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Sharon Mashihi will present a performative lecture on Story Structure, and what becomes of the tenets of Three Act Structure when the story you are telling is about your own life. Does it then become imperative to live a more interesting life, a life where you want things and go on journeys to get them? And what happens when you realize the Self who is living that story you are trying to tell is comprised of about a dozen separate mini-selves, each of them with its own wants, needs, and potential trajectories?

Sharon Mashihi works in the mediums of audio, film, and performance. In 2018, Sharon won the Third Coast International Audio Prize Silver Award for her audio documentary, Man Choubam (I Am Good.) In 2020, she released the metafictional audio series, Appearances, in which she performed as 36 distinct characters. Described by New York Magazine as "a breakthrough for the podcast form", Appearances named a best podcast of the year by The New York Times, Vulture, Indiewire, The L.A. Review of Books, and others. Sharon is a former editor of the podcasts, The Heart and Bodies.

This is a story about my mom and me. 

My mom is a very private person, so I am deeply grateful to her that she let me tell this story.  As far as I know, she hasn't listened, and doesn't feel ready to do so.  So if this is mom reading right now, hello, I love you, and I hope you feel ok about this.

Appearances is a one woman audio show that straddles the line between fiction and truth. It brings to life an Iranian American family and community through the real and fantastical mental machinations of Melanie Barzadeh.