Winter evenings are the perfect time to get cosy and enjoy telling, and listening to, stories. Come along for a night of true, personal stories, told live.
“I’ve always liked being creative and this was an opportunity to do something autobiographical in a different format.”
We ran two workshops for storytellers ahead of the first Shetland Story Slam event. In the first session we looked at ways to find the story worthy moments in our own lives and how to craft them into compelling five minute stories.
This involved thinking of moments that were transformational, or where something in us shifted. This could have been the day we left somewhere, when we met someone, made a certain decision or began to see ourselves differently. Once we’d identified these moments we thought about everything we could remember from that moment, where we were, what we could see, hear, touch and smell.
Next we thought about what was at stake in that moment - was there a problem to solve, a decision to make or something unexpected to deal with? What might we lose or gain? Being clear on the stakes helps to build the tension for the audience and makes for an edge-of-the-seat story.
“I didn’t think I’d want to tell my story at the event, but after getting on stage at the workshops I feel so much more confident!”
In the second session we took to the stage. Speaking into a mic from the stage can be daunting, so we wanted to practice our stories on stage, as well as off.
The storytellers soon got into their stride and we had laughter - and a few tears - from the stage and the audience.
Get your tickets for Shetland’s first Story Slam
There’s still time to book your ticket to join us on Saturday 22nd November (7:30pm) at Mareel. We’re hoping that the Story Slam will become a regular event, so there will be a chance for lots more folk to tell their stories, and for audiences to enjoy listening to them.
Book tickets online here.
