Finding the Storyteller in You with Connie Regan-Blake - NEFLIN (03/25/15)

Stories and storytelling are our link with all of humanity. In this workshop, you’ll discover how to find stories that speak to you, how to put stories inside of you, and how to be present in the telling as the story unfolds. You’ll get to the heart—the responsibilities, blessings, experiences and joy—of storytelling.

This program will be tailored to library staff and school librarians and may include:

Finding and learning stories
Traditional, personal experience and literary tales
Integrating storytelling into the curriculum
Listening skills in the workplace
Strategies to motivate reading
Use of music, props, sign language
Collecting stories from the community
Styles and techniques of telling

During the workshop you will:

Practice deep listening skills
Discover your innate capacity as a storyteller
Draw on personal and cultural images and memories to shape narrative
Learn how to ‘embody’ your stories
Cultivate and enjoy the bond that forms between teller and listener

As a teacher, Connie Regan-Blake invites deep listening and telling on many levels. Her approach is welcoming, powerful and fun; and her teachings can be useful in the corporate world, with family and friends or on stage. Together, we will create an encouraging, playful and appreciative community as we learn through oral exercises and story-partnering.

Trainer: Connie Regan-Blake

Connie Regan-Blake is one of America’s most celebrated storytellers. She has captivated the hearts and imaginations of people around the globe with her powerful performances and workshops. Entertaining audiences in 47 states and 16 countries, she brings the wisdom, humor and drama of stories to main stage concert halls, libraries and into the corporate world.

Both as a solo artist and a member of the acclaimed Folktellers duo, Connie has been featured on seven award-winning recordings – five audio and two videos produced by PBS. New Age Magazine, School Library Journal, and Southern Living have praised her work. She has been a guest on NPR’s All Things Considered, ABC Good Morning America and CNN.

When Connie takes the stage she generates a brightness and warmth, drawing in listeners with her engaging humor and Southern charm. Her stories range from hilarious traditional Appalachian Mountain tales to poignant true-life drama. A consummate professional, Connie’s rare talent can transform a convention hall into a wondrous landscape and turn a packed theater into an intimate circle of friends.

Connie has performed at the nation’s top folk music and storytelling festivals in Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, as well as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. Her groundbreaking collaboration with the Kandinsky Trio – an innovative blend of storytelling and chamber music – has been hailed as a “new art form.”

As a founding board member of the National Storytelling Association (formerly NAPPS), and a frequent host and featured performer at the National Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, Connie helped ignite and shape the American storytelling revival.

Connie resides with her husband, two dogs and a frisky cat in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina.

You can learn more about Connie on her website at www.storywindow.com.

Cost: NEFLIN classes are free of charge for Florida library staff. Registration is required for all classes and NEFLIN members get priority.

Cancellation Deadline is 9:00 am on Monday, March 23.
Otherwise, no show fees may apply. See all NEFLIN CE policies at http://www.neflin.org/training