Pre-Conference Intensive Workshops

All Intensives begin at 1pm on Friday, March 22

Big Body Stories and the Art of Improvisation

Presenter: Masankho K. Banda

Embody your story in fun and easily accessible modalities that can be learned! Masankho will guide you on how and when to use the body as an essential tool, how you move, and how you use the room. Whether online or in person, how you use your hands, legs, torso and head can turn your body into a powerful instrument to illustrate your words. Work with full body movements to develop character and foster a personal warm-up routine before your presentations. Movement also inspires improvisation. You will play with building story from a single word or phrase. There will be large group and small group formats so that you can have plenty of opportunities to practice what you learn.

All Levels

Excellent for Beginners

Presented in Partnership with Rhode Island Black Storytellers (RIBS)

If you are a RIBS member, email nestorytelling@gmail.com for a special deal

Masankho K. Banda is a motivational storyteller, healer, facilitator, and cultural keeper who spent long days and nights learning the fine arts of storytelling and dance from his elders in his home village of Tukombo, Malawi. Those stories and dances captivated his mind, nourished his soul, and strengthened his spirit. Masankho earned a BA degree in Theater and Dance from the College of Wooster in Ohio and an MA in Culture and Theology from Holy Names University in Oakland, California. For his work around the world, Masankho was awarded the “Unsung Hero of Compassion “ commendation by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2001.

Transforming a Personal Story into a Healing Story

Presenter: Lani Peterson (she/her)

Through a series of exercises, debriefed in small groups and plenary, participants will be guided to unpack and repack a personal story, deepening their own understanding of the healing elements contained in their story’s message. Participants will have the opportunity to share their evolving story and their changing relationship to it as they understand at a deeper level what their story is about when told through a healing story lens. Working with a series of templates, storytellers will leave with the resources to work with a lifetime of personal stories that may be told in a way that touches and benefits others.

Tellers of Personal Stories

All who use storytelling in their work

As a parent, psychologist, coach, and storyteller, Lani Peterson has searched for ways to support the development of values, insight, and understanding of both herself and others. 

“I believe that as we understand our own stories and bear witness to the stories told by others, we can transform our limitations through insight and acceptance, encourage integrity, and motivate inspired action and interaction. From CEO’s to scientists, doctors, mental health providers, ministers, the incarcerated and the homeless, I have worked to help people find and share the stories that will open doors within and between storytellers and listeners alike.”

 

The Elephant in the Room: an interactive exploration of storytelling and social justice

Presenters: Denise Page (she/her), Simon Brooks (he/him), & Joy Smith (she/her)

Do you want to use story to advocate for social justice? This is the workshop for YOU. Storytelling allows communities to connect. When we share stories of social justice anchored in the commonality of our shared experiences of social inequity, it has the ability to transform, ignite, inspire, and heal. This intensive workshop will delve deeply into the topic of social justice, safely exploring different genres of storytelling to be inclusive for all. This is NOT about being PC but about authentic community connections. Bring a five-minute story of your choice, come prepared to work, and mine the untapped resources within. Join us.

All who are ready to deeply explore

Denise K Page, founder of Ubuntu Storytellers, tells and coaches stories to inspire social justice. She's been a professional in the field of DEI for over 30 years and heads up NEST’s social justice committee.

British storyteller Simon Brooks has led workshops on sound and marketing. He has been telling stories since 1997, with a nod and a wink and a little irreverence.

Joy Kelly Smith, daughter of a civil rights minister, has told stories involving her own experiences in Social Justice. She is on the Artists Council of Rural Migrants Ministry where she has taught children stories about awareness and participation in social justice issues.