It'll Be A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight (Today)
Were you in Phoenix for the 2014 NSN Conference? If so, you may remember the "Haboob" (dust storm) that came through town. And you may also remember that the day of the Pre-Con, it was 114 degrees! And bak on June 26, 1990 it was 122°!
And the planes weren't flying in and out of Phoenix, because they didn't have "regulations" regarding temperatures above 120°!
Well, think back to those days of yesteryear, cause it's gonna be a hot time in the old town tonight - well, actually, today. The forecast calls for a high today of 118°, and tomorrow of 120°! You might ask, "What do you do on days like this?" The answer - "We don't step outside - EVER!"
But seriously folks (those of you in other parts of the world), don't worry about us. We're just happy to live through it all and have some HOT stories to tell!
Storytelling Hotel - If You Build It, Will They Come?
The island of Tasmania lies just off the southeast coast of Australia. And on the southwest tip of that little island-state is the town of Hobart.
If you want to know more about the history and folklore of Tasmania, then Australia's first storytelling hotel is the place to stay! With storytelling as a centerpiece, the MACq 01 Hotel dispenses with the aloofness and stiff uniformity of luxury hotels. There are 114 characters whose likenesses adorn guest room doors. Each themed room has a different story to reveal; like Frenchwoman Marie-Louise Girardin, a cross-dressing ship’s steward who arrived aboard La Recherche in 1792 and is believed to have been the first European woman to set foot on Van Diemen’s Land.
Rooms book from $230 to $920 per night (US Dollars).
And by the way - they have hired four full-time storytellers to relate the tales of the region. Looking to re-locate?
Poem Tells the Story of a Storyteller's Journey
Just a short month ago, Marian Gianatti and her daughter Alissa joined us on the Historical-Hysterical England/Ireland Storytelling Tour. Marian told several great stories, including Finn McCool. And Alissa was the best audience a teller (or magician) could ever ask for!
We all came back from the trip with many stories. Often, the flight(s) home are an adventure unto themselves. While waiting in Chicago for their final flight, Marian penned this little Story/Poem expressing her exhaustion, frustration, and thoughts of the future!
Traveling Storytellers
by Marian Gianatti
Here I sit, again and again.
Big pack, small pack, security win.
I've been wanded, prodded, stripped shoes off and more.
Unpacked, thrown away, not my lotion! Such a chore.
Here I sit, I wait and I wait.
My flight doesn't even earn a gate.
In hard metal chairs, I try not to snooze.
Such bags under my eyes,
It's sleep that I choose.
Onward, upward, toward home, I will fly.
To unpack, do laundry, flop on the couch with a sigh.
Our growth and evolution as individuals and as a society hinges on learning from our experiences. Join azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic for a night of stories about lessons learned the easy way and the adventurous way.
Emcee: Megan Finnerty, founder of the Storytellers Project
Featured tellers:
Ahmad Daniels
Catherine Alonzo
Ms. Millye Carter-Bloodworth
Myranette Robinson
Tomas Robles
James Kottke
Jennifer Kiernan
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 Alexus Rhone at arhone@gannett.com.
Say it in One Sentence What’s your story about? Can you say it in one sentence? I don’t mean tell me a “one sentence story.” I mean, in one sentence, what is the essence of your story. If you can do that, you are well on your way to being a better story crafter, and teller.
First you have to know "what's the story about?" This is essential. Doug Lipman was coaching me on a personal story I was crafting. It felt a little fragmented, and I had difficulty with the ending. One of the questions Doug asked was, “What’s your story about?” I gave him a fairly long and unfocused answer. His response was, “I’m not sure that’s what I heard in the story.”
I went back to the drawing board (thinking board). It took some time. I went back and forth for about six months, wondering about Doug’s question. Finally, I was able to focus in on the essence of the story. Once I had done that, the rest fell into place and I had a story that was solid, and my understanding of the story was solid. That was the key.
Knowing and understanding the essence of your story can ground you, and carry you through whatever complexities or details may be in the tale. Often, coaching clients will say to me, “It’s about a man who goes here, then he goes there, then he does this, then he does that, etc.” My response is, “That’s the sequence of events. But what is the story about?” Some seem to have great difficulty with this. Elementary school students often tell me they “can’t put it in one sentence.” When coached and coaxed, most of the time, they are able.
When you know that one sentence, the essence, or what Doug calls the Most Important Thing, you can craft your story with laser sharpness. (Click here for an article by Doug on the MIT) Every piece of your tale will now relate to the essence of what it is about. If some part doesn’t, you will most likely need to discard it. MaryGay Ducey said to me (and I paraphrase), “If it doesn’t fit or serve the story, you may have to throw out something you love.”
This one sentence concept can even work for a string of pearls story. I have a compilation of three short tales about incidents with my mother at different ages. The story is not about “When I was five and when I was twenty and when I was thirty…” It’s about “How my strong bond with my mother was formed.” By the way, if you need to say it in two sentences, that’s okay. The exercise is to help you focus.
And here’s one more focusing tip: Look at each character in your story and ask yourself, “What’s one thing that is special about this character?” I asked one sixth grader what was special about one of his female characters. “Nothing really,” was his response. I cajoled, “There must be something special about her.” “Well,” he said, “Not really…except maybe the fact that she is the incarnation of a high priestess from an ancient civilization.”
As Told by Emoji - Disney's New Digital Short-Form Stories As Told by Emoji is a new series of animated videos from Disney. The goal is to tell the story in a short (condensed) timeframe using only Emojis (and a little music).
Disney’s EVP of Publishing and Digital Media, Andrew Sugerman talks about the project.
In developing As Told by Emoji—with what is, on the surface, a simple concept—there were a number of challenges at hand, the first being how to synthesize feature-length narratives into two-to-three minute segments that could be told through the language of pop culture today. The second [challenge] was how to deliver that content across the multitude of different digital platforms so that it had residence across Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat.
It's a great concept and exercise in restraint in storytelling.
------------------------------------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.
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What’s your story about? Can you say it in one sentence? I don’t mean tell me a “one sentence story.” I mean, in one sentence, what is the essence of your story. If you can do that, you are well on your way to being a better story crafter, and teller.
When you know that one sentence, the essence, or what Doug calls the Most Important Thing, you can craft your story with laser sharpness. (
