Welcome!
Northstar Storytelling is a Minnesota nonprofit serving storytellers and listeners throughout the state. We sponsor regular storytelling events in the Twin Cities, including an annual all-day Tellabration! festival at Open Book in Minneapolis. Events are open to the public, and Northstar membership is open to all.
Join our Facebook group
Coming Soon:
Planning for Tellabration! 2010 has officially begun!
Want to compete for the spot of Mystery Teller in the evening concert, on the theme of River Journeys? Go to our concert page for details.
Auditions for tellers in the performance hall will be Wednesday, September 22. These will be paid spots! For more information, visit our the Tellabration! performance hall page. Out-of-towners are invited to submit recordings in place of auditioning.
We are also currently accepting workshop proposals — see Tellabration! workshop page for more information.
Mission:
Northstar Storytelling League promotes storytelling and develops and supports storytellers.
Core Values:
Tradition
The art of storytelling is deeply rooted in oral tradition. Northstar honors and protects the oral tradition of storytelling as an art form while also encouraging dialogue with other narrative arts.
Inclusion
Northstar welcomes storytellers of all cultures, experience levels, backgrounds and styles. We seek to make storytelling accessible to a diverse audience and encourage the use of storytelling in other professions.
Outreach
Storytelling bridges cultures, encourages understanding, and creates a common ground of humanity. Northstar promotes storytelling as an outreach tool to connect individuals, communities and organizations.
Growth
Northstar acknowledges and respects the power of story to change and inspire. We value creative expression on all levels and provide opportunities for storytellers to grow and develop as artists.
Vision Statement
We imagine a society in which storytellers are recognized for their ability to provide a relevant, inspiring and transformative service to individuals and the community through the art and craft of spoken narrative. We envision Northstar as a leader in promoting storytelling as a performance art form as well as fostering its application within such areas as education, historical interpretation, health care, psychotherapy, spiritual direction, and organizational life. Northstar helps storytellers develop professionally and work productively within and across these fields. To accomplish this, Northstar acts as a:
Connector of individuals, guilds and other partner organizations who come together to learn from each other, accomplish common goals, network and promote their trade;
Coordinator and producer of educational and performance events that provide opportunities for Minnesota storytellers to develop their craft and showcase their best work;
Clearinghouse of information about storytelling and storytellers;
Collector of organizational best practices and quality indicators that raise the community profile of storytelling.
In 2010, Northstar will develop goals and an action plan that will create a sustainable infrastructure with a statewide presence by 2015.
Join us!
To learn more about our members, or to become one, click here. You can listen to Northstar tellers as well. Or make a donation to support our work through Network for Good by clicking here.
Good Press
Read about our friends the Asian Storytelling Alliance and their performance at Northstar’s “PJ Stories” here.
Read the stellar reviews of Tellabration! at citypages.com and Minnesota Microphone!
“Only a couple of chairs remained empty by the time the Tellabration 2009 evening concert got underway. Many of the folks in attendance had been at the Loft Literary Center since that morning, attending workshops, listening to open mics, a liars’ contest, and showcases of some of Minnesota’s best spoken-word talent. But no enthusiasm was lost as the first tellers stepped up to the microphone.” Read the entire review at City Pages blogs.
“Getting up early on a Saturday isn’t something you’d often find me doing without a snide growl for such cruelty a world, but if every Saturday were a Tellabration I’d blitz out of bed at 7 am with the gusto of a mallrat mom on black Friday.” Read the entire review at Minnesota Microphone.