Diane Kastiel is the producer and host of First Person Live. A writer and storyteller from Chicago, she’s a three-time winner of the National Public Radio’s Moth StorySLAM; her work has been featured on the Moth Radio Hour, its podcast, and at special events for WBEZ, NPR’s Chicago affiliate. Diane has told stories on stage at The Second City, Steppenwolf, the Park West, Victory Gardens and other theaters as well as comedy clubs, art galleries, the basement of a tattoo parlor - she even did a show in the middle of the woods! Diane works with libraries, schools, community centers and homeless shelters to bring storytelling to a wider audience, and leads storytelling workshops at Northwestern University. Diane is an alumna of The Second City Conservatory and the University of Chicago’s Great Books program. She also has an MBA from Northwestern University…just in case. 

Luis Bermudez was born and raised in Chicago, living most of his life in Ukrainian Village before the hipsters invaded. He survived his journey through the public schools and made it to Columbia College, where he earned his bachelor’s in creative writing with a minor in film noir. He then earned a master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from Spertus Institute. Luis has been a youth development professional for the last 25 years and he loves it. He is of Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian descent, and that is where most of his writing comes from. He also loves writing about the eclectic family he has built with his Filipino wife, black daughter, and white son, as well as the colorful neighborhood where he grew up. Luis is most passionate about old movies, comic books and strawberry shortcake.

David Narter is a retired English teacher and a writer. Though not exactly the voice of his generation, Dave has written two baby name parody books that have been featured on WLS-7 and CNN. (It didn’t go well either time.) His short play, “Sharpies,” has been performed by dozens of theaters and was published as one of Smith and Kraus’s Best Ten Minute Plays of 2019. More impressively, he knows when to use a semicolon correctly. Dave has told stories at the Moth and other shows around Chicago. This is his debut at First Person Live!

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Archy Jamjun is a writer from Chicago, currently pursuing his MFA at Roosevelt University and working on a collection of short stories. Since winning the Chicago's Biggest Liar Contest in 2014 and the Chicago Moth GrandSLAM in 2015, Archie has told stories all over the city. He’s excited to now perform in the ‘burbs because he is originally a suburbanite himself.

Nick Narcisi was a theater actor before the pandemic and since has worked in a cancer research laboratory in Chicago. (He is as surprised with that career pivot as you are.) Nick has worked with theater companies from Arkansas to Montana, spending a lot of time in small towns and dive bars throughout the country. As an actor, Nick got very good at telling other people’s stories, and recently started telling his own. He is a Moth StorySLAM winner and is thrilled to be back at First Person Live. Nick spends most of his time fighting imaginary dungeons and dragons with friends or hanging out with his definitely real French girlfriend, and their even more real English Bulldog. 

Nimberly Vanbiesbrouck is a proud theatre major and the first person to graduate college in her big Belgian Family. Since graduating from Western Michigan University, she has put her degree to good use, performing around the country in such shows as Always, Patsy Cline, Forbidden Broadway, A Chorus Line, Beyond the Rainbow, and Menopause, the Musical. Kim currently lives in Oak Park and has told stories at the Moth and other show around the Chicagoland area. She is the cohost of ALL SKATE, a new Variety show filled with storytelling, music, poetry and fun, on the lastTuesday of the month in Rogers Park. But her proudest and most brilliant production of them all is her wonderful child, Isobel.

Cliff Johnson is a recovering social worker who currently leads internal communications at Teach for America. During his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Kingdom of Tonga, Cliff taught a youth theater troupe named “Tala Kei Kapa Na’a To Ki Mala,” which roughly translates to a warning about being eaten by devils. His other theater experience includes teaching youth improv in Chicago and writing/performing numerous plays. Cliff’s is a winner of the Moth StorySLAM and national Peace Corps storytelling competition. He enjoys writing fiction, watching movies, and making/consuming enough pizza to cancel out whatever exercise he got that day. 

Jitesh Jaggi is a dancer and poet from India. He ended his career in finance one day when he lost all the data on an Excel spreadsheet and realized that he just didn't care. That tipping point led him to pursue his creative interest, including storytelling. These days he works as an education coach for teachers and continues to develop his storytelling. Jitesh is a five-time Moth StorySLAM winner, and has lead storytelling workshops for the World Health Organization and the University of Chicago, among others. His stories were recently featured on NPR’s Moth Radio Hour, where they butchered his name but he swears it was him. His one-man show, “Suitcase Stories,” played to a soldout audience at the Steppenwolf Theatre in 2023 and at The Second City in 2024.