In the Voice of Our Ancestors: Developing a first Person Historical Narrative

This workshop is presented either as a multi-day retreat or as a 12 week-online course accessible by Zoom. In this workshop participants are led through a series of exercises and experiences which help create a living portrayal of an historical figure. The Chautauqua style of storytelling is also called first person historical narrative. It is a way of telling stories from a person’s life as they might tell them themselves. As much as possible we use the person’s own words to shape the stories. This style of storytelling combines the arts of acting, improvisation, characterization, creative writing, historical research, and then stepping into a role.

Storytelling Workshops 

In this workshop, Ilene leads teachers in activities of music, dance, drama, and storytelling. Games and exercises will help participants apply the performing arts and storytelling in curriculum and classroom activities. Participants will sing and speak, practice gestures and movements, play with rhythm and rhyme, using their body, voice, and imagination. Storytelling workshops are designed to teach the basics of good storytelling, each person using their own unique, custom made tool kit: themselves! Storytelling is the oldest human art form. The body, the voice, the imagination all gather force to bring the ethereal to life and to make thought visible. 

The length for these workshops vary from 1 to 3 hours in length.

Suitable for Professional Development, and for all ages and grades. Number of participants: 8 – 25.

African American Heritage in Stories, Games, Songs and Dances

Games, poems, songs, riddles, rhymes, chants, and playing together, are all part of a culture’s delivery system of its values. In the search for African roots in African American culture, one of the best sources are in the children’s games. Through this interactive fun workshop we get an inside look at the source of resilience and creativity fostered in children of African descent in America and the roots of some of those lifelines. The Young in Heart should come dressed for an hour of fun and play!

Old Time Radio Project – a Professional Development Workshop for Teachers, the classroom, or a Community Theater Project.

This workshop is an introduction to the creation of an original radio show. It will result in the performance of a radio show created and performed in the style of a 1940’s radio broadcast. Using the theme of the “The Golden Age of Radio,” the participants collect their stories and turn these stories into news spots, features, and advertisements for a variety show. This is away to promote reading, listening, writing, speaking, critical thinking and performing skills. 

Length: Half Day

Reader’s Theater – A Professional Development Workshop for Teachers, the classroom, or a Community Theater Project. 

This workshop leads teachers in the use of reader’s theater in the classroom. Readers Theater is a form of theater which uses minimal props and staging. It does not require memorization, but focuses on expression, fluency, and comprehension through repeated readings. Participants will learn the framework for reader’s theater through theater games, exercises, and a brief history of theater. This workshop focuses on the lessons theater has to offer a classroom. Sample scripts are included along with graded materials with supplemental activities. Participants will practice leading each other in delivering multiple interpretations of their material.

Length: Half Day