the body, voice and skills of the storyteller
turning straw into gold storytelling for children and adolescents
storytelling in education: turning straw into gold
storytelling in education: the adolescent
storytelling in education: teaching english as a foreign language through storytelling
begin it now! April 2011
begin it now! June 2011
the storyteller in the community
Prices quoted are for tuition only. Single room accommodation and all meals are available at the venue and can be booked separately. Yvette will send you a booking form if required.
The Now of Storytelling
19 September – 17 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:
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 Carriers: Roi Gal-Or with Sue Hollingsworth and Ashley Ramsden
Tuition Fee: £3700
The Body, Voice and Skills of the Storyteller
10 - 21 January 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 Carriers: Ashley Ramsden and Olivia Olson
Tuition Fee £750
Turning Straw into Gold: Storytelling for Children and Adolescents
24 January - 25 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.
Course Carriers: Marianna deCroes and Roi Gal-Or
Tuition Fee £1800
Your Journey, Your Voice
23 May - 24 June 2011
“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.
Course Carrier: Ashley Ramsden and Sue Hollingsworth
Tuition Fee £1500
Accommodation and lunches tba
summer courses 2010
The Storyteller at Play
25 - 31 July 2010
Sunday - Saturday
“Work without play is like soup without salt” Tibetan Proverb
You’ve been working hard all year, the bell for summer has rung and it’s time to play! Social games can be great teachers for us; like good stories, games speak to us on many levels. In the playground there is an alternative world with its own rules and consequences which allows us to meet ourselves and others in new ways. Social games exist all over the world and are currently pushed away by digital communication. It is a part of the vocation of the storyteller to keep the wisdom of such games alive and pass it to future generations. How can we bring the freedom and spirit of play into our daily lives? As storytellers how can being playful affect our relationship with our audience, our characters and ultimately ourselves? This is a week for experienced storytellers who would like to develop a more joyful and playful approach to their craft, as well as for teachers, facilitators, public speakers and parents
Course Carriers: Roi Gal-Or and Ashley Ramsden
Tuition Fee £345
All meals: £120.
Accommodation: single room £96, double room £70 each, camping £56
Storytelling in Education: Turning Straw into Gold
1 - 7 August 2010
Sunday - Saturday
A week of focus on storytelling for the young child, followed by a separate week concentrating on adolescents (see separate course description for the adolescent). You can do one week OR take both weeks as an introduction to the art of using storytelling in education, therapy and parenting.
Nature stories, animal stories, object stories, wonder tales, folk tales, myths of ancient cultures, & fables are the stuff of what dreams are made of in the heart of the child from birth to age eleven. Learn to speak heart to heart to children through storytelling. Learn to create your own stories. Practice developmental movement exercises, songs and games to set a mood for active listening in the young child. Explore the meanings of these story genres and how specific stories meet the needs of specific age groups and individual children’s unique challenges. Dive into the world of the imagination!
The course includes presentation of a storytelling curriculum keyed to child development from the Steiner/Waldorf approach, an in depth look at the meaning of stories, how to get into a story and tell it out of yourself, and how to create unique tales for specific circumstances in a child’s life. Recommended for parents, teachers, therapists and lovers of children everywhere! No previous experience in telling stories is necessary.
For the course syllabus: email storyed@gmail.com
Course Carrier: Marianna deCroes
Tuition Fee £345
All meals: £120.
Accommodation: single room £96, double room £70 each, camping £56
Storytelling in Education: The Adolescent
8 - 14 August 2010
Sunday - Saturday
A week of focus on storytelling and the adolescent. (For the young child see separate course description). Mythology, teaching tales, wisdom tales, initiation stories, and biography offer the maturing adolescent a mirror from which to explore the developing world within his or herself. Out of the archetypal wisdom of the story arises an inner conversation within the young person that is longing for expression. Once the door to the soul is opened through the storytelling experience, 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 course includes presentation of a storytelling curriculum keyed to adolescent development from the Steiner/Waldorf approach, an in depth look at the meaning of stories, how to get into a story and tell it out of yourself, and how to create unique tales for specific circumstances in an adolescent’s life. Recommended for parents, teachers, therapists and all those who work with young people. No previous storytelling experience necessary.
For the course syllabus: email storyed@gmail.com
Course Carrier: Marianna deCroes
Tuition Fee £345 (£100 discount offered to Waldorf School Teachers)
All meals: £120.
Accommodation: single room £96, double room £70 each, camping £56
Wind and waves and wild days: singing, storytelling and walking in Wales
8 – 14 August 2010
Sunday - Saturday
Join singer and composer Helen Chadwick and storyteller Sue Hollingsworth for a week’s walk around St Bride’s Bay on the coast of west Wales. Keeping the sea on our left we will head north on the Pembrokeshire coastal path to our ultimate destination - Britain’s smallest city, St David’s. Singing and storytelling along the route on headlands, in caves, chapels, and on beaches, there will also be time to just stand and stare or to swim in the beautiful bays.
We will stay in shared rooms in Broadhaven Youth Hostel and celebrate our arrival in St David’s with a fine feast. The pace will be leisurely, depending on the weather, and you should feel able to walk about 8 miles a day on a sometimes hilly coastline. There will be no need to carry all your luggage and a full list of what you need to bring will be provided on booking. Participation is limited to 14 people, so book early!
With Sue Hollingsworth and Helen Chadwick
Cost: £550 - fully inclusive of tuition, all accommodation, meals and transport during the week
Storytelling in Education: Teaching English as a foreign language through storytelling
15 - 21 August 2010
Sunday - Saturday
Storytelling is an engaging and extremely effective way to teach English as a Foreign or Second Language. It easily complements and supports the ongoing work of any classroom curriculum. This course will include the tiny stories of classic English nursery rhymes, games and poems as well as a selection of folk tales that can be exciting doorways into understanding and speaking English for students from the early grades through class 12.
Grammar, spelling and comprehension exercises will also be presented. Participants will learn to tell stories and how to work with stories to enliven and enrich the classroom environment helping students expand vocabulary and deepen their understanding of another culture. Storytelling awakens the imagination within everyone who participates in it and thereby deepens our understanding of another language and culture. This generates enthusiasm, empathy, and excitement which, in turn, foster comprehension and retention of the new language.
Course Carrier: Marianna deCroes
Tuition Fee £345
All meals: £120.
Accommodation: single room £96, double room £70 each, camping £56
Dangerous Stories
15 - 21 August 2010
Sunday - Saturday
Of all human inventions, story is far and away the most potent and the most dangerous. At the heart of every war, argument or dispute lurks a story. There are narratives of justification and blame, tales of persecution and revenge. Some are whispered in dark corners, others are blared from public podiums.
Stories have real power affecting the world at large but there is also a danger zone inside us. Sometimes the most dangerous story is the one we are afraid to tell ourselves. What story waits to be told within you?
This course will seek to understand how story works and to explore this power as a creative force for change. We invite you to spend some time at story's edge, where our humanity is both lost and found.
Course Carriers: Ashley Ramsden and Inger Lise Oelrich
Tuition Fee £345
All meals: £120.
Accommodation: single room £96, double room £70 each, camping £56
Let’s Walk for a Change!
Biographical Storytelling and Life Coaching on the South Downs
16 – 21 August 2010
Monday - Saturday
Join storyteller Sue Hollingsworth and coach Jan Castle for a walk with a difference along the rolling hills of the South Downs in Sussex, heading towards the sea at the Seven Sisters. Bring along a challenge, an issue or a change you want to make in your life and as we walk along we will take steps towards making your dream a reality. Through storytelling games and exercises, one-to-one coaching sessions and the fresh air and long distance views of the South Downs, we will gain clarity and insight and return home with renewed purpose.
We will be staying in Youth Hostel accommodation in shared group rooms with all meals provided and a fine feast on our last evening in a friendly pub near Alfriston. The pace will be leisurely to allow time for conversation, activities and relaxation but you do need to be able to walk up to 8 miles a day across mostly gentle landscape. No previous experience of either storytelling or coaching is required. There will be no need to carry all your luggage and a full list of what you need to bring will be provided on booking. The group will be limited to a maximum of 10 participants.
With Sue Hollingsworth and Jan Castle
Cost: £515 fully inclusive of tuition, coaching, all accommodation, meals and transport during the week
weekend & short courses
The Craft of Storytelling (accredited with the University of Sussex)
4 weekends on the following dates:
1-3 October 2010
3-5 December 2010
14-16 January 2011
11-13 February 2011
Learn the skills of storytelling to entertain, teach and heal. Over four weekends we will explore story structure, characterisation, dynamics, rhythm and other techniques to tell effective and dramatic stories.
Course Leader: Roi Gal-Or
Fee: £330 tuition for 4 weekends
The Art of Storytelling (accredited with the University of Sussex)
20 sessions to be run for 2 hours on Thursday evenings on the following dates
Term 1: 30/09/10 to 02/12/10
Term 2: 13/01/11 to 17/03/11
Using traditional stories from folk tales, fairy tales and myth, we will explore the drama and power of storytelling. Working together in a small supportive group, you will learn how to use voice, gesture, movement and audience awareness to bring these stories to life.
Course Leader: Roi Gal-Or
Fee: £264 for 20 sessions
Both of these courses offer participants 24 credits in partnership with the University of Sussex.
For information and an application form for both these courses, please contact us
If you would like to find out more about studying towards a part-time degree with the University of Sussex, contact: The Centre for Continuing Education Tel +44 (0) 1273 877888 or email si-enquiries@sussex.ac.uk
Begin it Now !
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to tell a story, if you’ve ever thought “I could never remember all that”, if you’ve ever worried about standing up in front of an audience to speak, then this could be just the course for you. By the end of the weekend you’ll have several stories under your belt, gained confidence in speaking in front of others and go away with some hot tips on how best to tell a story. All this will take place in a supportive atmosphere with plenty of fun to allow you to unfold your natural creativity and begin storytelling now!
Begin it Now!
1 – 3 April 2011
With Sue Hollingsworth
Cost: £150
Begin it Now!
10 – 12 June 2011
With Roi Gal-Or
Cost: £150
Riding the Great Bear
29 April – 1 May 2011
A weekend for women to explore one of the world’s great wonder tales. Working with personal storytelling, games, colour and music we will explore what riding the great bear means to us right now in our everyday lives and the impact of that understanding on our close relationships and communities. No previous experience of storytelling is necessary, just a willingness to enter deeply and joyfully into the story world of images and meaning.
With Sue Hollingsworth
Cost: £175
The Courage to Love
9 -13 May 2011
Further details to be announced
With Roi Gal-Or
Cost: 3tba
worldwide courses
The Storyteller in the Community, New Zealand
6 February - 12 March 2011, North Island, New Zealand
There was a time when the telling of stories was as necessary and natural as walking and breathing. There was a time when song and dance lived together like brother and sister. There was a time when, if there were conflicts in the community, people would ask: “When did you last dance? When did you last sing? When did you last tell a story?
This 5 week course will give you the opportunity to learn or deepen your skills as a storyteller. Suitable for beginners and those already on their way, it will enable you to tell traditional, biographical and spontaneous stories. Working playfully and deeply we will also help you to develop your voice, uncovering the storyteller that lives naturally inside you so that you will have the confidence to bring stories to the fields of education, therapy, business, at home or on the stage.
The course will take place at The Wool Shed, Pukerua Bay, Nr Wellington, New Zealand (see www.thewoolshed.com)
It will run from 9am – 3.30pm daily and costs 2,200 NZD for tuition.
Help with the tuition cost is available for 2 people working with and in Maori communities in New Zealand – please contact us for more information.
There will be a maximum of 14 students and places will be offered on a first come, first served basis so early booking is recommended.
Course Carriers: Ashley Ramsden and Sue Hollingsworth
The Storyteller in the Community, South Africa
This established 5 week course is intending to run again in Cape Town during January and February 2012.
Please watch this space for details of exact dates and costs
We strongly recommend that you take out cancellation insurance when booking for a course as deposits are non-refundable. In the rare case that a course is cancelled we will give you at least 2 weeks notice.