This section will be an ongoing post with updates as they come in from NSN
Where: Mesa, Arizona When: July 24-27, 2014 Theme:Fire & Light Storytelling illuminates who we are as individuals and as a community. Stories spark deeper understanding; they enlighten our minds and hearts. Stories light the fire of joy and laughter.
Call for Proposals WORKSHOPS - 7 DAYS LEFT - Workshop proposals for 90 minute breakout sessions are dueMONDAY,December 9, 2013 - Click here for info on this RFP
FRINGE PERFORMANCES - FOUR WEEKS LEFT -
Proposals for 55 minute Fringe performances are due TUESDAYDecember 31, 2013 - Click here for inf on this RFP
Thursday, December 5th
This curated Storytelling event in Tucson is in it's 11th 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. This month: BIG BAD WORDS: THE B*TCH SHOW
Saturday, December 7th
Paradise Valley Community College wiill present the Festival of Tales on Saturday, December 7th at the College. Storytelling sessions from PVCC's Art of Storytelling classes, thousands of free books, story and culture related arts and crafts, food, music and fun!
Phoenix Phabulous Experience Wednesday - December 11th
Storytellers and OPEN MIC
On December 11 in Downtown Phoenix, storytellers will gather to share their personal connections to major Phoenix time periods at an open mic event designed to help local artists create the first, comprehensive Phoenix history mural.
The public is invited to join celebrity storytellers Bob Boze Bell, Jana Bommersbach, Frank Barrios and Marshall Shore at the Phoenix Phabulous Storytelling Showcase on Wednesday, December 11 at Phoenix Center for the arts.
At the Dec. 11 event, top storytellers will be selected by a panel of listeners and invited by The Arizona Republic to speak at an Arizona Storytellers Project event in 2014 when the community mural is installed in Downtown Phoenix.
Audience participants are invited to share three-minute, personal stories connected to life in Phoenix, focused on one of the several Phoenix time periods.
Click here for full details & info
East Valley Tellers of Tales Saturday, December 14th ~ 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!
Phoenix Festival of the Arts Friday - Saturday - Sunday - December 12-15th
Sunday - December 15th 3-4 PM Mark Goldman (aka StorytellerMark) creates a place for storytelling, and then creates a new place in your imagination with each story he tells. It could be a small village in Russia where a young girl is accused of “stealing” smells; or a hillside on a green planet, visited by a race of giants. It might be a castle in Bavaria where clever wives stand by their husbands in a siege; or a court in the Middle East, where a young boy is asked to assist the Caliph in judging a case.
Each time and place that is visited in a story is discussed with the listeners – what did they hear, what did they see, what would they do if they were in that space? Before the program is finished, the audience decides the final time and place that they will create and explore, and what the outcome will be in a spontaneous, group improvisational story, created on the spot!
Margaret T. Hance Park, 1202 N. 3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004 - Indoor Classroom (201)- 3-4pm
Of course, there will be many other performers, artwork, singers, music and lots of family activities all weekend-long.
Clasp Your Hands - Get Two, Two - Two Stories in One
Lets make an assumption: in your storytelling, "the right hand DOES know what the left hand is doing." On the one hand, you've got a great personal story. On the other, you've also got a wonderful fairytale, folk tale, or even another personal story. Both stand alone as powerful stories. Now, clasp your hands and make anew.
Television and movies do it all the time, mix several story lines, and alternate between them. Storytellers can do this too. Just as your fingers interlace, you can interweave the elements of each of your stories to tell together, allongside of each other. Of course, you need to have a common element or thread that connects them, and be clear about which story you are telling at any one time. But the results can be awesome.
One of my recent students told a powerful story of his time as a soldier. Then, a couple of weeks later, during an exercise, he told a warm story of the place he grew up in that, no matter what, made him feel safe and protected. I suggested to him that he could meld the two stories together to make a new, powerful story about feeling both safe, and unsafe. . .we will see what happens.
Still a little unsure? Take ten minutes to view Sean Buvala's video below. It's a powerful lesson in crafting, as well as a great performance!