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A reporter found his story in an escape room. Then he became a main character in it

Danny Wicentowski performs during The Story Collider's show "Variables" in February.
Joe Martinez
Danny Wicentowski performs during the Story Collider's show "Variables" in February.

The Story Collider is a storytelling platform and podcast that connects audiences with "true, personal stories about science." Many of those stories come from scientists and doctors, but the principles of science are all around us — even in an escape room.

That was what St. Louis on the Air producer Danny Wicentowski discovered in 2014, when he reported on the then-new trend of escape rooms for theRiverfront Times. Wicentowski performed his story at St. Louis Public Radio as part of the Story Collider show “Variables” on Feb. 13 this year.

“It is a dark and stormy night in St. Louis,” Wicentowski’s story begins. “It is a Saturday in April 2014 and I am doing the same thing I’ve been doing for the past several weekends. I am in a small, nondescript office building in the Central West End. I am locked in a room with strangers. And I am watching them fail.”

Story Collider returns to St. Louis Public Radio on April 11. The show’s theme, “Classification,” features five storytellers, including plant biologist Katie Murphy; Black Girls Do STEM Founder Cynthia Chapple; Kris Kleindienst, owner of Left Bank Books; virologist Sean Whelan; and performing artist Dacia "InnerGy" Polk.

Related Events
What: Story Collider “Classification”
When: 7 p.m. April 11
Where: St. Louis Public Radio's Community Room (3651 Olive St., St. Louis, MO 63108)

St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Avery Rogers is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org

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