Storytellers to Ask “Am I the Villain?” at March 15 Powell’s Event

Podcaster Sarah Marshall will make her Backfence Storytelling debut.

Andrew Dickson at Backfence Mixed Media's storytelling event in 2024. (Win Goodbody, courtesy of Backfence Mixed Media Storytelling.)
By Rachel Saslow

For more than a decade, the subreddit “Am I The Asshole?” has been a popular place to vent, dish advice and judge strangers on the internet. This Saturday night, a storytelling event at Powell’s will take that theme and turn it into a live event.

Backfence Storytelling will present a lineup of seven performers telling true stories based on the theme “Am I The Villain?” While the name is more polite than its inspiration, Backfence founder Frayn Masters promises the stories will not be.

One of the featured storytellers will be Portland journalist Sarah Marshall, host of the history podcast You’re Wrong About. (Recent episodes have covered The Oscars, Santa Claus and the concept of emotional labor.) Marshall will be sharing a story about her year of drawing an image a day for each episode of Sex and the City. The rest of the storyteller lineup includes Andrew Dickson, Bri McKizzie, Matt Sheehy, Jenna Fletcher, October Moore and Tanya Awabdy, with music by Chaach.

The stories at the Saturday, March 15 event will be told in mixed media, which is Backfence’s fastest-growing show format. Some of the personal stories will have accompanying visuals—like Marshall’s drawings—live music, poetry, video, or be told in a new “choral” format.

“Think Pop-Up Magazine without Apple money,” Masters says, referring to the San Francisco-based traveling “live magazine” event that ended in 2023.

GO: Backfence Mixed-Media Storytelling at Powell’s City of Books, 1005 West Burnside St, Third Floor (Pearl Room). 503-228-4651, backfencepdx.com. 7 pm Saturday, March 15. $22-$32. Ages 17+

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.