In a culture that can’t seem to find its common narrative we found ours, as we risked
embarrassment, misunderstanding and fear when we shared our own personal stories
on that Storyday…
My Storyday Workshops vary — teaching the basics of storytelling, creative writing,
capturing our own personal story for sharing, improvisational storytelling, to my favorite
– “The Power of Storytelling and Spoken Word”.
There was one particular Storyday years ago that was powerful and meaningful for its
participants, including its speaker-teacher – me.
Every age was represented, from teenager to senior adult. We gathered up from central
California to San Diego, added in for contrast were travelers from Kansas and South
Africa. It was a seven-plus hour day of teaching, partnering, discussions, coffee &
pastries, lunch, more coffee (and cookies), some media, and willing and brave
participant’s that had come with prepared writing. Finally, we made a commitment (on
paper) as to how we’d move forward in trying to catch the flitting butterflies that had
been released on our time.
I, once again, witnessed the way workshops shape and shift their participants.
Workshops affirm and clarify goals and direction for an individual. They create a
synergism for a gathered community (an interaction of cooperation of 2 or more that
produces a greater effort & effect) – like minds and hearts come together and seemingly
open up to one another’s story. They also bring hope to a person, and, at times, the
future comes to the doorstep of our lives by way of a workshop. The knock on the door
is so loud that one can’t ignore it… right?
For this reason, I like to make myself available to help participants find a way to sort it
all out, later on. Several participants from this particular Storyday shared of how they
were now sorting and sifting through their own personal story to find the ones with
universal meaning and value for telling. One shared of how going through family photo
albums had prompted stories, and they had begun the process of writing them out.
I have participated in many writing, drama, and storytelling workshops. A few of them
have felt like commercials for the speaker-teacher (books, DVDs/CDs, mugs, tees,
chatskis, and sign-ups for their next event).
However, most of them I took into my heart and mind, pondered the materials, and
began to apply some of them immediately.
Some workshop memories are still with me today. An early one was a storytelling
workshop in San Francisco taught by Doug Lipman & other famous storytellers. Another
one was The Riding Lights Theater Company’s team from England, at Fuller Seminary
(Pasadena, CA), and taught its workshop participants from their own scripts (generous).
There was a writing workshop in the mountains that was the perfect setting for writers,
an improv workshop with lots of participation (no one was allowed to sit and just watch),
… even a puppet workshop with a full puppet theater stage and lots of puppets. One
vivid and scary memory from the SF storytelling workshop was all of us sitting cross-
legged on the cold floor and telling the parable of The Prodigal Son. It was the first time
I’d told a story improvisational style (no Bible or prep, from memory, and one person at a
time).
I remember these workshops knocking on my front door loudly! And for days.
One of the decisions I made on that important Storyday was this – I will do Storydays on
a regular basis, and in my home, whenever possible. It’s more intimate and personal
there – as it can be a small crowd, rather than a room of 30 participants. Maybe a
baker’s dozen (13).
I have three workshops that have come to mind as I write this blog: “Dramatic
Improvisation & Storytelling”, “Developing the Artist Within All of Us” , and “The Creative
Process of Writing—Finding and Keeping the Tools Sharp”.
More to come on this thing called Storyday Workshops.
If you’re interested, please email me at meleabrockofficial.com
*www.ridinglights.org
