storytelling class -- round 2

Back in March of 2020, Ethan and I started a Storytelling class at The Magnet Theater. I blogged about that class -- or the start of it anyway -- here. Well, that class ended after one session. COVID. Ethan and I had the option of continuing the class in Zoom, but decided against it. Instead we bided our time, hoping things would eventually open up.

And open they did. A bit anyway.

So Ethan and I restarted Adam Wade's storytelling class last month. Today was the sixth session, which means that next week is the class showcase -- the finale, where we each get onstage in front of an audience and tell our story. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

In the year and a half since the abortive session, Adam has changed things up quite a bit. Back then, at the end of the first class, Adam asked us to come back with three story pitches. Some amount of time in the subsequent classes would have been spent discussing the pitches and each of us deciding what story to tell. Remembering that, I was -- in the first class - already contemplating what stories I would pitch.

But those thoughts were wasted -- Adam has taken a different approach. In the first class, he gave us a prompt -- a beloved childhood object. Near the end of class, we each got up and spoke about such an object. He told us, for the second week, to prepare a talk about a favorite restaurant or similar eating establishment. And in the secondo class he told us to prepare, for the third week, to talk about a mentor or friend. After that, we each had to pick one of those three prompts and build it into our story.

That had me disappointed. Even though I was having trouble coming up with three stories to pitch, I was feeling oddly annoyed that Adam was limiting us to these three prompts. In fairness, Adam did  give us the option of going off menu -- subject to his approval -- if we had some other story that we really really wanted to go with. But when I thought about it, I realized that I could craft stories from each of the three prompts, so the hardest part was picking one of them.

But I picked one. And the last three weeks have been spent building my story. figuring out what works and what doesn't. Adding bits and removing others. And Ethan has been doing the same with his. We have each presented three iterations for the class, and listened to critiques and suggestions. We still have a week to practice, but at this point we're pretty much ready.

So next week I'll be onstage, telling my story about ... well, just tune in next week.