Articles for Producers

Guthrie Theater   May 7, 2020  A Message From Artistic Director Joseph Haj While this video is about theater, its message also applies to storytelling. This heartfelt video is about the future of theater and why nothing can replace the centuries-old tradition of gathering together.

  Below are articles written by members of the storytelling community. Postcard Marketing  By Stephen Hollen A lot can be said on a two sided postcard. I use postcards in place of brochures much of the time. Brochures in smaller quantities run about $1.00 on vistaprint. Postcards about 7 cents. This is a no brainer. […]

PRO SIG Preconference, NSN 2013 Conference, Richmond, VA July 2013              by Kate Dudding   Summary Description of the process and success in creating a venue for storytelling to adults; expanding listener base; and sharing lessons learned during fourteen seasons of a dinner storytelling series: “Story Sundays at the Glen Sanders […]

The NSN Producers & Organizers SIG Pre-Conference Workshop July 2007               By Nancy Donoval and Loren Nieme   As a preparation for Theater and Storytelling collaborations, here is a set of questions and considerations that are worth asking before undertaking a collaboration.   What is the project?   O     […]

September 2011              by Kate Dudding   Five years ago, something exciting happened in our community. (No, that’s not the royal we – I have a producing partner, Alden (Joe) Doolittle. We specialize in producing storytelling events for adults. Together we’ve produced over 90 storytelling dinner programs and over 10 Tellabrations.) […]

Juneau Empire  December 10, 2017 Summary:   Now in their seventh season, Mudrooms is Juneau’s monthly community storytelling event. Each event has a different theme. On Dec. 12, the theme is “Square peg in a round hole.” As with every event, there will be seven storytellers telling seven stories at seven minutes each. Cost is $7. […]

2010 National Storytelling Conference July 29-August 1, 2010 Warner Center Marriott – Los Angeles (Woodland Hills), California There was a pre-conference session of particular interest to PRO SIG members: Thursday, July 29, 9:00 am-12 noon PRO-SIG members shared the lessons learned at the October 2009 “Next Audiences Conference” on the state of the art for […]

by Ruth Stotter Member, Producers & Organizers SIG Having experienced the pleasure, despair and surprise from the experience of renting a half-dozen theatres and sponsoring dozens of storytelling evenings, here are some of my suggestions for those planning to produce storytelling events. 1) Instead of a set fee, offer a percentage of the take at […]

Sheraton Plaza Hotel St. Louis, Missouri July 12, 2007 Ronald J. Turner Executive Vice President Emeritus University of Missouri   Thank you for that generous introduction and thanks to the organizers of this important conference.  It is truly good to be here with all of you as we continue the journey of growth and […]

by Members of the Producers & Organizers SIG Here’s a question that appeared on the PRO SIG listserv. Our Tellabration Problem We have our tellers audition their stories, and plan the timing of our program accordingly. But last year, two of the stories really grew between the audition and Tellabration. Plus an emcee took lots […]

By Mary Grace Ketner ( ) I tend to separate the two: emceeing, introductions. The emceeing has to do with the overall program and the audience, welcoming, making the program flow, cleansing the palate between each teller, building anticipation for the next story, bringing closure. The introductory “speech” for each teller is a separate project […]

by Nan Kammann-Judd Member, Producers & Organizers SIG The storytelling community is one of the warmest, most talented, compassionate, and usually very professional groups of people. What separates the “professional” storyteller from other storytellers who are invited to participate in festivals, workshops, performances, and conferences? From the producer’s perspective, here are some suggestions for the […]

by Kate Dudding () At the National Storytelling Network’s 2003 Conference in Chicago, I moderated a panel discussion on this topic. Other panel members were Gerald Fierst, Ellen Munds and Robert Revere. Based on the panelists’ presentations and information shared by attendees, there seems to be three things in common with all successful storytelling events […]

by Andrew Mungo This article was originally published in The Museletter, newsletter of the League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling (LANES), Vol. 16, No. 1, August 2003At my theater, I’ve been featuring storytellers as “short subjects” before the movie on occasion for about a year now. It’s a mostly popular program and my […]

Producer: Gregory Leifel () I run a tri-monthly program for my local Arts Council, in Barrington Illinois. We feature poets, storytellers, musicians, comedians, and other types of performance artists in an evening performance held in an art gallery in a bistro setting (the Pints in the title stand for the drinks — beer and wine […]

Producer: Priscilla Howe () I have been producing house concerts for adults for approximately 3 years. I was frustrated with trying to produce concerts of my own work for adults, so I decided to offer house concerts to friends and family. The host invites the guests, provides refreshments and passes the hat. I don’t have […]

Producer: Scheherazade’s Legacy, the partnership of Cynthia Changaris () and Mary Hamilton () Purpose: To provide an opportunity for storytellers of all experience levels to gather as peers and work on their storytelling art. While most participants choose to work on the development of specific stories, participants have also worked on workshop revisions, promotional pieces, […]

Producer: Bev Twillmann (, www.interpretivevoices.com) (This is once the site has been selected and permission gotten from presenting agency) Decide immediately if this is a free and open to the public event (preferred). State the goal of the event.  Just why do you want to have it and who is it going to benefit? If […]

Producer: Bev Twillmann (, www.interpretivevoices.com) Finding the Correct Site Convincing the Park (Whether National, State or Local) WHO to contact Examine your desire closely as to why you want to begin an event.  Try and connect with a reason for the Park (you are thinking about as a site) to have this event. Example: Haunting […]

From the sound of Mark Fletcher’s bagpipes, leading the children to the festival grounds on a misty Friday morning, to the last shivery ghost tale told by Mary-Eileen McClear on Saturday night, the first annual St. Marys Storytelling Festival carried an aura of magic.  The magic had begun with an idea in the spring of […]

by Kate Dudding (Member, Producers & Organizers SIG) and Carolyn Martino Since 1985, “Girls Night Out” has been a tradition each March in Providence, Rhode Island. It was started, and continues to be organized, by the women in the Spellbinders Storytelling Collective to celebrate Women’s History Month with stories and songs by, for and about […]

By Ellen H. Munds Member, Producers & Organizers SIG () Originally published in Storytelling Magazine, November/December 2006 At the 2006 business meeting of the Producer’s & Organizer’s SIG during the National Storytelling Conference in Pittsburgh, we decided to use this column as a means to share some successful programs. Here in Indianapolis, Storytelling Arts of […]

March 2007             by Kate Dudding   At the 2006 Sharing the Fire, the storytelling conference presented by the League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling, Jo Radner gave an excellent keynote challenging us to come up with ways to raise storytelling to the same level as music and theatre. Her keynote got me thinking.  […]

By Richard Martin () I’ve done table-hopping a number of times and always found it worked well, particularly when it is a sit-down dinner. In fact, it is one of my suggestions for a gig like a company’s annual dinner party. My reasoning is that, unlike a theatre gig where the audience have consciously chosen […]

NSN Conference, July 13, 2005 Pre-conference for the Producers SIG Notes from discussion on involving Generation X and Y in storytelling, and attracting them to storytelling events. Compiled by Janelle Reardon Member, Producers & Organizers SIG   ELEMENTS TO ADD or CHANGE: Story Slam (like poetry slam) Choose venue where X & Y generations hang […]

Producer: Ellen H. Munds () In order to encourage new listeners to come back to our next storytelling event, I send them a letter, thanking them for coming and telling them about our next event. Below is a copy of such a letter. April 20, 2004 Bill Jones 1234 N Virginia St Indianapolis, IN 46205 […]

by Leanne Johnson Member, Producers & Organizers SIG They began arriving in January. First, a small flurry, then a trickle at month’s end, and a veritable blizzard around the February 15th deadline. Tapes! Tapes! Tapes! Tapes filled with stories, and songs, and memories, and magic – and mistakes. As the chairperson of a concert committee, […]

by Alan Cock Member, Producers & Organizers SIG Sponsored by the NSN PRO SIG Agenda: Branding Storytelling: What does it all mean? Find out at the PRO SIG Winter Retreat February 15, 16, 17, 2008 Fairfield Inn-Airport 5220 W Southern Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana Discuss branding with Loren Niemi & Cristin Thomas Meet Pauline Moffat of […]