“Now that would make a good story!” When I first started telling stories, the biggest problem was finding the ideas to turn into a good story. Everyone else had these interesting lives and interesting things to talk about. In comparison, my life was just so boring. I sought out mentors and started to listen to …Read More
Category: Story Transforms
Leaving a Legacy
“I’d like to tell you and your brother about how I grew up so that you can learn about my life,” said my dad a few weeks ago. My dad is a man of few words. Over the years, he has told few stories about his growing up. The memories are not all pleasant, and …Read More
Not how the story should end
In my online workshop on telling personal stories, we devote a whole class to folk tales. You might be asking, “What do folk tales have to do with personal stories?” Folk tales taught me the structure of stories. The classic plots, themes, messages occur over and over again in the folk tales and are reworked …Read More
Japanese American Internment Camps, WWII
On December 7, 1941, Japanese bombs fell on Pearl Harbor. This surprise attack would “awaken a sleeping giant” (Isoroku Yamamoto). Shocked and awakened to the atrocities of war brought to their own soil, the United States of America entered World War II after two years on the side-lines. For the mainland United States, another bomb …Read More
Truth and Story come together
Do you remember the confusion as a child? What is truth? What is story? Adults loved it when, as a little child, I use my imagination and tell them a story. Talking animals, kings and queens, knights on quests, magical objects…. The world is only limited by my imagination. And then one day, POW! The …Read More
Breaking the Fourth Wall, Storytelling Workshop
The 4th wall In theater, actors on stage describe the invisible 4th wall between the audience and the stage. The actors on stage have physical “walls” on 3 sides while the audience has an intimate view through the invisible 4th wall. In traditional theater, the actors pretend not to notice the audience. For the audience, …Read More
Stories to Connect, Reflect, Heal
“In the midst of taking a storytelling class, magic happened… As I am creating my story, I am the one healing and going through a huge transformation…. both naturally and deep within.” -MM All good things must come to an end. (Even good stories.) My online storytelling class, “Tell Your Story, Transform Your Life: The …Read More
Welcoming the Other ~ Jim Brule
I recently took an online storytelling workshop with Jim Brule called “Welcoming the Other.” What could that be about? What does that have to do with storytelling? Through this interactive workshop, I experienced the power of story to transport me into the experience of “the other” and awaken empathy and compassion. This is transformational storytelling. …Read More
Every story is a personal story
“It doesn’t matter about being born in a duckyard, as long as you are hatched from a swan’s egg.”~ Hans Christian Anderson, The Ugly Duckling When asked about writing his autobiography, the author Hans Christian Anderson said, “I already have … The Ugly Duckling.” The story of a baby swan who grows up in a …Read More
Storytelling Class moves online, Register Today, starts May 20th
I was teaching in the classroom when the email rippled across campus. The campus is closing due to the pandemic. All classes will be moving online. I was so surprised and inspired by the success of the online transition that I am offering a new online class this summer for the general public. Join the …Read More