THE VALLEY ROCKS WITH STORYTELLING EVENTS!

New Two-Saturday Classes Pack a Wallop!

Here's the schedule for the upcoming Two-Saturday courses now offered at SMCC Storytelling Institute:

Storytelling in Healing Settings: 09/19/2015 & 10/03/2015
Storytelling in Educational Settings: 10/10/2015 & 10/17/2015
Storytelling in Interpretive Settings: 10/31/2015 & 11/07/2015
Storytelling in Business Settings: 11/14/2015 & 11/21/2015

These courses are a great way to "pump-up" your knowledge and skills!

Click here for the schedule/descriptions and details.

Lots of NEWS from NSN

--- J.J. RENEAUX EMERGING ARTIST GRANT APPLICATIONS - DUE 9/28

Applications are due September 28, 2015 for the 2016 J.J. Reneaux Emerging Artist Grant. The Emerging Artist Grant awards $1,250 in alternate years to a storyteller of major and unique performing talent who has not yet received wide public recognition. Please note that this is not primarily an achievement award: candidates must have a well-considered need and desire to improve their storytelling skills and must present a convincing plan for how they will use the grant funds for artistic development.

Criteria & application: http://www.storynet.org/grants/reneaux-emerging.html

--- 4TH ANNUAL NSN AUTUMN ONLINE AUCTION - DONATION COMMITMENTS DUE 10/1

We need your help! Just a few more weeks remain to commit your donations to be auctioned off in early November. This auction raises funds for the NSN Member Grants Program, supporting worthy storytelling projects by YOU, our members.

We are seeking items of $35 or higher bid value: quilts & wall hangings, paintings, hand-crafted jewelry & clothing, storytelling services (marketing, recording, coaching, photography, videography, etc.), festival & conference or retreat registrations, autographed editions of books & CDs (bundled to meet $35 minimum bid), gift baskets, vacation home or timeshare getaways, and more – surprise us with your creativity!

If you or a talented friend has an item or service you would like to donate, please email karin@storynet.org no later than October 1st with your name and contact info, digital photo of the item, description of the item, approximate actual value, suggested minimum bid (requesting $35+), and whether you would be willing to donate shipping or prefer buyer pay shipping (and insurance if required).

Important: Do not mail any items to the NSN office. At the end of the auction, there will be direct mailing from donor to auction winner.

Auction will run from November 1st-12th so help us spread the word far & wide (beyond NSN members!) as that date gets closer. We look forward to a FUN online event to support important storytelling work, but we need your donations to make it happen!

Donation Notification Deadline: October 1

NSN National Storytelling Conference 2016

“Spotlight on Storytelling”

--- CALL FOR 2016 NATIONAL STORYTELLING CONFERENCE WORKSHOP PROPOSALS

The call for Workshop Proposals for the 2016 National Storytelling Conference, July 21-24 in Kansas City, MO will open within the next few days and be due November 18.

This year’s Conference theme is: Spotlight on Storytelling.

Spotlight (noun): a focused beam of light or the focus of attention

Spotlight (transitive verb): to focus attention"- move into the foreground to make more visible or prominent."

The spotlight is on storytelling: what it is, how we do it, why we do it, and how it makes an impact! Let’s shine a light on successful projects; be enlightened by experts on best practices; and, illuminate brilliant performances. Let’s highlight thoughtful and meaningful approaches to addressing important issues and innovative community building through story, while spotlighting ways to improve the visibility and prominence of storytelling and NSN. The spotlight is on storytelling…the spotlight is on YOU! Let your light shine!

The proposal and reference forms with full details are available at www.storynet.org/conference.

Note: This year the spotlight is on widening our circle – attracting first-time attendees and Next Generation tellers to the conference while expanding horizons and providing new perspectives for everyone! We are seeking workshop proposals to do just that!

Questions? Contact karin@storynet.org or call 1-800-525-4514, ext. 303.

Deadline: November 18, 2015, 5 pm EST. Good luck!

--- 2016 NATIONAL STORYTELLING CONFERENCE FRINGE

No Gatekeepers. No Trends to Watch.

Just You and an Audience for 55 Minutes

It’s the 10th Anniversary edition of the NSN Fringe!

Reminder: In keeping with the Fringe model, performers for the 2016 National Storytelling Conference Fringe in Kansas City, July 21-24, will be selected by lottery. What about presenting 55 minutes of your most compelling, riskiest, experimental or work in progress storytelling? How about a mini-fringe event with you and a friend in a pair of shorter performances? All the possibilities: 55 minutes of, autobiography, performance art, folktales, stand-up, puppetry, dance or your favorite long form story!

Don’t miss out! Deadline: November 14, 2015

Eligibility and Application Information: http://www.storynet.org/conference/fringe.html

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This Week

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Arizona Storytellers - Adventures in the Outdoors

TONIGHT
Monday - September 14th
Phoenix Theatre

Join azcentral.com, The Arizona Republic and Alliance Bank of Arizona at the home of our partners the SMCC Storytelling Institute - for a night of Adventures in the Outdoors

Featured Storytellers:

Republic journalist Dennis Wagner

Republic Explore Arizona reporter Bob Young

Republic photojournalist David Wallace

Sailing adventurer Eleanor Gobrecht

Community teller Margaret Smith

...and more

Registration begins at 6 p.m.,

Stories begin promptly at 7 p.m.

Sign Language Interpretation Services Available!

If you require ASL Interpretation services for this event or a future Storytellers event you plan to attend, please contact Melissa Farley at Melissa.Farley@ArizonaRepublic.com with your request.

For more details & Tickets

Joyce Story at White Tank Mountain Regional Park

Joyce Story will be telling at the Nature Center of the White Tank Mountain Regional Park.

Joyce tells mesmerizing nature stories. They are all original, fact-based stories about the flora and fauna of the Sonoran desert.

20304 W. White Tank Mountain Rd, Waddell, AZ 85355

Here is the schedule:

Tales of the Sonoran Desert: Nature Center

Tuesday, Sept 15, 11 a.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 11 a.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 20, 11 a.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 11 a.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 17, 11 a.m.

Spooky Stories around the Campfire

Friday, October 30, 7-9 p.m.: Area 4

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Coming Up

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Myth Informed
Tuesday - September 22 - SMCC Performance Hall
Join SMCC Institute students and faculty for this presentation of:

Myth Informed: Manly Myths

Join us this Tuesday night at SMCC in Performance Hall at 6:30 p.m. You will year seven men - yes friends - real men - telling some seriously kick-ass manly myths. You don't want to miss this. Tellers include Doug Bland, Kyle Mitchell, Tunde Hurts, Jeff Jose Miller, Travis May, James Ashcroft, Adrian Esquer, and Edward Appling.

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm - SMCC Performance Hall
Admission is FREE

Writers Read
TUCSON - Thursday - September 24th - 6:30-8:00 PM
BREWD – A coffee lounge, 4960 N. Sabino Canyon Rd.
(Eastside Tucson)

This Month's Theme - Oh, Yes I Can!

Writers Read is an entertaining forum for the public at local coffee shops. Ethel Lee Miller is the facilitator for this Tucson group.

This is not an open mic. Writers contact the organizer with their story idea and receive suggestions for reading aloud. Each writer has about 8 minutes to read. Timing is strictly adhered to with a designated timer.

Writers Read is a blend of performance and reading so it requires some animation and eye contact with the audience. Writers Read in Tucson is getting more and more submissions for the events, which is a happy consequence of success. Ethel has begun to really vet authors to get a variety of genres and different levels of presentation. This event walks a fine line between marketing and entertainment. Not all writers are great readers; Ethel provides suggestions for reading aloud (e me if you’d like a copy of the suggestion doc).

Audience response has been very positive:

“Nice to have something like this in our community.”

“Never knew there were so many writers around here.”

“How can I be a reader?”

Arizona authors bring an eclectic mix of word play to the public. They bring something for everyone!

View the PDF for this upcoming event

For info, contact Ethel Lee Miller: etheleemiller@me.com

Storyfind - New Monthly Event at SMCC

Saturday - September 26th from 1:00 – 4:00 in PAC 739.
Theme: “Finding and Crafting Tellable Stories from Old Sources.”

Join the Storytelling Institute for a new monthly event: Storyfind, scheduled for (usually) the fourth Saturday of each month!

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.

Storyfind was created to capitalize on a unique partnership between the Storytelling Institute and the South Mountain Community Library. Phoenix Public Library donated a large collection of story anthologies, children’s books, and storytelling reference books from last century to the college. A selection of these books are now housed in PAC739 and 740 to be available for Storyfind participants and storytelling students.

The first session will be led by Storytelling Institute Director Liz Warren, and Librarian Lydia Johnson.

First and Last

Saturday - September 26th - 7-9:00 pm
How did you get started? How would you finish? Join us for an evening of storytelling for artists and those who love the performing arts, storytelling and the creative process.

We asked:

What was the very first story you ever told after you finally said to yourself “I am a storyteller!”

If you could never again tell a story, that is, you had only the opportunity to tell one last story, to send it out into the world, what would be your very last story?

We asked two performers with decades of experience to share their answers…and their stories…with you in an evening of intimate storytelling for adult audiences.

Discussion of the stories, the artists and the art follows the storytelling. Stick around and join the conversation.

Our Tellers 2015:

Joyce Story
A storyteller for over 25 years, Joyce Story recently published two books of her original stories, both of which won Global Ebook Awards. The stories in her book, TALES OF THE SONORAN DESERT, reflect her admiration for the folktale and give voice to the plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert, where she has made her home for over three decades. Joyce shares these and other stories at the White Tank Mountain Regional Park and at other venues both in and out of the state of Arizona. She is a retired educator with a doctorate in the field of Slavic languages and literatures.

Mark Compton

Mark Compton has been in the Phoenix storytelling scene presenting historical interpretation at the State Capitol Museum and training docents how to use storytelling to enhance the museum experience. Under Mark’s leadership West Side Story Tellers, the venerable storytelling club, has been revived and interesting new directions are being forged in collaboration with the local Phoenix folk music scene.

Click here for details & info

COMING ATTRACTIONS - Greek & Roman Myth Throw Down
Friday, October 9th - 6:30-8:30 pm

PREPARE YOURSELVES - PREPARE YOUR STORIES
Gods and Goddesses, Titans, love, infidelity, monster offspring, anger, wrath, revenge, and sometimes a bit of magic!

Be part of the fun! Join everyone at South Mountain Community College as twenty-six storytelling students from the many Community College storytelling classes in Maricopa County share their three-minute versions of Greek and Roman Myths. The audience will vote on the best stories.

Then, on Monday, October 12th, the top seven will tell their full versions for Myth Informed Classic Moves.

E-mail Liz Warren for more info

Check the calendar section for details

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Tips

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Microphones - Friend or Foe?

I've written before about using microphones. I felt it was time again.

Many storytellers fear them. But I believe that's because they just haven't had time to practice with them. Like any other skill, using a microphone with some finesse takes some time, experience and practice.

Rehearsing at home with your own system is optimal, but if you don't have that capability, there are some alternatives. Get to the venue early for a "mic check". Try out the equipment. If that's not possible, take a moment when you get up to the mic to perform.

First: ADJUST THE STAND (or ask the MC for assistance). If the mic is too high, don't merely swivel it to point down from above. Or if it is too low, don't bend down to talk "into" it (or you will be bending down for the whole story)! I will say it again as I believe it is important. ADJUST THE STAND and the mic so that it is not covering your face. It should be below your lips and a little above your chin. Speak across the top of the mic, not down into it.

Don't tap it. Don't blow into it. Greet the audience with a few words.
And here's the important part: LISTEN TO YOURSELF!

As you greet the audience and say a few introductory words, take that moment to listen to how you sound on the system. Use the sound that you hear to assess whether the mic is "hot" and you need to back off a little, or "dead" and you need to move in close. You also need to know which parts of your story use a louder or softer volume, so you may need to move in, or away from the mic at different times for the best effect.

Unless you are well practiced at using a "hand mic" LEAVE IT IN THE STAND. It takes even more experience to really know how to use gestures and your body while you are also holding the mic.

Here's a great example of expert use of a microphone. Betty Buckley performing Memory from Cats. This video is from 1984, on the Johnny Carson show. It shows how she understands her voice, the volume, and what the microphone is receiving and sending out to the system.

Due to Youtube restrictions, I am unable to embed the video on this page, but click on Betty's photo to open a new window and watch this five minute video. Notice how she moves it in and out depending on how she is singing softer or louder. This is finesse! It is clear here that the microphone is her "friend"! Oh yeah, enjoy the song and the way she sings it too!

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Tidbits

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GCC Storytelling Students

Each week in my Community College classes, I ask, "Who read my Newsletter this week? You never know when I might ask a question for extra credit". I just want to see who might be really interested. Last week, one of my students said, "I scoured the whole newsletter and your website...but I couldn't find any questions!" She was quite frustrated.

She thought there would be a question in the newsletter vs. the fact that I might ask a question in class about something in the newsletter. Well...just for her...and all the other students in my classes, here is a question:

According to this newsletter, what year did the SMCC Storytelling Institute start?

E-mail your the correct answer to mark.goldman@gccaz.edu by 2:00 PM on Tuesday for five(5) extra credit points.

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Ongoing
Events

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------------------------------------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

Infuse Open Mic
Second Sunday of each month - Phoenix
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Infuse-Open-Mic/137811162925031

Pink Slip Open Mic
Every Monday at 8 pm - PHOENIX
https://www.facebook.com/events/488551851312946/

Yarnball Storytellers Mic
Every Wednesday at 8 pm - PHOENIX
https://www.facebook.com/lawngnomepublishing/events

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

Odyssey Storytelling
First Thursday of each month (usually but check calendar) - TUCSON
http://www.storyartsgroup.org/odyssey/Odyssey/Welcome.html

Storyline
Third Friday (usually) of each month - PHOENIX
http://thestoryline.org/

Tucson Tellers of Tales - Storytellers Guild
First Saturday of each month (except July and August) - Tucson
https://www.facebook.com/TucsonTellersofTales

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 - SMCC Storytelling Institute
A monthly workshop designed to help storytellers build community and deepen repertoire.
See the Calendar

Homebase Poetry
Has changed to a random schedule - Phoenix
Make sure you check the Faceboook page
https://www.facebook.com/Homebasepoetryopenmic

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL MONTHLY CALANDAR

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All Newsletter content ©Mark Goldman
Got some news or information you would like to get out to the storytelling community?
Contact Mark Goldman -x602-390-3858x - Mark@Storytellermark.com