This is a shameless plug for my own workshop at the wonderful Casa Libre en la Solana at 228 N. 4th Avenue, Tucson. The mission of Casa Libre is to “support and enhance the creativity of professional and novice writers by providing a community venue for classes, readings and other professional development opportunities.” If you’re not on their email list, sign up today to find out about their programming.

Anyone who puts words together would benefit from the experience of developing a personal narrative and presenting it orally to an audience.  Storytelling employs a different, yet related, skill set than the act of writing and one can strengthen the other.

In this 6-week workshop students will discover a framework for selecting, perfecting and performing personal stories through a combination of instruction and interactive, playful activities. Students will uncover their private reserve of stories, learn to organize a story for telling, share feedback with the other storytellers, and become more comfortable presenting to an audience.

The workshop includes: 
Tuesdays April 3, 10, 17 and May 1 – 4 evenings of group work, 6:30 – 10 p.m.
1 private lesson, individually scheduled the week of April 25
Friday, May 4, – informal performance, 7 – 9 p.m.
Tuesday, May 8 – wrap-up celebration and feedback group, 6:30 – 10 p.m.

The workshop size is limited to 12 students so please make sure you can make a commitment to attend all dates. Contact Casa Libre for details on cost and registration. Registration ends on March 27 so sign up soon.

For more information you can contact penelope@odysseystorytelling.com, or casakeepers@casalibre.org.

They have a colorful website where you can find information about their mission, history and their Certificate Program:

The South Mountain Community College Storytelling Institute is at the center of a community of storytellers who gather to tell and hear stories of all kinds. The Institute offers foundational and advanced classes in storytelling as part of a program that leads to an Academic Certificate in Storytelling. These classes are open to anyone interested in storytelling and most have no prerequisites. Members of the storytelling faculty, storytelling students, and community storytellers also offer storytelling events throughout the year.

For more information contact Liz Warren, 602-243-8026 or at liz.warren@smcmail.maricopa.edu.

If you want to get in some travel and learn storytelling skills you could wander over to the UK to the International School of Storytelling on the Emerson College Campus in East Sussex. The ISS website says that it is

the longest running centre of its kind where the craft of the storyteller is practiced and honoured. Here stories come alive and serve performers, healers, teachers, the business world, the environment and the wider community.

Closer to home, occasionally I offer a storytelling class at Pima College or for other organizations. Send me an email if you want to organize one for your group at penelope@odysseystorytelling.com.

Penelope Starr and Kirsten Larsen

A few months ago we (the board of StoryArts Group, which includes me) decided that 2nd Saturdays Downtown would be a great place to find storytellers. Our plan was mostly unformed but evolved with a little bit of luck and a bit of organizing.

First off was to ask Julie Ray if we could transform her Burrito Files Cart into the Story Cart. Julie had finished her project where she did a whimsical and interesting interview process with people in downtown Tucson. I knew the custom made cart was gathering dust in her yard so I asked if we could revive it and she was happy to see it get a new life.

Next up was paint and signage so no one would confuse us with an ice cream cart (but of course, some people still do). With a little help from the Tucson Pima Arts Council in the form of a GOS grant we were able to buy a portable PA system. We loaded it up, along with the digital camera, and we were good to go.

Penelope Starr and Adam Hostetter

In addition to 2nd Saturdays, we’ve taken the cart to Tucson Meet Yourself and here you can see Adam and me in front of the Tucson Children’s Museum. We hope to do more events in the future. Our objective is to find diverse tellers, young and old, to share their personal stories on a variety of themes.

People can be shy at first to talk in front of a camera and many people just walk on by but the ones that stop and talk with us are pretty amazing! We’ve heard about a New Year’s Eve escape on a boat from Cuba 20 years ago to a wife’s tragic death from cancer to college pranks.

Kids can be remarkable storytellers.  At the Children’s Museum for a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we were amazed by the insight and knowledge of one 7 year old girl and delighted when a 5 year old sang We Shall Overcome for us while her very proud father looked on.

You can see a few videos on our website from the Story Cart and from our regular monthly shows at the Club Congress. And keep checking back as we add more videos.

Odyssey Storytelling is a program of StoryArts Group, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit volunteer run arts organization.  We can use some help getting more videos online so please contact me if you have some experience and would like to be involved in story capturing.