STORYTELLER, STORYWORKER: Who are you?

“Art is always in response to something. Art is the unification of reflection and action.”- Kennedy Center 2021 National Community Partnerships Virtual Annual Convening: Rootwork & Resilience

Reframe that: STORYTELLING is always in response to something. It is the unification of reflection and action.

Storytelling addresses, illuminates and impacts every aspect of the human condition. It helps us identify with one another and expands our notion of we. It provides a powerful vehicle to respond to current events and issues, and to connect to local and global initiatives. It allows us to be not just storytellers, but storyworkers.

In this series of workshops, we will explore how storytellers can respond to the needs and events of our troubled times, reflecting on how each of us is called to action. We’ll work in self-identified affinity groups to develop platforms, projects and networks in support of pursuing our individual goals, and we’ll work in target audience affinity groups to develop stories, programs and services that respond to and meet specific needs.

We’ll unify reflection and action -- we’ll become STORYWORKERS!

SESSION ONE: Choose Your Corner!

Friday, May 14th

1:00 - 2:30pm (1.5 hours)

Explore a wide variety of ways storytellers respond to the needs and events in their communities by becoming storyWORKERS -- proactively, consciously, intentionally making a difference by putting the power of storytelling TO USE. Consider Charles Eames challenge: Choose your corner, pick away at it carefully, intensely and to the best of your ability and that way you might change the world.

SESSION TWO: Unifying Reflection and Action

Saturday, May 15th

1:00 - 2:30pm (1.5 hours)

Storytelling is always in response to something. It is the unification of reflection and action. Working in interest-affinity groups, storytellers begin to develop platforms, projects and networks in support of pursuing their individual goals.

SESSION THREE: Let’s Dance!

Sunday, May 16th

1:00 - 2:30pm (1.5 hours)

Emma Goldman is attributed with the quote, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” She didn’t say that, but it summarizes her belief that we have to make room for joyful, creative expression and “beautiful things.” Our challenge in this session is to explore how to deliver meaningful and impactful services that are appropriate to the specific needs of our audience while also making room for playfulness – even joy!

About Sherry:

Sherry Norfolk is an award-winning storyteller, author and teaching artist, performing and leading residencies and professional development workshops nationally and internationally. She is a dynamic storyteller and has appeared in the Manitoba International Storytelling Festival, Taiwan International Storytelling Carnival, International Art of Storytelling Festival (Miami, FL), International Storytelling Center (Jonesborough, TN), Singapore International Storytelling Festival, Manila International Storytelling Festival, and many more festivals, schools, libraries, museums and universities nationwide. Sherry is a Kennedy Center Teaching Artist, a Wolf Trap Teaching Artist, an Arts Integration Teaching Artist with Tennessee Arts Commission’s Value Plus Schools and Arts360° programs, and is on the rosters of the Mississippi Arts Commission, Louisiana Council for the Arts, South Carolina Arts Commission, Virginia Commission on the Arts, and Springboard to Learning (Young Audiences) St. Louis. She leads residencies in preK through high school classrooms across the country and southeast Asia. An Adjunct Professor at Lesley University, Sherry is a recognized leader in integrating learning through storytelling. She is  also the co-editor and/or co-author of books that explore rigorous, standards-based storytelling strategies for learning across the curriculum. www.sherrynorfolk.com

CHAOS DOESN'T HAPPEN ON ITS OWN 

Friday, May 14th

3:00 - 4:30pm (1.5 hours)

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

If you have heard Bil's stories you know that they twist and turn. If you haven't heard Bil, well, they still do. Part of what he does is introduce an idea or concept early in the story, and then distract the audience from thinking of it again until it's time for the big payoff at the end. Also, Bil strives for his stories to seem like he's just coming up with them on the spot because he believes the best storytelling resembles a spontaneous conversation. How does he do it? How does he manage all the loose ends? Where do the ideas and loose ends come from in the first place? Come prepared with a 5 to 7 minute story of the tall tale or outright lie kind and we will work on shaping it during this 90-minute workshop.

FUN NOTE: Everyone is welcome no matter the skill set, and you might be selected to perform that evening! One workshop participant will be chosen to share their 5-7 minute story on the virtual Main Stage that night.

ABOUT BIL

Bil’s humorous, family friendly tall-tales and stories have earned the appreciation of listeners of all ages and from all walks of life. Though a five time champion of the WV Liars’s Contest, Lepp’s stories often contain morsels of truth which present universal themes in clever and witty ways. Audiences all across the country, from grade schools to corporate execs to the Comedy Central’s Hudson stage, have been delighted by Bil’s mirthful tales and delightful insights into everyday life. Bil’s books and audio collections have won awards including the PEN Steven Kroll Award for Children’s Book Writing, Parents’ Choice Gold awards, and awards from the National Parenting Publications Association, and the Public Library Association. Barbara McBride Smith had this to say about Bil, ““Bil Lepp is the Wonder Bra of storytelling. He takes something small and insignificant and pushes it up into something realllly BIG and miiiighty interesting!” www.leppstorytelling.com

RISKY TO FRISKY, a 2-hour Storytelling Master Class with Instructor Cyndi Freeman 

Saturday, May 15th

3:00 - 5:00pm (2 hours)

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

This class covers how to find, craft and share stories that might feel risky to tell. Stories that are too dark, sad, bloody, scary or sexy for the average mainstream and family friendly audience. The workshop will cover, finding stories, negotiating with your inner critic as you delve into sensitive areas, self-care while crafting stories that are hard to tell, and the basic building blocks of crafting a compelling and vivid narrative.

This class is perfect for storytellers of all levels of experience, from beginner to seasoned pro!

The class consists of exercises that will help you identify and refine a story. Everyone will get to practice telling a story with a partner and few volunteers will get the chance to perform their stories for the full group and receive in-depth feedback from their instructor and classmates.

At the end of the workshop, one person will be nominated to share their story as part of the Risky to Frisky show at 7:00 PM!

Session Requirements:

• Please plan to have your camera on during the class if possible. We will be working in teams of two, and being able to see each other is helpful.

• Using a headset or directional mic is recommended but not required.

• Please arrive on time. In order to establish and maintain a safe space, latecomers will not be admitted after the first 10 minutes of the event.

• This session will be videotaped and the recording will be made available to program registrants. NEST may also use a short clip for promotional purposes. Should you have any issues with being recorded, plan to attend as an observer for the majority of the class (with your camera and microphone off). Work done in teams of two will not be recorded.

ABOUT CYNDI

Cyndi Freeman

A two-time NY Fringe Festival award-winning solo performer, Cyndi's one woman shows have been presented in New York, Boston, Amsterdam, Ireland, The UK, and Fringe Festivals in Edinburgh and throughout North America. As a storyteller her credits include, The Moth, RISK! The Story Collider and PBS’s Stories from The Stage. Ms. Freeman is a recipient of a grand prize playwriting fellowship award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and four artist-in-residence awards through the Brooklyn Arts Council as part of the SU-CASA program, which has allowed her to run storytelling programs for senior citizens.

Cyndi is a casting director and story coach for The RISK! Podcast and a lead instructor for their sister company The Story Studio. With 12 years of experience as a storytelling instructor Cyndi has worked with a diverse collection of organizations including The Moth, The Federal Bureau of Prisons, The 9/11 Tribute Museum, The New York Public Library, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Zendesk, Row New York, and more. - www.cyndifreemanstoryteller.com

MOVIN' WHILE ZOOMIN'

Sunday, May 16th

3:00 - 5:00pm (2 hours)

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

Want to shake it while you stream? Put some pizzazz into your on-line performance? Show up with a 7-10 minute story you know and you will play with. Award-winning, master storyteller Simon Brooks, will help you digitally dance through your tale. While some people can pull off a ‘static’ performance, engage and wow an audience with words only, it can also be fun to pop a little. You can do things online which are harder to do on a stage, especially a large one. You can add surprise elements to a performance, play around a bit to engage people who might be a little Zoom weary and wary.

We will begin looking briefly at what you need for space, lighting, and where you want your camera/lens/laptop/camcorder. Then we will expand within the space you have created, performing within and without the confines, the boundaries of the box and play. Everyone will get a chance to engage, tweak, and polish their short story for an online performance. Everyone will get a chance to be coached in this workshop by Simon Brooks, bringing over 20 years of storytelling experience and 30 years of photography work together to create great set-ups and camera technique.

Simon has been experimenting in video for many years, and dived deeply into the medium at the outset of the pandemic. He was among the very first to produce  regular online shows, and be seen in international online concerts.

FUN NOTE: Everyone is welcome no matter the skill set, and you might be selected to perform that evening! One workshop participant will be chosen to share their 5-7 minute story on the virtual Main Stage that night.

ABOUT SIMON

Simon Brooks began telling to the public in 1991, and has been telling tales professionally since 2003. He has performed multiple times at Jonesborough's National Storytelling Festival in Tennessee, and at the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in Utah. He has also performed in Athens, AL; Mount Dora, FL; Stone Soup Festival in Woodruff, SC; in California and most New England States. He has performed and presented workshops at libraries, colleges and schools, camps, hotels, inns, and for businesses, and at conferences and festivals. He focuses on traditional folk and fairy tales, myths and legends - the stories he grew up hearing in Britain. Growing up in Worcester, England, Simon has heard these stories in place; Story runs in his blood. Simon's storytelling albums have garnered awards from Storytelling World and Parent's Choice, and his book, Under the Oaken Bough is popular with schools, librarians, kids and adults. It has been said that he combines the intensity of solo performance with the intimacy of face-to-face conversations whether performing in person or virtually.  SimonBrooksStoryteller.com (Diamondscree.com)