SAS ON HOLD! LOOK FOR SPECIAL "EVENTS" IN THE FUTURE

 The regular monthly meetings of SAS are on hold.

Instead, the focus will be to 

a) Create special storytelling events through the year

b) Visit schools, libraries and other venues to share storytelling with the community.

UPDATED Halloween Stories Event!!

Join us for some FUN and SPOOKY tales! 

The Event will be TWO-PART.

SEASONAL STORIES FOR THE FAMILY From 6:00-6"45 p.m. Thurs. Oct. 27, 2022, stories for families and smaller children. Fun tales and only a few "slight chills" to delight all.  Then, enjoy some refreshments and - maybe - some games and treats!

SPOOKY TALES FOR ADULTS AND TEENS From 7:00-&7:45 p.m. Thurs. Oct. 27, 2022 ADULTS and TEENS can sit in on a session with more chills and shivers - suitable to their ages -  "The Ghost Teller" will be there to share some tales from history, legends and even some personal encounters with things that go "bump" in the night!

Location: The Educational Building of Stroud United Methodist Church.  

TIME TO HAVE A 'TELLABRATION!' (tm) : an EVENING OF STORYTELLING

Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022 at 7 p.m.

324 W. 2nd Avenue

Stoud, Oklahoma

(Corner of W.2nd Ave and W. 4th Street)

An evening of storytelling suitable for teens and adults. Come enjoy some delightful tales performed by experienced storytellers and those just learning. Storytelling is an ancient art form suitable for many ages and stages. Consider becoming a part of Storytelling at Stroud (SAS)

 

Halloween Storytelling Events - On Route 66!

 Thurs, Oct. 27, 2022 come enjoy seasonal stories for everyone!

This TWO-PART event will have an early evening session from 6:00 to 6:45 P.M. designed to appeal to families with children. ALl stories will be seasonal, funny and or slightly spooky!

At 7:oo P.M. to 8:15 P.M. will begin a session of stories designed to bring chills, shivers, and more seasonal delights.

SPOOKY STORIES TO DELIGHT : FUN ON ROUTE 66, OCT. 27, 2022

At 7 p.m. on Thurs. Oct. 27, 2022, come enjoy some stories to bring shivers, make you wonder, and make you look over your shoulder on the way home!  Storyteller Marilyn A. Hudson, known sometimes as The Ghost Teller, will bring an evening of chills, with maybe some help from friends. The event is sponsored by Stroud's storytelling group, Storytellers at Stroud (SAS).  Stories are drawn from legends, history, real events, and more. 

Time: 7:00 to 8:15 p.m.

Place: 324 W. 2nd, Stroud, Ok (Educ Blg. Stroud UMC)

Target Audience: Teens, Adults, children in 5th grade or above with adult

Cost: Free or bring a can of food for the community food banks

Note: a family friendly event will take place from 6:00 to 6:46 p.m. for families with children. 

 

Join Us for Storytelling at Stroud - July 28, at 7 p.m.!

A free event!  Location is 234 West 2nd Avenue, Stroud, Oklahoma. Educational bldg. of Stroud UMC (corner area of 2nd W. Ave. and West 4th Street).  Come hear some fun stories!!!
 

Another Great Year!: The Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival 2022

For immediate release

Territory Tellers, Oklahoma’s statewide, nonprofit, storytelling group is pleased to announce that their virtual 2022 Spirit of Oklahoma Storytelling Festival was successful, due in part to the generous support of the Oklahoma Arts Council, which received support from the State of Oklahoma and the National Endowment for the Arts. This support allowed the festival to be accessible to the deaf and others with hearing impairments for the first time through American Sign Language interpreters. It also funded a workshop by National Storytelling Circle of Excellence member, Laura Packer, on “How to Tell a Story That Will Make People Laugh, Cry and Connect”.

June 2022 marked the sixteenth annual production of this festival. Over 20 performing artists presented during the two days to a total Zoom attendance of over 195, with people tuning in from nine states, including Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, Minnesota, New York and California. Storytellers and musicians performed at a variety of scheduled concerts and an informal story swap.

As one participant commented, “Wonderful, heart-warming experience! It was lovely to witness the pleasure that the audience took in the stories, the warmth of the welcome to friends both old and new, and the exceptional quality of the stories and the storytelling. While this is a small festival, it is one of quality and excellence.”

For more information on Territory Tellers and other storytelling events they produce, go to https://territorytellers.com/

The Oklahoma Arts Council is the official state agency for the support and development of the arts. The agency’s mission is to lead in the advancement of Oklahoma’s thriving arts industry. The Oklahoma Arts Council provides approximately 350 grants to nearly 200 organizations in communities statewide each year, organizes professional development opportunities for the state’s arts and cultural industry, and manages the art collections at the Oklahoma State Capitol. More information is available at arts.ok.gov.

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Stories Tonight!

Join us for stories tonight at 7 p.m. We are a small group starting to learn how to tell stories. Come listen to stories, come and share a short story or come to learn a little about how to find, develop and share your stories at a future date! 

Where to find stories?  An embarrassing moment can be given a new and funny life through story. A great mistake in cooking can be shared with an emphasis on what you learned to never do again. A moment of true friendship or kindness can be a warming tale for a cold world.

Jokes, Reader's Digest stories, new articles, an overheard conversation can all be places to start.

Think 3 to 5 minutes (shorter is less stressful for the anxious among us). 

Remember, a story is like a car. It works best when it goes somewhere! So have a beginning, a middle, and an end!

Relax, breathe deeply and begin a great journey!

Time: 7 p.m. 4th Thursday (April 28)

Place: Stroud, UMC, Educ. Annex, south side of the building (Parlor Room).

On the Calendar: October 27, 2022: Scary Stories with Storytelling at Stroud!

 

Join us April 28th at 7 p.m. For Storytelling!

We will continue our journey of learning about stories, learning to tell stories, and enjoying listening to stories! Come join us!

Join us TONIGHT at 7 p.m.

 

Join In on March 24 at Stroud To Begin Learning to Tell Stories!

 There is no cost to these sessions.

·         Storytelling 101 – A session devoted to introducing the art, history and basics of becoming a ‘storyteller.’

·         Storytelling 102 – A session devoted to introducing how to find, shape and share a story.

·         Storytelling 103 – A session devoted to learning how to face an audience, tricks to sharing a story, and practice sharing one too!

·         Storytelling 201 – Sharing a picture book with a group or a child. Devoted to helping emerging storytellers learn story structure and parents/caregivers to learn best practices in sharing a picture book with a young audience.

·         SAS  is a cooperative partnership between the Oklahoma Territory Tellers, the Stroud Arts, and Stroud UMC to enrich local community life through stories.

 

DATE: MARCH 24, 2022  (4^th Thrs.)    

PLACE:  MEETING ROOM, STROUD UMC

TIME: 7 P.M. – 8:15 PM.

Moderator: marilynahudson@yahoo.com

See "SAS"– ON FACEBOOK AND 

At https://stroudokstorytellers.blogspot.com

STORY GAMES: A GREAT ACTIVITY FOR HOME, SCHOOL OR WITH ANY GROUP!

 Story Games

STORY DOODLES (*)

Definition:  A doodle is an unfocused or unconscious act of drawing; used to refer to a simpleton (i.e., ‘Yankee Doodle’) and an activity to allow the mind to think about something else.  A “Story doodle” is an activity to help tap into the unconscious creative by telling stories through impromptu story segments, word/action games, and improvisations.

Activity 1: A Great Chain of Story

A leader begins a story leading to point of action or response (and then Joe opened the door to see a…). This ‘cliffhanger’ activity encourages quick thought, builds integral understanding of story elements and character development, and reaches deeper levels of creativity, practices speaking and vocalization to gain comfort and skill in oral storytelling.  Do it quickly with many laughs and a sense of fun.

Activity 2:  Action and Reaction

Storytellers break into groups of two people. Teller “A” must share an action (I went to the store) and Teller “B” must share a reaction (He forgot his wallet). Each new adventure of Teller “A” should be mundane and ordinary. Each new response by Teller “B” should be more and more extreme, outlandish, or incredible.   Do this one time and then switch roles for another round.  Any teams wishing to share their ‘tale’ can demonstrate their accomplishments.  This bit of improve helps develop a sense of character as one is sensible, not easily ruffled and somber minded, while the other is a bit ditzy, ‘air-headed’ or naïve.  Do not overplay or overact.  Keep the characters within normal levels of conversation, action, and body language.

Activity 3:  Look Ma! I’m Moving!

Storytellers can break into teams or do the activity individually.  Have a selection of actions on note cards for storytellers to use.  Audience (and other tellers) must try to identify what the actions represent (just like in charades.  Actions may include swimming, dancing the tango (specific dance!), filing folders in a cabinet, typing, starting a prop airplane, painting a picture, hitting a baseball, sawing a log, rolling hair in curlers, making a sandwich, etc.   The purpose of this activity is to integrate the body into the story process and to get comfortable in being in front of an audience.

Activity 4: Cue the Swoon: Old Fashioned Melodrama

Just like the early silent films copied the oversized actions from the theaters of the time (had to been seen in the peanut gallery!) and used big actions, big emotions, and prolonged responses to convey story to the audience, here storytellers will do the same.  A) The scene is one well-known: Little Red Riding Hood will enter her Grandmothers bedroom, see the poor figure in the bed, grow suspicious and then alarmed.  The Grandmother/Wolf will jump up and threaten the poor girl. B) The Emperor, whose new clothes are the finest, and the most invisible, clothing of the land, goes for a march through the village where a child (who knows nothing of fine clothes but a lot about invisible ones!) expresses his puzzlement at the appearance of the ruler. C) The boastful Rabbit enters a race with the slow Turtle, feels so confident he pauses, slows down, rests, while Turtle trudges steadily on to win the race. Employ large actions: Arms thrown up to shield the eyes, hands out as if pushing something away, large swinging motions of arms of legs, pantomime like actions, etc.  The scene may be done silently or with large, overly dramatic (i.e., bad acting) or overly energetic motions. (think Errol Flynn swinging into a forest scene and then standing with his fists on his hips as he laughed…or any of a number of examples!)

--- “Story Doodles”. C2013.  Marilyn A. Hudson,   marilynahudson@yahoo.com  [Permission to use / reproduce granted if this line attached.]

Get The Year Rolling!

 This informative image can be shared. 

It outlines some of the ways that storytelling can begin to come to life in our Community and area. Contact me via the form on this page and we can discuss a class visit, a library story time visit, speaking or sharing to your small group (business, church, community, etc.). Let's see what we can make happen! Everyone has a story to share! 

Join the storytellers this year: It's 2022 and We are Talking to YOU!!