Storyfind at SMCC - Focus on the World of Your Story Saturday - January 20, 2018 ~ 1PM - 3PM SMCC Pac 739
Storyfind is a free monthly storytelling workshop series presented by the faculty of the SMCC Storytelling Institute. The workshops are on Saturday afternoons from 1:00 – 3:00 in PAC-739 at South Mountain Community College.
Focus on the World of Your Story with Harriet Cole
All stories need to connect with place and time. In this workshop, you will learn to choose and use Lens Stories, the narratives that will focus your crafting as you build the world of your story.
AZ Storytellers Project - New Beginnings Wednesday - January 24th - 7:00 pm Peoria Center for the Performing Arts
10580 N 83rd Dr, Peoria, AZ 85345
Hello West Valley! We are having our first ever Arizona Storytellers show in Peoria, AZ. New year, new location!
Change can be getting a new haircut, having a baby, deleting a number or leaving it all behind. Join The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com for a night of stories about the choices, discoveries and accidents that change our lives.
Emcee: Karina Bland, Republic columnist
Featured tellers:
Julie LaJoe
John Vasquez
Mark Garcia
Dhamana Shauri
Sarah Edwards
Dominique Flagg
Become a subscriber: All Arizona Republic and azcentral subscribers receive a complimentary, gourmet brownie from Fairytale Brownies at check-in. Click here to learn about other great subscriber perks.
Accessibility Note: If you require ASL Interpretation Services for this event or a future Storytellers event, or if you require accommodations related to mobility or seating, contact info@storytellersproject.com.
Storyline Slam - Music Thursday - January 25th - 7:00 pm
The Newton at Changing Hands Bookstore (Phoenix)
Ten storytellers share six-minute true stories based on a common theme. They are judged by the audience and the story with the most points at the end of the show receives a cash prize.
Friday & Saturday - January 26th & 27th
Sandy Oglesby's Home
Sean Buvala says:
We will be working with the three pillars, the three essentials of the story experience, we'll talk about the person of the artist, the role of the words we speak, and how we gather an audience. Some reflection. Some art. Some business.
An intensive. A retreat. A rethinking for anyone involved in working with story in spoken word, oral storytelling, poetry and the like. Details to follow.
Friday evening. Saturday all day until early evening. Comfortable, private home setting. One dinner, one lunch, snacks and supplies included in price.
$195 Per Person Includes:
Four General Sessions, Media and Materials
Small-Group Gathering of 6-12
Friday Dinner
Saturday Breakout Snacks
Saturday Lunch
Free House-Concert Saturday Night (Name-in-the-hat style)
Online access to event audio recordings (If technology cooperates)
30-minute after-the-event private telephone coaching with Sean
Optional: You can go out for dinner locally if you’d like or you can join the staff for a light Saturday Dinner for an extra fee of $15. All meals are at the retreat location.
Open Mic - House Concert with Sean Buvala: Leadership Saturday - January 27th - 7:30pm Sandy Oglesby's Home 3912 E. Sunnyside Dr Phoenix AZ 85028 AZ
An evening of storytelling and spoken-word hosted by Sean Buvala, at the private home of Sandy Oglesby.
Doors open at 7pm; give yourself time to park in the neighborhood. Feel free to bring a snack to share. Drop your name in the hat if you want your 5-7 minutes of fame and glory on the theme of "Leadership." Keep it PG rated. We'll get through as many people as we can until the end of the evening.
Rhyme, Rhythm and Meter This past week, I attended two open mics where there were several "spoken word artists". I believe there is much that storytellers can glean and learn from this genre. It's fascinating to hear how they use rhyme, rhythm and meter to add to the effectiveness of their pieces. Here's a tip from November of 2013 that I believe can be useful for storytellers.
Did you ever work on a story, have it pretty much “done”, but then think, “It’s still not quite there?” It might be the language, and/or the phrasing. Here's an exercise for exploring the language of your story: Turn it into poetry, then back into prose. Don't be nervous. . .it's only an exercise.
Let’s use The Three Little Pigs, as it already has some of the existing elements of meter and rhyme.
Little pig little pig, let me in, let me in.
Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin!
First, break the story down into scenes or segments, and then turn each piece into a four-line stanza (or several). Use poetic structure, rhyme, rhythm and meter. Make it a simple, but use literary license with the syntax and grammar.
Here’s an example, as the wolf goes to the house of sticks. The underlined words are stressed. Yes, it is a bit sing-song, but that’s the point of the exercise.
The wolf approached the house of sticks
With the two little pigs inside.
He could smell the scent of their porcine flesh
And was ready to eat their hides.
He disguised his voice, and knocked on the door
The piglets began to squeal.
They knew the wolf was inviting them to dinner
And that they would be the meal.
Now, turn the stanzas back into sentences. Don't make it sing-song, or force the stressed syllables, but use the rhythm of the words.
The wolf approached the house of sticks, with the two little pigs inside. He could smell the scent of their porcine flesh, and was ready to eat their hides. (speed up here get increasingly louder) He disguised his voice, and knocked on the door. The piglets began to squeal. They knew the wolf was inviting them to dinner, (perhaps a long pause here) and that they would be the meal.
And remember that rhymes don't always have to be at the END of a sentence or phrase,
The wolf would gut the hut of sticks
With the pigs in their digs inside.
He was bent on the scent of their porcine flesh
And meant to put a dentin fresh hides.
Using rhyme, rhythm and meter can help the flow of the language, and the imagination of the listeners!
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It has been almost 50 years since he was assassinated (April 4, 1968). My years in high school, and several after graduating in 1966, were caught up in the chaos and turmoil of the civil rights movement. We sat in circles and shared stories about racial injustice. We sang We Shall Overcome. We held hands and hoped for a better day.
That was 50 years ago...50! How can this be? How can it be that we are in worse condition than we were 50 years ago? In today's world, the divide between human beings seems to have grown larger and larger. It is a divide not just between Caucasians and African Americans. In half a century, we have moved too many steps backward! The divide now includes all races, all colors, all religions, all lifestyles, all political views and more. It is no longer only racial injustice, but mountains of injustice in more places and in more lives than one could ever imagine.
Back then, we believed that King had led us out of one of the darkest periods in our history. We believed that he would continue to lead us into the light. His torch was extinguished much too soon, but his message was not. If we are not only to survive, but to thrive, we MUST continue to carry his message forward.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
The time is always right to do what is right.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Imagine that! Can you imagine, if we all judged each other by the content of people's character?
If you lived in that era, what stories do you remember? What stories do you carry with you today? What stories can you tell that might help us remember? That might help us heal? That might bring us into the light? If you have a story, please share in the comment section below.
------------------------------------THERE'S A LOT GOING ON EACH MONTH -------------------CHECK EACH WEBSITE OR CALENDAR TO CONFIRM DATES AND TIMES ---------------------------------CALL TO MAKE SURE THE EVENT IS STILL ON
FStorytellers - Female Story Tellers - Tucson
Usually sometime during the first week of the month - but check their website) at 7 pm - TUCSON http://www.fstorytellers.com/index.html
West Side Story Tellers - Storytellers Guild First Saturday of each month - GLENDALE *NO meetings in July & August http://westsidestorytellers.weebly.com
East Valley Tellers of Tales -Storytellers Guild Second Saturday of each month - SCOTTSDALE - *NO meetings in July & August http://www.evtot.com
Storyfind Fourth Saturday of each month (usually - check calendar) - *NO meetings in June & July
SMCC Storytelling Institute
A monthly workshop designed to help storytellers build community and deepen repertoire. See the Calendar
- National Storytelling Network? You should be.
Thursday - January 18th - 
Saturday - January 20, 2018 ~ 1PM - 3PM
Wednesday - January 24th - 7:00 pm
Thursday - January 25th - 7:00 pm
Saturday - January 27th - 7:30pm
This past week, I attended two open mics where there were several "spoken word artists". I believe there is much that storytellers can glean and learn from this genre. It's fascinating to hear how they use rhyme, rhythm and meter to add to the effectiveness of their pieces. Here's a tip from November of 2013 that I believe can be useful for storytellers.
