Author: Pam Faro

  • Kaleidoscope Coffee & Stories

    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!…

  • J for Jacaranda – But Why?

    J for Jacaranda – But Why?

    We’ve come to the “J” day, and I haven’t already written what I had intended for J (Jazz), and it’s crunch time and I just can’t do it – so here’s an improvised post on Jacaranda. Why jacaranda? I just finished reading a beautiful – but very sad – novel…

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

    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,…

  • Hands – “Creating the universe in the palm of the storyteller’s hand”

    Hands – “Creating the universe in the palm of the storyteller’s hand”

    “Behold the hands… …how they promise, conjure, appeal, menace, pray, supplicate, refuse, beckon, interrogate, admire, confess, cringe, instruct, command, mock and what not besides,

  • Gratitude, Gratefulness…Great Fullness!

    Gratitude, Gratefulness…Great Fullness!

    “My dad traveled a lot when I was a little girl; he was an insurance agent for Employers Mutual of Wausau (Wisconsin). He missed several birthdays, school programs, etc. – but never ever ever felt like an ‘absent father.’ When he was home there was full presence and love and…

  • Faeroy – my family’s tiny Norwegian island

    Faeroy – my family’s tiny Norwegian island

    “What’s your favorite story to tell?” – One of the most common questions asked me during Q&A sessions over the years. I used to demur about how I love ALL my stories; that’s why I tell them. But…a favorite one has indeed emerged in recent years:

  • Equilateral Triangle

    Equilateral Triangle

    THAT’S what storytelling is:  the equilateral triangle of Audience + Teller + Story Without any one of those, you just don’t have storytelling!  (Another nifty metaphor: a 3-legged stool – “If you don’t have all 3, it doesn’t stand.”) Storytelling just doesn’t happen without an audience.

  • Ducking, Diversions and Detours

    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…

  • Chorus – inviting audience participation

    Chorus – inviting audience participation

    “And they all lived…”  “…happily ever after!”   So you find yourself telling a story to a group of listeners. Whether it’s your first time or you’re long-experienced at it, whether in a speech, a sermon, a class or a storytelling performance, there’s a little something that can be a…

  • Breathe!

    Breathe!

    “REMEMBER TO BREATHE!” – I tell them… They always laugh! But I’m dead serious when I tell them that!