Heart-Lifting for Disheartening Times – Storytelling Builds Your IMAGINATION

It’s all so overwhelming and it seems everyone is tired, discouraged, maybe angry or cynical or depressed, maybe confused or disheartened…just weary. Each day during this April A-Z Blogging Challenge I’ll offer a short musing on an aspect or two of the many ways the ancient-yet-very-contemporary experience of storytelling – both listening and telling – is an […]

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Blue Christmas?

What to do with melancholy at Christmastime? For lots of people, this is thankfully not a problem. For lots of people, unfortunately it is. And for any number of reasons…

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Themes…Storytelling Programs & Story Slams

It’s pretty common for storytelling programs to have themes. Themes for conferences, library summer reading programs, festival, confabs, house concerts – or even just a particular one-storyteller show. A theme can be – fairly specific and help with focus, and pulling elements of an event together, or can be pretty broad and umbrella-like, and open […]

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MythOff

I am beyond delighted to welcome Csenge Zalka as Guest Blogger today! She is a Co-Host for the A-Z Challenge, a storyteller, scholar, teacher, blogger…and the MythOff USA Representative. So when she found out I planned to address “MythOff” for my M post (for my Daily Blogging Challenge theme of “Story Slams & Traditional Storytelling […]

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Trickster Tales – Just a Teeny Taste!

“The trickster exists in every culture as Coyote, Jack, Hans, Nasrudin, Anansi the Spider, and many more. He or she is a teacher and a fool in equal measure.” – So says the promo for tonight’s storytelling evening I’m eagerly anticipating… “Trickster Tales” is tonight’s offering in the “Stories with Spirit” series – live storytelling […]

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Storytelling – and World Cup Soccer!

I’ve been watching wa-a-a-ay too much soccer lately… Well, no, not too much soccer! I love “the beautiful game,” and actually never get to watch enough of it, since my kids grew up and my soccer mom days are mostly just great memories now – and I love watching the World Cup! You see, the […]

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grain

Story Versions

Being able to deliver different versions of a story to different audiences… This is an important and valuable ability – both in terms of “stretching your repertoire,” and of respecting and responding to your audiences! As an example: There is a beautiful story from Israel I like to tell, that lends itself to some nice […]

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Kaleidoscope latte

Kaleidoscope Coffee & Stories

Kaleidoscope Coffee is all about connections and creating connections. Today’s is a guest blog by my friend, storyteller Cassie Cushing of Kaleidoscope Coffee & Stories.  She’s a gifted a storyteller, an energetic and creative producer of small mutli-arts events, and she roasted-and-brewed me the best cup of coffee I’ve ever had! Her brick-n-mortar Bay Area Kaleidoscope […]

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Internal Imagery – It’s So Not Just “Pictures!”

So here’s a story… I was eager to return.  The previous storytelling workshop at the seminary had been so well-received, so well-attended, everyone expressed excitement at scheduling a follow-up a few months later. I planned on really exploring the importance and variety of internal imagery in storytelling. In our culture, at least, it seems that […]

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Mallards

Ducking, Diversions and Detours

Can’t…help…myself…Must…use…great…photo…of…ducks… What in the world does THIS have to do with “storytelling’s power to create connection,” anyway?! (- my theme for A-to-Z April Daily Blogging Challenge)  I’m determined to make a connection!…Just a dab of wordplay…Follow along…

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