Appalachian Storytelling:
Exaggeration, folklore, ghosts, and family memories weave with history and tradition to create unforgettable tales in the Appalachian storytelling tradition. The richness of Appalachian stories and culture will come alive as students develop their storytelling skills with professional storyteller Susanna “Granny Sue” Holstein.
Ballads 101:
An introduction to ballad history, background of the Appalachian ballads, important names in ballad collecting and preservation and resources for ballads combine with live performance and discussion for a fascinating look at this durable tradition that blends singing with story.
Ballad to Story:
The ballad tradition in the Appalachian region goes back to the earliest settlements. This workshop will provide a brief history of Appalachian ballads, some sample ballads and current written works based on ballads. From murder to love and humor to pathos, the ballads provide potential a wealth of story material for the writer.
The story is in you, but how to get it to the page? Through prompts and discussion students find and explore story ideas and develop a plan for getting the story into written form.
Family and Personal Stories:
What makes your stories speak to others? Our shared human experiences, strengths and frailties provide such a rich store of stories. Recognizing our shared weaknesses and strengths and laughing at ourselves with others is a rewarding and enriching experience. Opening ourselves to audiences through humor creates an instant community of people all recognizing themselves in the story and the laughter. It is this bond that allows our stories to reach the hearts of audiences. Find the way to your storytelling heart in this workshop that will explore a variety of methods of developing a personal story for telling, and adding humor to your performances.
Participation tales:
The act of participating changes the audience from a group of individuals into a community actively involved in the storytelling experience. They have a role in the story, an investment along with the teller. Bringing the audience into an active role in a story is easy—the trick is knowing when, how, and how much to involve them.
Poet!
Poetry writing workshops for all ages using prompts and a few simple poetic forms.
Puppets and Storytelling:
Learn to use simple glove or hand puppets to tell a story with children in this participatory and active workshop.
Storytelling:
Exploration and live performance will be part of this lively class as students learn basic storytelling techniques and how to incorporate these techniques to engage audiences and improve presentations.Participants leave with at least three ready-to-tell stories.
West Virginia Ghost Tales:
Explore the history and folklore of the ghost story, how to find and develop ghost stories and tips for telling to make the story memorable and remarkable.
