For the first time in 2024, The Story Collider began offering a workshop on coaching storytelling. Drawn from our own internal producer training, this workshop will prepare you to identify engaging stories in your community, help other storytellers develop and refine their stories, and even produce your own storytelling shows. This is a four-week crash course in Story Collider’s storyteller-led approach to production.
Those who complete this course will be invited to join Story Collider's recently launched Network of Shows, which includes access to materials such as our producers’ guide; an invitation to join our Slack community, where you can get advice from other show producers and insight from the Story Collider team; and the opportunity to submit recordings of your shows for consideration for the Story Collider podcast.
This workshop will take place across a total of four 90-minute sessions held over Zoom on Tuesdays starting at 6:30 pm ET from January 14 to February 4.
Workshop instructor:
Erin Barker: Erin is the executive director and cofounder of The Story Collider. In this role, she has produced hundreds of stories over the years, and is a producer on Story Collider’s award-winning podcast. As a storyteller, she is the first woman to win The Moth's GrandSLAM storytelling competition twice. Her stories have been featured on public radio multiple times, including on PRX's The Moth Radio Hour, and on many podcasts such as The Moth, RISK, Family Ghosts, and many more. One of her stories was included in The New York Times-bestselling book The Moth: 50 True Stories. Erin received her master of fine arts in creative writing from the Stonecoast program at the University of Southern Maine in summer 2016.
What to expect:
This is an advanced workshop geared toward those who are familiar with the fundamentals of storytelling and the general vocabulary that The Story Collider uses to describe our approach. Ideally, you will have already completed our introductory workshop or have experience telling stories on stage, but this workshop does not have any formal prerequisites.
Class size will be capped at 10 participants to ensure that everyone gets enough one-on-one attention.
90-minute sessions will start at 6:30 pm ET on the following days:
Tuesday, January 14: What is a story? What makes a “good” story?
Tuesday, January 21: What do stories need? What do storytellers need?
Tuesday, January 28: What challenges might I encounter along the way?
Tuesday, February 4: What are the possible applications for story coaching, from the stage to the classroom?
How much does it cost?
Our standard workshop rate is $300 and includes an invitation to join our Story Collider workshop alumni community, as well as a free ticket to a future live show. We highly encourage attendees to secure professional development funds from their employers or universities to cover the cost of registration.
Discounts of 50-75% are available to those who will be paying for their registration out-of-pocket or make less than the living wage for their area. A limited number of pro-bono seats will also be available via a lottery system.
Click through the registration form below for more details.