School of Storytelling

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To download an application form for the Now of Storytelling, please follow this link: Full Time Application Form 2010-11 

For the pdf version of the Storytelling Brochure please follow this link:
School of Storytelling Brochure 09-10 School of Storytelling Brochure 09-10

School of Storytelling website: www.schoolofstorytelling.com

Without the story - in which everyone living, unborn and dead, participates - we are no more than bits of paper blown on the cold wind.
George Mackay Brown

Founded in 1994 the School of Storytelling is the longest running centre of its kind where the craft of the storyteller is taught, practiced, performed and honoured. Here stories come alive and serve performers, healers, teachers, the business world, the environment and the wider community. Whether an experienced teller or a novice to the art, everyone is welcome here. The art of storytelling is as ancient as it is modern. Stories have been told and passed down throughout the generations, tales of what it is to be human, from our daily experiences to our spiritual traditions.

In 2009/10 we are offering a wide range of storytelling courses from weekends to thirteen-week full-time programmes to introduce you to the extraordinary world of storytelling We will also be offering two part-time accredited courses in collaboration with the Univesity of Sussex.

Storytelling courses:

Part-time Storytelling Courses

Weekend & Short Storytelling Courses

Summer Storytelling Courses

 

your journey, your voice

Sunday 23rd May – Friday 25th June 2010

One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began … Mary Oliver

Hidden inside you is a voice that is uniquely your own. It may not be loud but it will be authentic. Once you have uncovered and strengthened that voice, it can serve you for life.
What can you do to find and develop the full range and colour of your voice? How can your voice be best heard? And what might it serve?

Our starting point for this practically based 5 week course will be the stories in your own life that have helped or hindered your speaking voice. To these, we will add a variety of voice exercises individually tailored to meet your needs, poetry and stories of your choice as well as a wide range of other inspirational material. This is a course primarily for storytellers but it will also be invaluable for poets, lovers of language or people involved in public speaking.

Tuition: £1,130 Accommodation & Lunches: £417.50 Accommodation only: £357.50 Lunches only: £87.50

Course Leaders: Ashley Ramsden and Sue Hollingsworth

 

The Now of Storytelling

 15th September - 17th December 2010

What is the relationship between the stories and myths from the oral tradition of the past and your own life now? Which stories, old and new, are asking to be told today and what is the power of the spoken word in revealing the full range of our humanity? How can storytellers serve the nourishment and healing of individuals, communities and the Earth?

In this thirteen-week course we will explore The Now of Storytelling in three different ways:

Storytelling Clowning

  • The Skills of the Storyteller: in-depth work on story structure, voice, gesture, movement, audience awareness, authenticity and presence.
  • The Oral Tradition: working with humanity’s heritage of stories from folk and teaching tales to wonder tales and myth.
  • Biographical Storytelling: shaping and crafting our personal stories as gifts to illuminate the human experience.

Essential to this journey is a path of Inner Development – the ongoing work of being fully present, bridging the gap between who we are and what we tell. Participants will be encouraged to develop their own distinctive style of telling in a supportive atmosphere with individual feedback and coaching. There will be weekly performance opportunities throughout the course for various audiences. The working language is English for which fluency is required. Supporting subjects will include: singing, games, improvisation, environmental work, creative writing and craftwork.

Course Leaders: Roi Gal-Or with Sue Hollingsworth and Ashley Ramsden


Register Your Interest

The Body, Voice and Skills of the Storyteller

Monday 10th - Friday January 21st 2011

Some people hold our attention, others do not. Some storytellers have the magic, others do not. What makes the difference? The truth is that behind the magic there are physical and spiritual practices that can help your voice and body to become powerful instruments of expression.....and these make all the difference. With the right attention to detail you can gain a range of choices that will deepen your work and help you connect to the core of who you are. Put these together with some pivotal storytelling skills and voila, you're in the zone!
In this two week intensive you will develop a different relationship to your body and soul that will give you a new foundation from which to extend your expression and presence, as a storyteller, actor or anyone involved in public speaking. Join us to learn some key storytelling skills and to find a voice that is truly your own.

Course Leaders: Ashley Ramsden and Olivia Olson


Turning Straw into Gold: Storytelling for Children and Adolescents

24th January - 25th February 2011

When we speak heart to heart to children through stories, hidden treasures awaken between us. Folk tales, wonder tales, myths, and legends from all cultures speak to the child's inner core: instructing, guiding, inspiring and transforming. Once the door to the soul is opened through the storytelling experience, the child can be guided to deepen his or her experience of the story through drama, art and creative writing.

In the young person, an inner conversation that is longing for expression arises out of the archetypal wisdom of a shared story. Mythology, teaching tales, wisdom tales, initiation stories, and biographical stories offer the maturing adolescent a mirror from which to explore the developing world within his or herself. Adolescents can be guided to understand, deepen and express their inner thoughts and feelings through conversations with others, drama exercises and through their own inner conversations with art and creative writing. These methods for working with students will be demonstrated, discussed and practiced.

This is a practically based 5 week course for teachers, parents, therapists, and experienced or beginning storytellers who want to gain an understanding of what stories are best told at what stages of a child's / adolescent's development and why, and how to tell stories in a way that is suitable for different age groups. We will explore and practice how to use stories to expand and develop the child's and the adolescent's cognitive, emotional and imaginative capacities. We will also create our own stories that address the challenges of today's culture such as social inclusion, self-image and the journey through childhood and adolescence. The course covers basic storytelling skills and will include presenting a weekly storytelling session for children.

Courseleaders: Marianna deCroes and Roi Gal-Or 

 

The Storyteller at Work in the Community - North Island New Zealand

Sunday 6th February - Saturday 12th March 2011

This five-week course which has been running successfully in South Africa during 2009 and 2010 will be coming to New Zealand in 2011. Details of costs, timetable and how to book will be available by May 2010.

Courseleaders: Sue Hollingsworth and Ashley Ramsden

 

Other Courses

Watch this space for courses from April 2011 onwards which may include Begin it Now! for absolute beginners, a course for experienced storytellers to perform one of the great epics, a longer Storytelling in the Environment course, Healing Words and other things we can't yet even imagine!

 

School of Storytelling Hosts

Clare Coburn PhD comes from Australia and is an experienced adult educator, storyteller and writer. She is passionate about using story wisdom to foster self-awareness and the potential for change.

Marianna deCroes is an experienced Waldorf teacher of 14 years and a teller of tales to children, including four of her own, for over 20 years. She runs courses on storytelling in education and most recently worked at Summerfield Waldorf School in California. 

Olivia Olsen studied acting in London England and since has worked as an actor in Britain and Canada. Her most accomplished work 2 years ago was the one actor play of 23 roles, The Syringa Tree. Olivia holds an MA in Voice from Central School of Speech and Drama, London, and a Post Graduate Degree in Voice from York University Toronto, where she taught voice, speech and acting Shakespeare in the Theatre Department of York University.

Sue Hollingsworth MBA has been a member of the Faculty of the School of Storytelling since 1999. As well as performing and teaching, she is the Director of Storymatters Ltd., a consultancy which takes storytelling into the world of business. She also enjoys working with story in the environment, with woman's groups and biographical storytelling.

Roi Gal-Or has been a member of the Faculty of the School of Storytelling since 2004 as well as teaching storytelling at the University of Sussex in Brighton. He is a leader of workshops dealing with group and personal development using stories, social games and biographical work and is particularly interested in the role of storytelling in conflict resolution.

Ashley Ramsden founded the School of Storytelling in 1994. His unique methods of teaching voice and the skills of the storyteller have received international acclaim. He runs workshops, tours with his one-man-shows including A Christmas Carol, The Amazing Adventures of the Hodja Nasrud'din, The Titanic and Tistou of the Green Thumbs amongst others and is a speaker of sacred poetry. 

www.ashleyramsden.com