The Writer's Studio: From the Page to the Stage: Telling Your Story to a Live Audience

On October 31, please join us for From the Page to the Stage: Telling Your Story to a Live Audience, a Writer's Studio workshop hosted by Harriett Jernigan.

We recall twice as much information when we hear it in a story as opposed to a straightforward recitation of facts, because stories connect to the things that matter to us. They work so well that organizations, businesses, and social justice movements have returned in recent years to weaving storytelling into their internal and external practices. So what do stories—especially live ones—activate that a standard presentation doesn’t? And how can we use them to complement our lives? In this workshop, we will explore contemporary live storytelling, taking a deep dive into form, function, and process. We’ll learn about story arc, beginnings and endings, creating narrative gems, and engaging with a live audience. We’ll then apply those lessons by sketching out and practicing part of our stories. Bring what you’ve got on the page--fiction and non-fiction--and put it on the stage.

Harriett Jernigan is a lecturer in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric and the coordinator for the Notation in Cultural Rhetorics. A regular performer at The Moth Story Slam and a Grand Slam finalist, she has published fiction, essays, and articles on German language and culture and social geography. Harriett earned her B.A. in creative writing from the University of Alabama and her Ph.D. in German Studies from Stanford University. Currently, she teaches PWR 2: "Speaking Ironic Truth to Power: The Rhetoric of Satirical Protest". When she's not working, Harriett's probably baking or fencing épée.