*** This session has ASL interpretation.

StoryFest 2023 wraps up with a concert of compelling personal and traditional stories, which may contain content inappropriate for young listeners.

Brotha Ase (Joshua Gillespie) is a 3rd generation griot/ storyteller from North Minneapolis, Minnesota. He uses his artistic abilities - Digital Art, Music, Dance, Djembe Drumming & Oral Experimentation - to captivate to inspire others to take up the practice for their home communities. He believes our stories are like seeds from the divine tree of life, helping to guide us and grow us into divine trees of our own.

A storytelling student from East Tennessee State University, Jordan Bennett has long fallen in love with stories of all kinds. From the fantastic fairy tales to personal stories that can shift your whole perspective, every tale holds magic for the audience and the teller. As a deaf, disabled, and disfigured person, she’s determined to make that magic accessible to everyone, all the while sharing her unique stories developed over a lifetime of being different.

Howard Lieberman is a writer, performance artist/storyteller and outspoken social activist whose art takes emotional risks that most storytellers avoid. Howard is a moderately nice Jewish boy whose personality was shaped by being emotionally abused as a child, orphaned at 14 and homeless at 17. Through a combination of blind dumb luck and perseverance Howard only wound up in jail once (for assaulting a police officer) and found his way to NYC where he eventually became an attorney, Irish ceili dance teacher and Director of the Irish Arts Center. Hating what NYC brought out in him, in Howard moved to MN from NYC in 1990 to experience living among Lutherans and bitterly cold winters. Despite the boredom and overall passive aggressive nature of Minnesotans, Howard is relatively happy in Minnesota and plans to stay there until he either dies or decides to move somewhere more interesting.

Loren Niemi is a professional storyteller with 45 years of creating, collecting, performing, teaching and writing about what it means to be human. He is the recipient of a National Storytelling Network’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Loren’s collection of non-traditional “ghost” stories, "What Haunt Us", won a 2020 Midwest Book Award for “Sci-Fi/ Horror / Fantasy / Paranormal” fiction. His most recent book, "A Breviary for the Lost", is a poetic memoir, is available now. With Elizabeth Ellis he co-authored the critically acclaimed "Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Stories" on the value and necessity of the stories that are hard to hear and harder to tell. He also authored "The New Book of Plots" on useful narrative forms in creating oral and written stories, and "Point of View and the Emotional Arc of Stories" (co-authored with Nancy Donoval).

Actor, writer and storyteller Amy Salloway is a big fan of the Venn Diagram spot where live performance, human connection and social change overlap.  Her autobiographical solo plays  -- “Does This Monologue Make Me Look Fat?,” "So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz!,” and “Circumference” -- have toured to and won awards at theatre festivals, colleges and communities across the US and Canada since 2003, and she’s contributed personal stories to radio programs on MPR , CBC, and the national podcast “Risk!”  Amy teaches memoir and creative writing through Minneapolis Community Ed, and is the Midwest instructor for The Story Studio, which offers public and corporate storytelling workshops, as well as one-on-one coaching and training.  Prior to the pandemic, Amy hosted Story Club Minneapolis one Thursday a month at the Bryant-Lake Bowl, and is currently contemplating the options for a live, online or combination reboot.  She's honored and excited to be part of StoryFest's evening concert. 

Cia Sautter received her doctorate from the Graduate Theological Union, and is a scholar and performer. Besides teaching, she leads a Storydance Theatre performance company that offers a unique combination of story and dance, receiving funding from Metro Regional Arts Council, the Brin Foundation, and Rimon Jewish Arts council. Her publications include The Performance of Religion: Seeing the Sacred in the Theatre and The Miriam Tradition.

Casadie Smith is a graduate student at East Tennessee State University, pursuing her master’s in Communication & Storytelling Studies. She delights in the crafting and telling of stories ranging from folk and fairy tales to personal adventures, and everything in between. Casadie has a Bachelor of Arts in Music, specializing in vocal performance, and continues to use her voice to build bridges between people from all walks of life. Her passion for human connection and community infiltrates her storytelling style in every way, and she is pleased to be sharing this with you today.

Grab a bite to eat with old or new friends. Continue sharing stories over food and drinks. Then return for the final StoryFest event, the crown of the day’s activities—the evening concert!

*** This session has ASL interpretation.

Five tellers share stories to delight listeners of all ages.

Vickijoan Keck is a storyteller, actress and poet who especially enjoys telling folktales and whimsical rhymes. She enjoys telling personal stories as well as putting a new twist on an old tale. She took her first class from Loren Neimi in the mid 1990’s and has been involved in storytelling since then, telling her stories at places like the MIA and Flint Hills children’s festival, libraries, coffee shops, as well as nature centers. She is a past president of Northstar Storytelling Guild (now Story Arts MN) and recipient of Northstars' "Story Stick" award.

Sue Searing has won story slams in the Twin Cities, been showcased at the Northlands Storytelling Conference, and took first place in the Park Rapids, MN, Great American Story contest.  A retired university librarian, Sue enjoys researching the sources of folk and fairy tales, learning about other cultures through their oral traditions, and digging down to the hidden roots of family lore. She is a member of SAM’s board of directors and manages SAM’s monthly online Story Circles.

Trần Thị Minh Phước is a retired librarian, an award-winning author, an Alphabet Forest Blue Ribbon author at the Minnesota State Fair 2022, and a respected storyteller. She shares her experiences and knowledge of Vietnamese culture at cultural events, storytelling programs, conferences, libraries, colleges and schools throughout the US. She lives in Minneapolis. https://phuocthiminhtran.wordpress.com

WonderWeavers – Storytellers, Tina Rohde and Colleen Shaskin, are award winning storytellers who are dedicated to providing quality youth, family and adult performances that are both educational and entertaining. They have performed and presented workshops and keynotes throughout the upper Midwest for the past 30 years. WonderWeavers - Storytellers families. They help people of all ages exercise their imaginations and discover their creative energies.

Nothando Zulu is president of Black Storytellers Alliance, producers of a three-day Black storytelling festival (“Signifyin’ & Testifyin’”) in the Twin Cities since 1991. She has been telling stories since she was a little girl growing up in Franklin, Virginia. She is a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and Master storyteller who believes in the power of storytelling!

The Story Swap room is open all day for everyone to tell and listen to stories. All topics, story types, and telling styles are welcome.

Check out the info tables in the lobby!

The live performances of celebrated conjurer, “Stand Up Magician” Derek Hughes, have been lauded by audiences and critics alike, with the New York Times calling him “thoroughly entertaining.” Hughes has performed his magic on MTV, Comedy Central, CW's Penn & Teller: Fool Us and the Ellen DeGeneres Show. He's a consulting producer on TRUtv’s hit magic series, “The Carbonaro Effect” and was a top ten finalist on NBC's “America’s Got Talent”.

Larry Johnson started telling campfire stories in the late 60s, also encouraging angry young people to gain positive recognition for speaking out by telling their own stories.  He started the participatory patient TV channel at Minneapolis Children’s Hospital, taught as a school storytelling/video specialist in Minneapolis, and co-taught STORYTELLING AS A MODERN COMMUNICATION ART at Metro State University.  A story in his book, SIXTY-ONE, led to his receiving the 2019 VETERANS VOICES AWARD from the Minnesota Humanities Center. As Old Gardening Party (the OGP) Director, Larry writes a monthly column encouraging adults to keep the world safe for children, gardening, and storytelling.

Pam Schweitzer has been entertaining and educating young people at coffee shops, schools, parks, and churches for over fifteen years. Pam is a gifted and captivating storyteller whose energy compels the listener to play along. As a licensed elementary school teacher and Reading Specialist, Pam is uniquely qualified to use stories to enhance writing skills and build literacy.  In this capacity, she has worked with students in the classroom teaching  them the art of storytelling and using storytelling to teach specific literacy skills. Pam is the current President of SAM.

Bambi Tran is the founder of Tu Bi Tu organization. The organization’s mission is to help people in need, using music to bring love and positive energy to the world with our compassionate hearts.

Ahmay Ya came to the US in 2009 as a refugee from Myanmar. She has worked tirelessly to support the Karen community and Minnesotan families. Ahmay earned her Masters of Social Work from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She is a social worker with Ramsey County Social Services, an author, a community leader and an activist, helping families in Minnesota to obtain safety, well-being and stability. In Ahmay's free time, she is a writer, photographer, hiker, bike trail rider, and community support advocate/activist.

What does it mean to truly listen to another person's story? In this interactive workshop, you will not only tell a brief story, but will practice and experience deep listening. Experience some simple story-sharing exercises with the power to create deep connections in a short time. Come ready to talk and move. (You don't need to bring a story of your own, but you will leave with one!)

Katie Knutson is a professional storyteller and teaching artist who has performed and taught around the US and in Canada, Chile, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates. Her writings have been featured in Storytelling Magazine, Tomorrow's Storytellers Today, Science with Storytelling, and Storytelling Strategies for Reaching and Teaching Children with Special Needs. She is the Executive Director for Northeast Storytelling (NEST). Knutson teaches adult & teen storytelling classes at Park Square Theater, and theater and storytelling classes for kids at Stages Theatre Company. Learn more about Katie and hear some of her stories at ripplingstories.com

The Story Swap room is open all day for everyone to tell and listen to stories. All topics, story types, and telling styles are welcome.

In 2022 and again in 2023, the Mill City Museum partnered with SAM to produce a inspiring night of storytelling about women’s lives in Minnesota, past and present. But one evening couldn’t hold all the wonderful stories that were submitted and have since come to light. Come hear more true tales that celebrate Minnesotan women’s varied backgrounds and experiences. Three of the featured storytellers—Jan Borofka, Colleen Casey, and Roya Taylor—performed in the 2023 event at the museum. The other tellers will be Marie Cooney and Jessica Zuehlke.

Jan Borofka has worn many hats in her eighty plus years, but a constant has been her love of poetry and writing. A smattering of published work, graduating from Metro State University, classes and workshops with many poets and authors, including Phoebe Hansen, Margaret Hasse and Diane Jarvenpa is her educational background. Storytelling is her newest hat and she enjoys the opportunity to present her tales to you.

Colleen Casey is a writer, editor, community organizer, artist, and teacher of English Language Arts. Colleen was born a stone's throw away from the Mississippi River and writes with the Witness Writers Workshop based out of UROC, the University of Minnesota's outreach site on Minneapolis' North Side. Of mixed Mdewakanton Dakota and European American heritages, she believes we are all related.

Marie Cooney has told stories locally at the MN Fringe Festival three times in 2019, 2021, and 2022. In addition, she has performed at the TC MOTH,  Strike Theatre, Story Club MN, SAM , OUTspoken, and more. The silver lining of the Covid Pandemic has been the opportunities to tell stories nationally with RISK, NSN, Story Club, Gritt, and more. Marie is especially proud to have also told stories internationally with various people in a multitude of countries and cultures. Marie is telling a story about sustaining a Traumatic Brain Injury and learning to love life again. 

Roya Taylor is a Transgender Woman/“TransFemme,” female identifying, expressing and presenting, non-binary, Native American “Two-Spirit.” Taylor uses pronouns she/her; they/them. Taylor is an actor, voiceover artist, performative storyteller and radio talk show host (“DJane”) of “GOOD MEDICINE” at KFAI Fresh Air Radio. Taylor appeared in Jungle Theater’s BOLD New Works Script Reading Series, also a collaboration between Guthrie Theater and Indigenous Direction. Credits include Gremlin Theatre, Mounds Theatre, Juggling Act Productions, Night Fox Films, Independent Film Project, Public Educational Radio Network, Northlands Storytelling Network and Beyond The Spectacle.  She/They is also a member of Crisis Actors MN, Turtle Theater Collective and New Native Theater Ensemble and a patient simulator/role player at Health Sciences Education Center, University of Minnesota. 

Jessica Zuehlke’s career in theater/education began with a puppet stage and classroom in her childhood backyard (Worthington, MN). She pursued her acting career most notably with The Palace Theater, Cricket, KTCA, Paul Bunyan Playhouse and a host of new plays, while working for the Minnesota State Arts Board and COMPAS as an artist in the schools. She led theater residencies on several reservations in MN as well as Central America and Brazil. Completing her M.A. at St. Mary’s University (Winona) while heading the speech/theater program at Red Wing High School. As the author of several children’s plays, Church Basement Ladies is her first venture to co-write with her husband, theater artist Jim Stowell. They also have a new musical script, “A Wagon Load of Shoes”, based on a true story about two pen pal girls from Minnesota and from Germany after WWII. As a performing storyteller Jessica writes her own material sharing her life experiences as a teacher, traveler, and caretaker of her parents.

Learn how to fold papers while telling a story because each fold has a twist and turn that mesmerizes the listeners. Trần Thị Minh Phước, the storyteller, retired librarian, and award-winning author, will offer tips and guidelines to help participants create and retell their own stories.

Trần Thị Minh Phước is a retired librarian, an award-winning author, an Alphabet Forest Blue Ribbon author at the Minnesota State Fair 2022, and a respected storyteller. She shares her experiences and knowledge of Vietnamese culture at cultural events, storytelling programs, conferences, libraries, colleges and schools throughout the US. She lives in Minneapolis. https://phuocthiminhtran.wordpress.com

*** This session has ASL interpretation.

This workshop considers the place of the environment in how we tell our stories for theatre, but also in community. The premise is that there can be no reconciliation, hope, or social justice until our awareness of the environment is part of our storytelling.

The workshop will be part educational and part practical.

ACTIVITIES: The second part of the workshop will offer techniques for re-thinking a story, including:
1) inclusion and featuring of the more-than-human world through setting reference, and inclusion of more than human characters.
2) making the story physical and embodied.
3) creating community participation through natural object.

Participants will learn to -
•  Explain apply the concept of the more-than-human world to hearing and telling stories.
•  Develop story presentation that is ecologically inclusive.
•  Use physical actions and natural objects for storytelling.

Cia Sautter received her doctorate from the Graduate Theological Union, and is a scholar and performer. Besides teaching, she leads a Storydance Theatre performance company that offers a unique combination of story and dance, receiving funding from Metro Regional Arts Council, the Brin Foundation, and Rimon Jewish Arts council.  Her publications include The Performance of Religion: Seeing the Sacred in the Theatre and The Miriam Tradition. She has been a member of Storyarts Minnesota.

Check out the info tables in the lobby!

The Story Swap room is open all day for everyone to tell and listen to stories. All topics, story types, and telling styles are welcome.

In this workshop, kids of all ages will learn how  to use exaggeration, description, and performance to transform ordinary scenarios from their personal lives into tall tales. The connection between mythology and modern tall tales will be briefly covered, with lots and lots of time spent writing our individual stories with a chance to practice performing them in a small, friendly setting.

Holly Day has worked as a freelance writer for over 30 years, with over 7,000 published articles, poems, and short stories and 40 books and chapbooks, including the nonfiction books, Music Theory for Dummies, Music Composition for Dummies, Walking Twin Cities, Stillwater, Minnesota: A Brief History, Nordeast Minneapolis: A History, and History Lover’s Guide to Minneapolis. She currently teaches writing workshops at the Loft Literary Center in Minnesota, WriterHouse in Virginia, and the Richard Hugo House in Washington.

Come explore how music can illuminate themes and engage audiences. Music creates ambiance and heightens joy for adults. It draws children into telling as well as listening. Learn your musical strengths - how to use your voice, explore body percussion, create refrains, and play with words. You should leave the workshop with a better understanding of how and when to add music to your stories. You don’t need a degree from Julliard. You just need creativity, an understanding of your forte, and a story.

Kathleen Johnson is a musician and storyteller. Her improvisatory compositions journey into the corners of traditional lore where faeries and selkie still live, and the music gives them breath. She has performed at fantasy fairs and cultural art shows from Maryland to South Dakota and was named Musical Act of 2012 at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Kathleen graduated from Eastman School of Music in 1990 and currently lives in Minnesota.

*** This session has ASL interpretation.

Stories may be for everyone who finds themselves in our audience, but it takes care to ensure every audience member is truly included in the tales we weave. With an estimated 25% of the population disabled in some way, it’s a guarantee that at one point or another every performer have a diverse audience with varied access needs and perspectives.

This workshop was developed by a disabled and Deaf storyteller who has spent time both on stage and in the audience. With that experience, it was designed to educate on common exclusionary storytelling trends, how to storytell effectively with an interpreter, and how to communicate about accessibility as a performer. Includes space for discussion, demonstrations, and the opportunity to learn how to incorporate accessible thinking into any repertoire.

A storytelling student from East Tennessee State University, Jordan Bennett has long fallen in love with stories of all kinds. From the fantastic fairy tales to personal stories that can shift your whole perspective, every tale holds magic for the audience and the teller. As a deaf, disabled, and disfigured person, she’s determined to make that magic accessible to everyone, all the while sharing her unique stories developed over a lifetime of being different.

What would make a Storyteller/Therapist start a program for Veterans who are struggling with large and small traumas and Post Traumatic Stress? Who would help with THAT? What guidelines does Elaine follow and recommend when asking Veterans “Tell me Your Story?” How do carefully crafted words help the public to understand what is needed? How did we collaborate and speak the truth without fighting?

Stories to tell how much we need the tremendous capabilities of Veterans in our homes and communities. All presented from the Heart and Spiritual Center of one Storyteller/Therapist who listened  and acted on what was needed.

Elaine Wynne grew up in Alaska and on a farm north of Bemidji, surrounded by Veterans of the 2nd World War. Her beloved father died when she was 15, telling her “You can do anything you want in your life.” She became a Performing Storyteller, active with Northlands Storytelling Network, Story Front and NSN. She organized the 1990 National Storytelling Conference in the Twin Cities. Elaine studied Storytelling and Psychology at Metropolitan State University.  She co-led and promoted two health centered non-profits before earning a Master’s Degree from St. Mary’s University.  As an EMDR therapist, she founded Veteran Resilience Project, Inc.  Story Advocacy makes this effective trauma therapy available to MN Veterans and service members.

Join us to see a short film, Unscripted Stories, by Abdurrahman "Abdu" Mahmud.

The thirty minute film focuses on six East African business owners on Lake Street and how the murder of George Floyd, the civil unrest and the rebuilding has impacted their business. Abdu will join us to answer questions and discuss ways to share this story.

Abdurrahman is a creative organizer and storyteller. As a culture and community admirer, he founded Twinist - a platform that advocates for and connects minorities and immigrants to millions of job opportunities through volunteering and personal brand development. He is also an immigrant advocate in Minneapolis, founding the “City of Nations Storytelling Studio” which uses theatre, film and storytelling to empower local residents to be advocates for their own health care, create a dialogue about community health and use art as a means for overcoming stigmas and obstacles. Abdurrahman has a decade of management experience in various areas, including public health, humanitarian assistance, and human rights, as well as designing and implementing community-driven development initiatives. He lives in Minneapolis, and Galkayo, Somalia is his home.

Purchase a delicious lunch from the food trucks parked outside. Peruse the information tables from local story-related organizations in the lobby. Connect with old friends, make new friends, share stories. Come back ready for an afternoon of more fun and learning!

In this dynamic, whirlwind performance, COMPAS Teaching Artist and 2-time National Poetry Slam champion Guante will perform some of his most popular and powerful spoken word pieces, taking on a wide range of characters, social issues and poetic styles. Mixing social justice with science fiction, heartfelt emotion with absurdist comedy and beautiful writing with powerful performance, Guante’s work is immediately engaging, even for students who have never seen or heard of spoken word before.

Kyle Tran Myhre (aka Guante) is a COMPAS teaching artist, poet, educator, and activist based in Minneapolis. His work explores the relationships between narrative, power, and resistance. He’s performed everywhere from the United Nations, to music festivals like Eaux Claires and Soundset, to colleges and conferences. He’s been part of two National Poetry Slam championship teams and published two books via Button Poetry. Whether writing about men’s roles in ending gender violence, challenging dominant narratives related to race and racism, or telling stories about the different jobs he’s had, Tran Myhre strives to cultivate critical engagement with social justice issues.

Everyone knows Aesop’s story about the turtle beating a bragging rabbit in a foot race. Few know Aesop was from Africa, a vagabond storyteller not afraid to speak truth to power. Later “ghostwriters” boiled his stories down to the familiar short plots with a moral. Too many folks dismiss them unwarrantedly as “mere children’s tales.” 

We will look at some fables and their many adaptations. We’ll particularly look at how Aesop surely “fleshed” them out in his telling, and why it is never necessary to say, “And the moral is”. Finally, we will sit in STORY CIRCLE, and learn from one another. Each person who wishes will have opportunity to tell their own Aesop like tale, one they’ve brought along, or one suggested in the beginning discussion.

Larry Johnson started telling campfire stories in the late 60s, also encouraging angry young people to gain positive recognition for speaking out by telling their own stories. He started the participatory patient TV channel at Minneapolis Children’s Hospital, taught as a school storytelling/video specialist in Minneapolis, and co-taught STORYTELLING AS A MODERN COMMUNICATION ART at Metro State University. A story in his book, SIXTY-ONE, led to his receiving the 2019 VETERANS VOICES AWARD from the Minnesota Humanities Center. As Old Gardening Party (the OGP) Director, Larry writes a monthly column encouraging adults to keep the world safe for children, gardening, and storytelling.

“Show, don’t tell” may be the #1 favorite piece of narrative advice from writing and storytelling instructors everywhere…but why? What does it mean, to “show, not tell” as a storyteller? In this workshop, we’ll learn the value of “showing” (creating immersive action motivated by emotion) and the neurological science behind its effectiveness. We’ll then practice using this tool in both written and spoken storytelling exercises, all guaranteed to be fun and free of intimidation. This class is for all levels, and for those creating material for the stage or page.

Actor, writer and storyteller Amy Salloway is the creator of the award-winning, autobiographical touring solo plays "Does This Monologue Make Me Look Fat?,"  “So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz!,” and “Circumference.”  She’s contributed true personal stories to MPR and CBC radio, and has been a regular on the national podcast "Risk!" In non-pandemic times, Amy hosted Story Club Minneapolis at the Bryant-Lake Bowl; she hopes to reboot that monthly open mic soon. As the Midwest instructor for The Story Studio, Amy offers public and corporate storytelling workshops, and individualized coaching for every type of narrative work. For more info, visit www.facebook.com/awkwardmomentonstage. 

NOTE: This workshop requires pre-registration by midnight, April 26.

Featured storytellers:

Danielle Daniel is an actress, creative writer, director, teaching artist and storyteller. Her vivacious style fills the stage with a swirl of characters. Her storytelling programs and tour shows have been presented in Europe and the United States. She has worked in many schools, colleges, and community organizations using the art of storytelling to entertain, educate, motivate, and empower people of all ages. She is a recipient of the Jim Dusso Artist Award, Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship, LIN Grant, Many Voices and Jerome Fellowship from the Playwright Center. Her literary work includes a children’s book, “The Ghost of Old Man Willie,” three plays, Voodoo Child, Sugar and Spice a Black Woman’s Melody, and The Magic of Laughter. She believes our stories are like air and water, we need them to survive.

Phil Holt is a writer/performer who lives in the Twin Cities and is a member of Story Arts of Minnesota. He was last seen at our 2023 Tellabration Concert. He is excited to participate in his first StoryFest. He loves storytelling as a way to use writing and performing to engage the imagination.

Kathleen Johnson is a musician and storyteller. Her improvisatory compositions journey into the corners of traditional lore where faeries and selkie still live, and the music gives them breath. She has performed at fantasy fairs and cultural art shows from Maryland to South Dakota and was named Musical Act of 2012 at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Kathleen graduated from Eastman School of Music in 1990 and currently lives in Minnesota.

In a previous life, Leif Wallin negotiated contracts for a living. He is now semi-retired, working short term contract gigs. As an empty nester, he lost much of his source material when the kids moved out. He now has plenty of time to bike, hike and create a new tale that warms the heart on cold Minnesota nights.

Tony Wentersdorf is a Minneapolis musician, writer, and storyteller who was born in Germany in 1945 and emigrated to the U.S. at the age of nine. He’s been telling stories since 1983 at venues like Seward Cafe, Central Lutheran Church, and Walker UMC. From 1992 - 1994 he coordinated the Seward Cafe storytelling calendar. He’s been a member of Story Arts, SALT, Storyfront, and Northlands Storytelling Network since 1983. As a folk musician, he recorded 10 CDs of original songs, as well as hosting an Open Stage at Walker UMC for 20 years. He has published three memoirs (BORN IN THE YEAR ZERO, RESURGENT, and SENIOR MOMENTS) from 2020 to 2022. Tony plays and teaches a variety of instruments including autoharp, banjo, harmonica, guitar, and tin whistle. His hobbies include reading, playing music, journal writing.

In this workshop you will discover fun ways to bring stories to life. Through a series of activities, we will introduce the components needed to create and tell a story. Stories enrich family life, and are a wonderful way for families to have fun together.

WonderWeavers – Storytellers, Tina Rohde and Colleen Shaskin, are award winning storytellers who are dedicated to providing quality youth, family and adult performances that are both educational and entertaining. They have performed and presented workshops and keynotes throughout the upper Midwest for the past 30 years. WonderWeavers - Storytellers families. They help people of all ages exercise their imaginations and discover their creative energies.

The Story Swap room is open all day for everyone to tell and listen to stories. All topics, story types, and telling styles are welcome!

$35 registration, $30 for SAM members with promo code.

In this 90-minute session, we will dive into the elements of a good first person narrative, character development, and adding some spice to keep the audience wanting more. Bring something to write with because we will do exercises throughout so you'll leave with some gems to finish mining later.

Allison Broeren is the Co-Founder of Strike Theater, runs the longest running Story Slam in Minnesota, has appeared on the Moth Mainstage and teaches storytelling. Stories have the power to change opinions, bring understanding to each other in non-confrontational ways and can truly create change. This workshop can help prepare people to share their truths with their audiences.

***CANCELED***

$35 registration, $30 for SAM members with promo code.

Two people telling a story, or a program of stories together is Tandem Telling. Join Jennifer and Eileen as they walk you through the balancing act between styles, personalities, abilities, backgrounds, and more that goes into creating a tandem performance - and then try out what you have learned.

Jennifer Pahl Otto and Eileen DeLorenzo are Michigan storytellers. Jennifer creates original stories for children and adults. Her stories always have a unique point of view and a distinctive voice, quirky and kind. Mead-Hill has published four books for children based on stories she tells, available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Eileen enjoys telling stories to audiences of all ages. Her love of story within the art of creating images, and the shared dynamics between teller and listener fuel her warm and lively performances. A professional storyteller, Eileen performs at schools, libraries, community engagements, organizations, and Tellabrations!