Nov 30-Dec 2, 2007
Storytelling is an ancient and powerful art form. A well-told story engages the mind, the heart, and the spirit. It takes us on a most compelling journey that empowers both the teller and the listener. This workshop is for anyone interested in exploring the powerful and magical art of storytelling.
Susan Klein, celebrated for her wit and wisdom, will help you learn the skills of presentation and poise that will enable you to feel relaxed and in control of any storytelling opportunity. Her unique focus is on the inner work necessary for the development of one’s authentic voice and personal style. This allows each person to rejoice in his or her natural strengths and to nurture areas that need improvement. Her critiques are intuitive, honest, caring, humorous, and delightful.
Trial and error is encouraged in her comfortable and safe workshop environment. There will be many “hands-on” activities, including practice telling stories, a brief exploration of storytelling’s many genres, so each person can find his or her preferences, and the discovery of personal performance style.
You will learn how to do the following:
• Craft myth, folk, and fairy tales
• Identify the elements of story
• Distinguish anecdote from story
• Do research on stories
• Create your own adaptation of a story
• Use the physical performance space
• Warm-up and project your voice
• Decide which stories to tell
Susan will tell stories to demonstrate her points. She willexplain folkloric motifs and how to use stories in the public domain. You will also receive guidelines for effective story-telling; contacts for local, regional, and national associations; and a workable bibliography.
Susan Klein is a storyteller, author, editor, humorist, memoirist, workshop leader, storytelling coach, educator, director-producer of spoken-word audio, an A.F.T.R.A voice-over artist, and owner of Ruby Window Productions which includes Story Wisdom® and An Alien Eye Editing Service. www.susanklein.net. She tours her one-woman shows internationally, authored a 20,000-word essay on the courtesies and ethics of the storytelling profession, and has been a featured performer at more than 120 storytelling festivals. She’s received numerous awards for her storytelling recordings, including the coveted Circle of Excellence Award granted by the National Storytelling Network. In 2007, she received the prestigious Permanent Endowment of Martha’s Vineyard Creative Living Award, which honors people whose lives reflect a luminous and creative spirit.