Live DC performance takes magazines from page to stage

WASHINGTON — If you find the process of reading a magazine to be a little … well, flat, prepare for a change of heart.

On Tuesday, Sept. 25, Pop-Up Magazine will bring all the glossy content you expect from a print publication off the page and to the stage at Warner Theatre in D.C.

Just like a typical magazine, show attendees can expect a night of news, complete with advice columns, lists, in-depth features, even ads. The only difference: All of it will be performed live by some of the country’s top journalists, storytellers, visual artists and musicians.

“There’s always something new in store. We’re always experimenting with different storytelling formats, with different ways to use a live medium to tell reported nonfiction stories,” said Anita Badejo, Pop-Up Magazine senior story producer and co-host.

Music for Pop-Up Magazine is provided by a live house band. (Courtesy Pop-Up Magazine, Erin Brethauer)

Pop-Up Magazine got its start in 2009 by editor-in-chief and co-founder Doug McGray, a veteran writer whose work has been published in The New Yorker and The Los Angeles Times, and has been featured on “This American Life.” Badejo said the impetus for its launch was to convene storytellers from a range of mediums, such as print, radio and film.

The first Pop-Up Magazine show took place in a 300-seat theater in San Francisco, and the event has since spread to multiple dates in multiple cities throughout the country.

The D.C. show will feature work by poet and playwright Marc Bamuthi Joseph, as well as The Atlantic’s Ed Yong and “Invisibilia” producer Yowei Shaw. Rebecca Skloot, author of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” will also take the stage.

Tickets are available on Pop-Up Magazine’s website and are $29.

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