All Events

First Tuesday of every month at 8:00 pm
Upcoming: March 6, April 3, May 1, June 5
Kieran’s Irish Pub
612 1st Ave N Minneapolis 55403

www.slammn.org

Story SlamMN! is the first regular Story Slam series in Minnesota, started by Poetry Slam Master and Rockstar Storyteller, Allison Broeren.

THEMES:
February 7: The Ex-Files
March 6: Sister Act: Sibling Stories
April 3: Almost Famous
May 1: Armageddon: Good vs. Evil
June 5: Superman: Hero Stories

WHAT IS STORY SLAM?
Story slams are open to anybody. Each night 12 Storytellers will have the chance to vie for medals, cash, and eternal glory by telling their 5-minute story as it relates to the theme for the night. Five random audience judges will be selected to determine the storytellers’ fates as the audience gets rowdy trying to influence the scores. The top three winners at each regular slam qualify for the Big Money Grand Slam in July.

RULES
Anybody can sign-up to tell a tale FACT OR FICTION (but with original words by the storyteller) as it relates to the theme of the evening. We will pull 12 contestants names out of a hat that get to compete. Storytellers have 5 minutes to tell their stories, with a 30 second grace period before point deductions start. After 5:30 you will lose a half point for every 10 seconds you are over the limit. If you go too much over time you may get walked off the stage-so practice your story! 5 randomly selected audience members will be given the power to judge your stories from 0-10. We drop the high and low score, and add the 3 in the middle for your final score. The highest score wins! No props, costumes, or musical accompaniments. Notes are permitted, but remember part of scoring is based off of performance too!

Two Chairs Telling
Tuesday, March 13, 7pm
Bryant Lake Bowl
805 W. Lake Street

www.bryantlakebowl.com

Featuring Euan Kerr and J. Otis Powell. Tickets: $8-12 (pay what you can). Reservations: 612-825-8949 or www.bryantlakebowl.com.

A Story to Tell Workshop Part 2
Tuesday, March 13, 1:30 – 3:00 pm
Plymouth Creek Center
14800 34th Ave No, Plymouth 55447

More info [PDF]: http://www.plymouthmn.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=4303

Carol McCormick, Professional Storyteller for over 30 years and an author, will have you share what you wrote after Part 1. Then you’ll create a photo story album and receive instruction on how to tell your story to an audience. Course #37907.

Beyond Happily Ever After
with Loren Niemi
Monday, March 19, 7-9:30pm
Location: 35th and Grand in Uptown

(private home; exact address will be provided upon registration)

$30 for Northstar Members, $40 for others

A workshop on arriving at appropriate and satisfying conclusions. A story begins at the beginning (and we might argue that anyplace we want to start will do) but where it ends should not be left up to happenstance, failure of imagination or bad timing. We will examine and test story endings – from the classical formulas, to the emotional, the philosophical, punch lines and useful or patronizing morals to understand something about the where and how of ending our stories. For: beginner through advanced storyteller

Loren Niemi is a storyteller, performer, writer/poet and the Executive Director of In the Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theatre. His storytelling and written work has been called “postmodern” with a bias toward the philosophically and emotionally nuanced story. His community building work has been divided between working usually with neighborhoods or arts organizations and often with minority and immigrant groups. He is the co-author with Elizabeth Ellis of the critically acclaimed “Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About Difficult Story” and the author of the forthcoming “The New Book of Plots” on the use of narrative plot forms.

Select

General – $40 Northstar Members – $30

Buy a 4-Workshop Punchcard!

Northstar Members – $80 Non-members – $130

To learn about other upcoming workshops in our series, go to our Workshop Series page.

P.J. Stories
Thursday, April 5, 6:30 – 7:30pm
Coffee Grounds Coffee Shop
1579 Hamline Ave., Falcon Hts. MN

www.thecoffeegrounds.net

Nothando Zulu is a master storyteller who has told stories to many different audiences for over 30 years. Her stories entertain, educate, inspire, and motivate. As a nationally and internationally celebrated storyteller, she tells stories which draw from an extensive group of colorful characters who are often funny and whose antics leave audiences pondering their own life’s lessons. As director of the Black Storyteller’s Alliance, she, along with her husband and board produce a yearly three day storytelling festival called “Signifyin’ and Testifyin’.” You will not want to miss this evening with one of Minnesota’s best storytellers!

P.J Stories is a story time just like a peanut butter sandwich–a story on both sides and lots of fun squished in-between. Each first Thursday of the month a different storyteller is featured. P.J.’s has been presenting stories for school aged students for over 5 years. For directions call the Coffee Grounds at 651-644-9959 or visit www.thecoffeegrounds.net. Sponsored by Northstar Storytelling League and the Coffee Grounds Coffee Shop. Free. Donations gratefully accepted.

Two Chairs Telling
Tuesday, April 10, 7pm
Bryant Lake Bowl
805 W. Lake Street

www.bryantlakebowl.com

Featuring Lennie Major and Cole Sarar. Tickets: $8-12 (pay what you can). Reservations: 612-825-8949 or www.bryantlakebowl.com.

Kickstarter Workshop
Sunday, March 25, 6-8pm
The Soap Factory
514 2nd St. SE, Minneapolis, MN

Join Springboard for the Arts for an exploration of Kickstarter, the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Kickstarter’s own Stephanie Pereira will be in Minneapolis to lead off the evening with a presentation on how to bring your project to life. Learn how to structure a project, what kind of rewards work best, and other helpful tips and valuable stats. Stephanie welcomes questions as we take a more detailed look at the anatomy of a successful project.

Free. Open admission. No pre-registration required.

Word Ninjas Open Mic
2nd Tuesday of every month
sponsored by Rockstar Storytellers
Kieran’s Irish Pub
NEW LOCATION at Block E:
600 Hennepin Ave Ste 170
Corner of 6th St & 1st Ave North

sign-up 8pm; show 8:30
$3
Open to anyone whose artform is words: storytelling, poetry, stand-up, slam, and anything else.

Folktales Rising
Fourth Tuesday of every month
7 PM to 9 PM
The Book House
429 SE 14th Avenue

Interested in telling folktales? Interested in listening to them? Join us at The Book House in Minneapolis legendary Dinkytown for an evening of telling and listening to stories that have survived the ages and yet remain relevant today. The group meets in the lower level of The Book House, 429 SE 14th Avenue, on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 7 PM to 9 PM. Facilitation by Dorothy Cleveland, storyteller, MN State Liaison for the National Storytelling Network, and member of Northstar Storytelling League. Our first meeting is scheduled for April 27, 2010. This group is free and open to the public and is geared towards UM students and adults. It is the first of several collaborations between The Book House in Dinkytown and the storytelling community. Want more information? Email ourbookhouseindinkytown@gmail.com or call The Book House at 612-331-1430.

Tale Weavers Storytelling Toastmaster Club
NEW DATES: 1st and 3rd Tuesdays
6:45pm – 8:15pm

Minnehaha United Methodist Church, second floor
3701 E 50th Street, Minneapolis MN (about 6 blocks west of Hiawatha Ave).

A great chance to practice new material or put a new spin on old material, and get constructive feedback! Beginning and Advanced Storytellers are welcome! Contact: Dave Schaal (612) 729-3160.

The Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf
A bi-weekly podcast

An international conversation from all perspectives on the art of storytelling. Podcasted bi-weekly as a one-hour interview format show on Wednesdays. Serving all members of the storytelling community, including presenters, listeners, administrators, educators, parents and storytellers. Occasionally recorded live in a conference call setting. Sign in by the Friday before the call to get the email that will give you the telephone number and access code. If you wish to listen to the podcast you can subscribe via iTunes or just listen on the website. To join the list, go to www.artofstorytellingshow.com or www.ericwolf.org. Questions, email ericwolf2@yahoo.com.

Monthly Storytelling Group

Elaine Wynne offers a monthly group for people who wish to deepen their stories of personal development or spirituality. Elaine has conducted hundreds of workshops for storytellers or people who want to develop their skills as “good talkers”. $20 per session. To register, call Elaine at (763)546-1662 or e-mail topstory7@comcast.net.

Attention: Artists, Authors, Instructors, Performers and Arts Organizations:

The state library system has set up a way for you to get onto a roster as a possible partner for local libraries to do programs and events with their new legacy funds. Sign up to be in their database by going to: www.mnlegacygrant.org. Click on the link that says “Click Here For Submission Form.” You can fill out a form to inform them what you can offer, your posting will be reviewed and hopefully approved by a regional library person, and then you will be in the database where local libraries will go to find people and organizations to hire with their legacy funds. NOTE: The more information you provide when you sign up, the more likely you will get hired. Make sure to include your prices (and make sure your prices are high enough to cover your costs!). Make sure also to include your website address, if you have one.

This information comes from Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA), which has a list of various access points for Arts and Cultural Heritage resources on their website. Visit http://www.mncitizensforthearts.org/news/amendment-funds/othergrants for a listing of opportunities.

P.J. Stories
Every 1st Thursday of the month
6:30 – 7:30pm
Coffee Grounds Coffee Shop
1579 Hamline Ave., Falcon Hts. MN

www.thecoffeegrounds.net

P.J Stories is a story time just like a peanut butter sandwich–a story on both sides and lots of fun squished in-between. Each first Thursday of the month a different storyteller is featured. P.J.’s has been presenting stories for school aged students for over 5 years. For directions call the Coffee Grounds at 651-644-9959 or visit www.thecoffeegrounds.net. Sponsored by Northstar Storytelling League and the Coffee Grounds Coffee Shop. Free. Donations gratefully accepted.

Children’s Storytelling Guild

The Children’s Storytelling Guild meets the fourth Thursday of each month. We share stories and receive feedback from the group. Anyone interested in telling stories to children is welcome to participate. If you are interested in attending, please contact Pam Schweitzer for location at pls2009@live.com.