Check Out Kona Morris’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kona Morris.

Hi Kona, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I love getting to say I am a professional storyteller. Most people respond saying they didn’t know that was a career. I tell them I used to not know it either.

I moved to LA in 2021, excited to become part of a creative community again after the isolation of the pandemic. I immediately began looking for literary readings. I’ve been a writer my entire life and was deeply involved in the literary scene in Denver, hosting readings and working as both the editor of a flash fiction series and a professor of creative writing, composition, and literature.

Only, I couldn’t find any literary readings. I found poetry slams, but nothing for short story writers. I mentioned this to a friend, who said, “Most of your stories are true anyway, so maybe you should take them to the Moth.” I said, “What’s the Moth?” For some reason, it had stayed off my radar (though I have since discovered it existed in Denver while I was there).

I attended my first Moth StorySLAM and it terrified me. But it was the kind of terror when you know something is good for you. When you know you need to try it, or you will be filled with regret. I’ve been overcoming stage fright since I was a child and reached a point where I could read pieces that I had perfected and printed, but this was something else. At the Moth, you can’t use notes. It’s just you and a microphone, speaking directly to the audience about your own life. It’s something I had always wanted to do, but had never tried.

The first time I put my name in the bag and got called to the stage to tell a story, I was trembling. My voice shook and I could barely breathe. But I did it. Afterwards audience members told me they loved my story. Turns out being nervous doesn’t mean doing worse in storytelling. In fact, the more vulnerable and authentic you are telling your story, the more people connect with it.

I went back, again and again, and discovered a kind and supportive storytelling community. I started getting asked to perform at other events, such as Erica Blumfield’s monthly storytelling show, Revealed, and Chill Vibes, which is one of the only storytelling open mics in the city, which Jen Curcio runs, where I got to practice my stories in front of an audience every week.

Eventually, I started winning Moth SLAMs and getting booked for bigger events, like storytelling festivals and national television shows and podcasts, such as the RISK! podcast and Stories from the Stage (PBS and the WORLD Channel). And now I am so happy to say I have just completed a run of my first ever 60 minute solo show at New York City Fringe, which sold out and won five awards, including Audience Choice, Staff Choice, Excellence in Technical Achievement, and an Extension Award to bring it back to NYC in November.

I am taking my show to Edinburgh Fringe this August, but first, I’m so excited to bring it home to where my storytelling career started! My Los Angeles premiere is on June 14, 2026 at 7:30pm at the Lyric Hyperion Theater in Silver Lake.

Tickets for How to Poop in an Outhouse at -72°F, written and performed by Kona Morris, and directed by Padraic Lillis, are available here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-poop-in-an-outhouse-at-72f-tickets-1981377544573

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It took so much hard work to get here. I spent decades writing short stories and prose poems, and when I started storytelling, I had to face some long held fears and challenge myself to grow in ways I didn’t know I could. My storytelling journey has brought me to improv, breathwork, and reconnecting with my emotions in therapy. One of the core elements of a good story is including how something makes you feel. Before storytelling, I hadn’t realized how much I needed to work on my ability to feel and communicate my emotions. Storytelling has not only changed my professional life, it is helping me to become the person I have always wanted to be.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am so grateful that I can be living proof to others that a person can change and grow. Not only have I overcome my stage fright, but I started a new career in my 40s. More than anything, I am proud of the way I work towards ambitious goals, step by step, until I have achieved them. I want to share my inspiration with others and provide safe spaces for people to step out of their comfort zones and try new things. There is no better time than now to create the life you want to be living.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
You can tell your story, too! Sharing our stories helps us to process the most transformative moments in our lives and it allows us to share the wisdom we have acquired with others. The most beautiful part of storytelling, which I have learned from my storytelling family here, is that all of our stories are uniquely our own. No one can tell your story better than you, so despite playfully competitive shows like the Moth, it’s really not a competition. All you can do is be the best version of yourself and share what you have learned with others.

I have used my background in teaching to develop a storytelling workshop that I now bring all over the world to empower others to tell their stories. I regularly teach these workshops at Pasadena Playhouse, Bethany Arts Community, and I will be taking it to Japan this October! I also give craft talks and offer private coaching sessions for storytelling, solo shows, TED Talks, public speaking, and more.

If you’re interested in working with Kona to tell your story, find out more at:

Kona’s Solo Show!

Pricing:

• Tickets for my solo show on June 14, 2026 at 7:30pm at the Lyric Hyperion Theater in Silver Lake.
• https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-poop-in-an-outhouse-at-72f-tickets-1981377544573
• $15 pre-sale tickets
• $20 day-of tickets

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.konamorris.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kona.morris
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/konamorris
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/konamorris
• Twitter: https://x.com/KonaMorris
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@konamorris
• Other: https://www.konamorris.com/about_kona/ | https://www.risk-show.com/storyteller/kona-morris/ | https://www.pbs.org/video/getting-away-with-it-smbwqm/

Image Credits
Photos are by Victoria Smith, Joshua Wachs, Kiel Phillips, and Susy Shearer. Headshot by Victoria Smith. Show poster design by Kona Morris.