Storytelling Tour of England - Sooner Than You Think! It's 5 1/2 Months Away - But You Need to Decide SOON!
For three years, I have wanted to conduct a Storytelling Tour of England NOW IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!
Space is LIMITED. I can only take 12 people And I already have 4 students signed up!
I've got the cost down to UNDER $2500 including airfare!
After having bicycled England for four summers, I am finally organizing this Storytelling Workshop Tour for the summer of 2016. If you love to tell stories, talk about stories, craft stories, have fun and see the sights with friends, then this tour is for you. The plan is to spend eight days touring these iconic sites, but don't panic, this tour is on trains and busses, not bikes, so anyone can come and enjoy. Listeners, spouses, partners and friends are welcome too!
The tour and workshops will be lead by me and my friend and colleague, Colorado Storyteller Pam Faro.
Yuma Storytelling Festival Congrats to Laurina Bergqvist!
How do Storytelling Festivals get started? A seed is planted and then nurtured...and then there's A LOT OF WORK!
Laurina Bergqvist did a yeoman's job of organizing the very first Yuma Storytelling Festival! Laurina lives in Yuma and is currently a student in East Tennessee State University's Storytelling Program. She lined up a great program of tellers including Arizona's own Glenda Bonin and Debra Olsen-Tolar, and True Thomas from the Los Angeles area.
By all accounts, the very first Yuma Storytelling Festival was a great success! Sean Buvala and wife Michelle travelled to Yuma to lend support and report on the event.
Congrats to Laurina for a job well done!
More info
Kaleidoscope Coffee Grand Opening this Saturday! (in CA.) The years of planning, worrying, hard work, more planning, more worrying and more hard work are finally over!
And you wondered why she called it
Kaleidoscope?
Friend, colleague, storyteller and now Coffee Shop owner Cassie Cushing has finally realized her dream! This Saturday, December 5th, she will have the Grand Opening of Kaleidoscope Coffee in Point Richmond, California!
While living in Phoenix, Cassie became a huge part of the storytelling community and performed in several coffee shops in the valley. Her stories were (and still are) often gritty and dark. She also has a knack for combining different types of stories in thought provoking tales.
Cassie moved to Berkley and began the long and arduous task of finding a storefront, securing financing, going through mounds of paperwork and filings with the city, and finally has opened her dream coffee shop! Storytelling will be an integral part of her enterprise. She will not only perform herself, but will produce many concerts, and offer slots for tellers to share their talents.
If you are in the Berkley/Oakland/San Francisco area, you MUST stop in. 109 Park Place, Richmond, CA - (602) 317-1053
So, the years of planning, worrying, hard work, more planning, more worrying and more hard work are finally over! Now she will have years of worrying, hard work, more worrying and more hard work!
Odyssey Storytelling in Tucson Thursday, December 3rd
This curated Storytelling event in Tucson is in its 13th year! Six people are invited to tell ten minute, personal stories on a theme in front of an audience. The stories are not read or memorized, they are told from the life experiences and creativity of the teller
Theme: Bodies
We've all got one, whether we like it or not. They amaze us, confound us, and support us. They're our constant companions. Come hear about some bodies!
Storytellers:
pediatrician, Drew Cronyn
healing coach, Deborah Mayaan
photographer and meet-up organizer, George Rosberg
biomedical research scientist, Megan Smithey
fierce and forthright Coyolxauqui Gomez!!!
Have you visited The Screening Room's fabulous concession stand? There's beer, wine, and excellent snacks. They'll even place an order for you with Empire Pizza and have it delivered to your seat. Who knew?!
Tucson Tellers of Tales - Guild Meeting Saturday, December 5th - 9:30 am - 11:30 am
The Unscrewed Theater
3244 E Speedway
Tucson, AZ
The Unscrewed Theater is a great place for TOT to meet. It is located across the street from The Loft Theater in a strip mall next to Walgreens. There is plenty of parking in the back of the building, and the entrance to the theater is next to the parking lot.
Myths and Folktales of Norway with Harriet Cole Saturday & Sunday, December 6 - 7
Experience Scandinavia: Trolls, Monsters, and Giants!
Hear the stories of old told by the hearth to keep warm on the long, dark nights of a Norwegian winter. Local storyteller Harriet Cole, an instructor at the South Mountain Community College Storytelling Institute, specializes in the Norse sagas and performs throughout the country. Join her for a taste of Nordic folktales!
Storyfind - Finding and Crafting Holiday Tales This Saturday - December 5th from 1:00 – 4:00 in PAC 740.
Theme: “Finding, Crafting and Telling Holiday Stories.”
Join Liz Warren for the December Storyfind on Saturday, December 5th from 1:00 – 4:00 in PAC 740. This session will focus on finding, crafting, and telling holiday stories.
Liz Warren, Director of the Institute will facilitate the workshop.
As a storyteller, you will find that when you reveal what you do, inevitably someone will ask you to tell a holiday story. The choices one makes in this genre can be either disastrous or victorious (trust me on this). Liz will guide you through the process of finding and crafting a story that will appropriately "fit" your audience and venue.
Storyfind is a monthly workshop designed to help storytellers build community and deepen repertoire. Each session will start with a short reception to welcome new participants to the community.
East Valley Tellers of Tales Saturday, December 12th ~ 10am - Noon Join us to celebrate storytelling successes.
East Valley Tellers of Tales is a Phoenix area guild of Storytellers and Storylisteners. A truly safe place to share your story! We are an affiliate of the National Storytelling Network. Come and find out what this means, and how it benefits you!
This Saturday is also when we will elect officers for the coming year.
East Valley Tellers of Tales is looking at ways to create outreach, new ideas for the group, plans for the future and more. Join us and lend your talent and energy to help us grow.
Mark Your Calendars
for These Two Great Holiday Storytelling Events
Winter's Light - In Its 18th Year! Winter's Light at Community Christian Church
Sunday - December 20th - 7:00 pm
For the last eighteen years, storytellers from diverse faith traditions gather together each December to tell stories and light candles in a show of unity and hope. "Winter's Light" is a joyous, multi-cultural, inter-faith storytelling event for the holidays.
Stay tuned for more details.
Arizona Storytellers: Holiday Spectacular! Monday - December 21st
Join azcentral.com, The Arizona Republic and Alliance Bank of Arizona in the McArthur Ballroom at the Arizona Biltmore, a Waldorf Astoria resort, for a night of stories about Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's Eve, and all the wintertime adventures we carry in our hearts.
Co-host:
Liz Warren, director of the South Mountain Community College Storytelling Institute
Featured Storytellers:
Fox Restaurant Concepts Beverage Director Mat Snapp
Rabbi Jason Bonder, assistant Rabbi/Educator at Temple Emanuel of Tempe
Tempe Christian Community Church pastor Doug Bland
Writer and Moth Storyslam winner Molly McCloy
Professional storyteller and Army Ranger Kyle Mitchell
Writer Joe Finnerty (No relation to Megan!)
Important notes about this event:
This venue is to the far West of the property, in the convention area, not in the main resort building.
Self-park is adjacent to the Ballroom.
This night is best for children who understand the complexities of the holidays.
Hot chocolate and fabulous holiday cookies will be served as our Christmas present to you. Full cash bar. (No dinner.)
Post-show cocktail party in the Mystery Room (a secret speakeasy) with an Arizona Biltmore Instagram photo challenge. The winner gets a free night's stay at the Arizona Biltmore!
Details:
Registration begins at 6 p.m., stories begin promptly at 7 p.m. Arizona Biltmore, a Waldorf Astoria Resort. 2400 E Missouri Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85016. 602-444-8770. Ticket purchase mandatory at tickets.azcentral.com.
Personal Stories - A Powerful Communication Tool Here are some excerpts from the recent workshop I did in Prescott.
When I was your age.
We've all heard the ubiquitous line of "When I was your age, I had to walk 10 miles to school...and 10 miles back to home...uphill...both ways!"
Let's think about personal tales in a slightly different way, not as a "lecture" but as a communication tool with someone you love. Maybe it's your son or daughter; maybe a niece or nephew; perhaps even your partner. A personal story told one-on-one can be a powerful tool that can help you make an important connection with that one, special listener.
Sharing our experiences and feelings through storytelling is the best way to connect with people. Telling personal and family stories is how we bond with and learn from our families and others. Stories handed down from generation to generation help preserve family history and memories. Family stories help give children a sense of “who they are” and “where they fit”; an all-too-often forgotten element of life.
Think about that person in your life that might need to hear your story.
What might be important for them to know about you? What family history might be important for them to know and/or carry on? What might help them get a better sense of who you are, by understanding who you were? What might they need in the moment? What situations are they experiencing right now? What emotions are they feeling or struggling with? How might your story help them?
Think about a time when you...
were very, very late for something
misjudged someone / were misjudged
got turned down for a date / turned someone down for a date
got stood up / stood someone up
gossiped about someone / were a victim of gossip
missed the plane or train
broke an arm or a leg, or some body part
broke something valuable
lost your temper
were embarrassed / embarrassed someone else
said “yes” to the wrong person / said “no” to the wrong person
said “yes” to the right person / said “no” to the right person
misread the recipe or directions
Did you find at least one prompt that struck a chord with you - something that might be important for you to tell, to that special someone? Focus in on that story/event, then think about the following:
Where were you? Who else was there? How old were you? What was your worst fear? What was your greatest hope? What hurdles did you have to overcome? How did you overcome them, or not? What emotions did you have? Who/what stood in your way? Who/what helped you? Did you succeed or fail? What was the outcome? Who/What changed?
Now you've got more than an anecdote, you've got a whole story...that needs to be told. You might even start it by saying:
Let me tell you a story about something that happened to me...when I was your age.
Based on A True Story In the past several months, there have been a plethora of great movies that have been "based on a true story." These films are a great way for storytellers to get a glimpse of how other folks deal with "fact-based" stories. There are many ways to enhance a story, including those tales that grew out of a real event or person. One must always "serve the story" and not alter the facts. But it is often helpful and necessary to find ways to "dramatize" the elements of a story.
Three recent films that I thought were quite well done:
Trumbo
It's the story of Dalton Trumbo, at one time the highest paid screen writer in Hollywood. Brilliantly portrayed by Brian Cranston (Walter White in Breaking Bad), it tells of the Hollywood Black List. Set in the torrid era of McCarthyism, and accusations of Communist Party ties, it's a great representation of the trials (literally) and tribulations of one man and the fear-mongering that almost destroyed him.
Suffragette
A tale of the fight in England to give women voting rights. It portrays the despicable conditions for the working lower-class, and the added burden of being a woman trying to survive in Britain in the early 20th Century. It's a moving drama, exploring the passion and heartbreak of those who risked all they had for women's right to vote - their jobs, their homes, their children, and even their lives. With Carey Mulligan, Helen Bonham Carter, and Meryl Streep.
Bridge of Spies
Another stellar performance from Tom Hanks in this Cold War era tale of spies, non-spies, and the political posturing of the U.S., Germany, and Russia. The casting is one of the great features of this film. Those in the roles of the government officials on all sides of the conflict are incredibly believable. In a story where we know the ending, here is a film that delivers great tension and suspense.
There are many more movies of this genre coming up soon. Check the listings for your favorite theatre, and go learn how great filmmakers tell a great story!
------------------------------------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 http://www.evtot.com
Storyfind Fourth Saturday of each month (usually - check calendar) - SMCC Storytelling Institute
A monthly workshop designed to help storytellers build community and deepen repertoire. See the Calendar
- National Storytelling Network? You should be.
Congrats to Laurina Bergqvist!
Saturday, December 5th - 9:30 am - 11:30 am
Saturday & Sunday, December 6 - 7
This Saturday - December 5th from 1:00 – 4:00 in PAC 740.
Saturday, December 12th ~ 10am - Noon
Winter's Light at Community Christian Church
Monday - December 21st
Here are some excerpts from the recent workshop I did in Prescott.
In the past several months, there have been a plethora of great movies that have been "based on a true story." These films are a great way for storytellers to get a glimpse of how other folks deal with "fact-based" stories. There are many ways to enhance a story, including those tales that grew out of a real event or person. One must always "serve the story" and not alter the facts. But it is often helpful and necessary to find ways to "dramatize" the elements of a story.
