Diane Kastiel is a writer and performer from Chicago who produces and hosts First Person Live, a monthly storytelling show in the Chicago suburbs. A three-time Moth StorySLAM winner, her work has been featured on NPR’s Moth Radio Hour and its podcast, as well as at special events for WBEZ, NPR’s Chicago affiliate.

 

Diane has performed stories on stage at the Park West, Second City, Steppenwolf, Athenaeum and Lifeline theaters, and at legendary rock bars Martyr’s and Fitzgerald’s. She’s also told stories in more unconventional settings, including bookstores, comedy clubs, art galleries, the basement of a tattoo parlor, homeless shelters – she even did a show in the middle of the woods!

 

Diane is committed to building community and compassion through storytelling. She’s worked with Story Corps and the Kennedy Forum of Illinois to help people with mental health and substance abuse disorders tell their stories, and helped develop Rude to Respect, a story-based public awareness campaign to support people with stigmatized health conditions.

 

Diane is an alumna of The Second City Conservatory, the University of Chicago's Great Books program, and the Kellogg School at Northwestern University. She has studied creative writing and storytelling at Northwestern University, John Carroll University, and numerous private workshops.