Portland's Siren Nation Launches First Live Storytelling Event

On Wednesday, May 27, at The Secret Society, Siren Nation presents The Broadcast, a storytelling event that will feature local female artists of all walks of life telling true stories live in front of an audience for the first time.

"The inaugural event will explore the theme My Best Failure," write organizers. "It's guaranteed to be an evening of celebrating the joys, frailties and absurdities of being human and female in this crazy, success-driven world. Join us in breaking down barriers and re-envisioning triumph through the shared experiences of women artists, teachers, actors and comedians."

Confirmed guests include emcee Amy Miller, Sarah Mirk, Kirsten Kuppender, Kimberly Diane Wilson, Kimi Marin, Naomi Tatsuoka, Anina Bennett and S. Renee Mitchell. Musician Ila Rose will also perform.

Siren Nation promotes and showcases the original work of women artists. Siren Nation has been creating year round performance, exhibition and educational opportunities for over 10 years.

Voted Portland's Funniest Comedian by the Willamette Week in 2013, Amy Miller has been seen at the San Francisco Sketchfest, Bumbershoot, SF Punchline, Helium Comedy Club, The All Jane No Dick Festival, The Siren Nation Festival, Mississippi Studios, and in the Bridgetown Comedy Festival. You may also have heard her on NPR. Amy runs Portland's beloved Midnight Ma$$ show and writes a column for the Willamette Week called Fresh Meat.

Sarah Mirk is the online editor of feminism and pop culture nonprofit Bitch Media. She's also host of Bitch Media's podcast "Popaganda," which has over 90,000 listeners. She worked for five years as a reporter and columnist for weekly newspapers The Stranger and The Portland Mercury. She is the author of the feminist relationship guidebook "Sex from Scratch: Making Your Own Relationship Rules," which was published last year, and has published an acclaimed series of nonfiction comics about Oregon history.

Naomi Tatsuoka can bring any audience to their feet, just as she did for the crowds at the Quinault Casino's New Year's Eve bash, the 80,000 attendees at Seattle's Hempfest, and on the Spirit of Portland with the North West Women in Blues. Her amazing talent was recognized by the West Side Blues Association as the 2013 Female Vocalist of the Year. She is unquestionably one of Portland's most powerful vocalists, and with her new band The DIVA Project she is about to take the world by storm. Naomi entertains with a good-humored and up-front style. Naomi was most recently featured on the 2015 Season of "American Idol."

Kirsten Kuppenbender is a Power Lesbian with a heart made of precious metal. Kirsten attended Atlantic Theater Acting School in New York City where she studied for years to become a Professional Auditioner. She is the founder and producer of Lez Stand up: a Portland-based, all-queer, feminist comedy revolution and showcase which has performed up and down the West Coast.

Kimi Marin is a Portland-based yoga teacher, storyteller, and writer. Her transformative Yogic Lore Flow workshops are a fun combination of stories, yoga, and meditation.

Kimberly Diane Wilson is a graduate of Western Oregon University where she received her B.S. in Theatre Arts with a minor in The Arts for her mediocre trumpet skills and Art History knowledge. She recently became a citizen of the global community by the U.S. government cautiously granting her a passport. With this passport she was able to travel to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this past summer where she performed with her devised theatre troupe Portal Theatre.

Writer Anina Bennett is the co-author (with her husband, Paul Guinan) of the steampunk sensation "Boilerplate: History's Mechanical Marvel" and "Frank Reade: Adventures in the Age of Invention." She and Paul also created the Eisner-nominated science fiction series "Heartbreakers," one of the first comics to feature clones and female action heroes, which debuted in "Dark Horse Presents" in 1989 and is currently being re-issued digitally by Monkeybrain Comics. She and Paul were both honored with Inkpot Awards in 2011 at Comic-Con International.

S. Renee Mitchell is an award-winning writer and author, multi-media artist, teacher and project manager. She is the author of seven books, including a children's superhero book about bullying and cultural pride, which she also illustrated.