sherman told of a terrifying ride on a Bangkok motorcycle taxi whose driver sang the John Denver song “Country Roads” while delivering him to a sordid nightclub. Meredith Maslich admitted that she had enjoyed tormenting her Mormon college roommate with raunchy music. The audience, slouched in sofas and lounge chairs in the darkened room, ate it up.

This is SpeakeasyDC, a monthly gathering of storytellers that has become so popular it has had to change venues to accommodate the crowds. The stories are autobiographical, often funny, sometimes painful. And in a city where many feel they must erect emotional walls to get ahead, they can be cathartic. Read full article