Save BIG BUCKS when you register early.
As little as $255 for Seniors or Students BEFORE May 15
(after may 15 - prices go up $75) Click here for Registration
Western Regional Showcase - Call for Proposals
You can still perform at the Conference Proposals and VIDEOS due March 17th Click Here for info
The FOLK TALES FOR GROWN-UPS concert,
originally scheduled for Wednesday, March 5th has been cancelled.
Odyssey Storytelling - Ten-Year Anniversary
Thursday, March 6th - Tucson
Odyssey Storytelling is throwing a FREE audience appreciation party at their March 6th show to say THANK YOU for ten years of support! A recent storyteller, amazed at the heart-felt reception from our audience said, “Odyssey Storytelling gives people the opportunity to be nice.”
The FREE March 6th show, Anniversaries, will feature 4 storytellers, allowing time before and after to mingle, snack, sip drinks and tell more stories. Please consider giving a donation in support of Odyssey Storytelling, a program of StoryArts Group, Inc, a 501(c)3 nonprofit arts organization. Your donation is tax deductible! Receipts will be provided at the door. Checks can be written to StoryArts Group.
"For ten years Odyssey Storytelling has bridged art and community building. Our stories are YOUR stories—not professionals, not actors, but every day folks who are never censored; we welcome anyone who wants to share from the heart."
Saturday, March 8th ~ 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!
Saturday, March 8th ~ 10am - Noon West Side Story Tellers will be from 10 am to Noon - at St. John's Lutheran Church, at 7205 N. 51st Ave. in Glendale. For more information, contact their president, Mark Compton at WestSideStoryTellers@Yahoo.com.
AZ Republic Live Storytelling
Two events next week:
Monday, March 10th Stories of Your Favorite Dishes and Drinks
Join us at Crudo, where we'll celebrate some of the Valley's most creative culinary and bartending talents as they share stories of cooking capers, destroyed dishes and tasty triumphs. Featured tellers: Bar Crudo owner and bartender Micah Olson, Old Town Group executive chef Andrew Nam, Upward Projects culinary director Chris Newstrom, two more tellers to be announced.
Ticket price ($75) covers three-course dinner, tax, tip and admission to event. Ticket purchase serves as your reservation. Only 65 tickets available.
Tuesday, March 11th Cactus League: Stories of Baseball in the Desert
It’s time to play ball… or talk about playing ball. We bring you a night of stories from the diamond and the dugout, funny and touching tales from lives lived on the field.
Listen to stories from Arizona Diamondback pitcher Josh Collmenter, Diamondback announcer Steve Berthiaume, ESPN magazine writer Molly Knight, Toronto Blue Jays scout Dan Evans and others. Mingle with azcentral.com sports journalists including Dan Bickley and Nick Piecoro.
CLICK FOR MORE INFO
FST! - Female Storytellers - Tucson
Wednesday - March 12th - 7pm
FST! was founded in 2012 as a creative outlet for women to have a voice in Tucson. Each month FST! invites four or more women to write and perform personal stories based on a set prompt or theme. With each person's individual perspective on the theme, each FST! performance is uniquely unpredictable, often inspiring much laughter and the occasional tear from the audience. As passionate as FST! members are about storytelling, FST! also focuses on supporting the local community by raising funds for arts and community organizations.
Story Rise - Luncheon Concert Thursday - March 13, 2014 (12Noon)
“Stories of Many Cultures”
Sean Buvala presents a noon-time concert. A one-hour brown-bag style concert of stories and storytelling from Ireland and many other cultures. Free of charge. Held at Gangplank Avondale, 525 N. Central Ave in Avondale AZ. (Note that’s not Central in Phoenix!)
STORYTELLING at The Tucson Festival of Books March 15-16
Each year, close to 140,000 people (yes, I said 140,000!) attend the Tucson Festival of Books. There will be close to 400 authors, fun, food and lots of activities for the whole family.
Storyteller Glenda Bonin offers the Storytelling Stage, where this year you can hear national tellers Tim Tingle and Dianne de Las Casas. There will be puppet shows, local Tap Dancing Teller Dustin Loehr and members of the Tucson Tellers of Tales Storytelling Guild.
Many of you know that I am a bicycle/camping enthusiast. Over the years, I have modified and purchased newer and newer gear for camping and cooking at the campground. Of course, every camper has their “favorite” camping stove: the lightest; the smallest; the quietest; the best gas burner, etc. Everyone believes their choice is “the best.”
A few years ago I was at REI (the “best” camping store) and overheard a customer ask the salesperson, “What’s the best camping stove?” Eager to hear his take, I was surprised when, instead, he asked a question. “What kind of food are you going to be cooking?”
Ah! Brilliant!
Here was not just a great salesperson, but a great “coach”. Rather than tell the customer what stove “he” thought, or even “others” thought was the best, he used specific questions to ascertain more information about the “needs of the customer.”
Good coaching for storytellers is quite similar. Quite often, students and coaching clients ask me, “What’s the best way to…?; How do I…?; How can I…?” My “best” response to any of these queries is to follow up with another question; questions that will assist the client in focusing in on their goals and understanding of their story.
Who’s your audience?
What’s the story about?
What do you want the audience to feel, experience?
How long do you have to tell?
These and other secondary and tertiary questions will lead the client AND the coach along the appropriate path for this particular story/situation.
Last year I had a coaching session with Sean Buvala. I presented an idea for a new character-specific story. I was having difficulty finding the right direction to go; understanding how to begin. Sean asked one simple question that got me thinking and going. He said, “Who are you telling the story to?”
The “best” answer to a question about the “best” way to accomplish something is most likely another, specific question.
Storytellers Helping Storytellers January 2012 - Laura Packer presents workshop in Phoenix. Later that year, she and long-time partner Kevin Brooks received the Brother Blue Award.
January 2013 - Laura and Kevin get married and promptly move to Kansas City.
January 2014 - Kevin Brooks is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Friends of Kevin & Laura have recognized a need for help, and have put together a fund raising page. They launched a Youcaring site, so they can raise money to pursue treatment for Kevin that isn't covered by insurance. Laura responded:
It was very hard, saying yes to this, until they reminded us that there are so many people who love us and so many people who want to help, this gives everyone a way to contribute directly to helping Kevin.
If you'd like to donate, they would be humbled and grateful. If you don't want to donate, that's okay too. If you can help spread the word please do. Efforts like this rely on letting people know they have a chance to help.
The link is below. Anything you donate will be used to help Kevin. They promise: no sneaky luxury trips to the Azores or donations to dubious causes!
------------------------------------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