Story Submitted
Do you remember back when you were young, how some family member, maybe your grandfather, your Uncle Joe, or maybe your mother, would tell a story about your family? It might have been after a Thanksgiving dinner when everyone was sitting around, full of food and relaxing. Maybe it was at a family reunion, outside around a campfire. Remember how you wanted to hear that story again and maybe again that next year because the teller brought that story alive. Have you ever wanted to be able to tell a story like that?
Pat Nease
Well, you can. Pat Nease, an award-winning storyteller from Panama City and winner of the Lifetime Achievement award in storytelling from the Florida Storytelling Association, is coming to Madison to give two classes on how to craft and tell stories. These are free classes brought to you by Madison County Florida Storytelling. If, in the past, you have gone to the Tellebration!TM, the storytelling event held at O’Toole’s Farm here in Madison the Saturday before Thanksgiving, then you would have heard and enjoyed Pat Nease’s stories.
Nease loves storytelling and works hard to get others interested. In fact, she was just awarded the title of “Ambassador of Storytelling” by the Florida Storytelling Association. While she has told stories all over the world, she was impressed by how many people from this part of Florida loved storytelling and came to the Tellabration!TM . So she has agreed to hold these workshops for those who want to learn how to tell, or ways to improve, the stories they tell.
Her workshop can be summarized as a:
Light-hearted introduction to storytelling including crafting, delivery, stage presence, ideas, resources, traditional vs. personal, various venues, and much more!
The Madison County Library will host the workshops on Saturday, May 13. There will be one class for children ages 7-15 at 10:00 and one class for those 16 years old to adult at 1:00. That is the Saturday before Mother’s Day, so bring your family and learn tips to making special days even more memorable with stories. Seating is limited so be sure to sign up ahead of time if you want to secure a spot. Bring a story with you that you would like to work on. As a special treat in the second class, if time allows, she will give a tutorial on how to tell “tall-tales.”
You can learn more about Pat Nease at her website www.patnease.com. Register for your reserved seat at www.mcfst.org. You can also call Jim Glaser or Wanda Violet for more information at (850) 973-8813, or you may email at storieswv@gmail.com.