In the absence of something, we have time to reflect on it. This summer I’ve been thinking a lot about authentic personal storytelling. I miss gathering with you to share stories in person. Peoples’ stories transcend the realities of life while at the same time celebrating those realities. Tell Us Something believes in the power of storytelling to cultivate joy, experience love, express feelings, build resilience, and build empathy. Storytelling is a survival skill. Storytelling is a way to have a conversation with ourselves, and by sharing our story, we invite others into that conversation.

A Gift

No, it’s not a puppy. It’s better than that! As parents struggle to balance online learning with in-person learning with home responsibilities and careers, I share with you some asynchronous Storytelling resources for at-home learning. The first comes from the International Storytelling Center. As they say on the website, these resources were “Created from live footage filmed at the National Storytelling Festival, these guides are ideal for grades 3-8, but great for learners of all ages”. Check out their resources here.

Tell Us Something, in conjunction with Spark! Arts Ignite Learning has recorded 5 individual lessons for kiddos. They are geared for middle-school-aged kids and can be utilized by younger kids and adults alike.

Active Listening
Story Brainstorm
Plot Types
Safety, Warmup and Performance Tips
Relaxing Our Minds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were able to come together virtually in September to share stories.

Kellie Grandone joined us from Floweree, MT and shared a story about a handmade gift that wasn’t exactly what she expected, Jen Certa shared her story of growth from a place of destruction, much like the wildflower fireweed; Travis Doria shared his story of learning how to overcome being let down by others, Willi Prince joined us from Corvallis, MT to share a story about a band trip to a local amusement park and finding a lost student while Reese Jacobson shares her story about standing in for a missing player during an important baseball game.

All of these fantastic stories were interpreted by a fantastic team of certified ASL interpreters. If you missed it, you can watch the recording on the Tell Us Something YouTube channel.

 

Storytelling Workshops

This month I’m excited to be presenting a virtual storytelling workshop for MEDA as I prepare for an intensive workshop that’s open to the public in November.

If you’d like to be put on the list for the November workshop, sign up here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meet the Storytellers of Tell Us Something

If you haven’t checked out the shiny new Tell Us Something podcast, please give it a listen. I take you behind the scenes at Tell Us Something, to meet the storytellers behind the stories. Each week, I sit down with a Tell Us Something storyteller alumni and we chat about what they’ve been up to lately, about their experience sharing their story and we reflect on their story. Sometimes we get additional details about their story and always, we get to know the storyteller better.  We’d love your support of the Tell Us Something podcast. The best way that you can support us is to rate and review us on iTunes. It’s how we can spread peoples’ stories to more listeners. Also, when you see people asking for podcast recommendations, recommend Tell Us Something. If you just tell two people to subscribe it would really help. Thank you so much. Find it wherever you get your podcasts or at tellussomething.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stay safe, wear a mask, take care of yourself, take care of each other, and keep sharing your stories.

Marc Moss
Executive Director