Storytellers Project: You're invited. Palm Beach Post seeks everyday people to tell stories on stage

The Palm Beach Post is bringing our community’s stories to the stage, and wants to hear from you.

Starting in March, The Post will host a series of storytelling nights at the Lake Park Black Box theater, featuring true, personal stories told by people who live and work in Palm Beach County.

Editors and reporters will put together quarterly shows, coaching a total of 20 people from the community to develop short, spoken stories reflecting on themes that resonate with everyone: growing up, getting along with neighbors, food and family, and celebrating the holidays.

The Post is aiming to create a night of community connection that invites you to get to know your neighbors. The newsroom is seeking story pitches at www.storytellersproject.com/tell/.

Can’t think of a story to tell? Come listen to your neighbors share theirs. Tickets for the storytelling nights are on sale now at www.storytellersproject.com/all-events/. 

“We are so excited to pass the mic in communities across America, inviting everyday people to tell their own stories in front of their neighbors,” said Megan Finnerty, founder and director of the Storytellers Project, part of the USA TODAY Network. 

“When people feel empowered to tell their stories and others feel excited about listening, a community changes,” she said. “People feel closer to each other. They feel more accepting of those unlike themselves. They feel more connected to their city and the people in it.”

Since its launch in 2011 at the Arizona Republic in Phoenix, the Storytellers Project has helped more than 6,000 people tell brief, personal stories on stages in front of more than 60,000 people. In the beginning of the pandemic the shows were aired online, reaching millions since March 2020.

In 2022, The Palm Beach Post will join the project and 16 other newsrooms across the country to put on our first show, joining  communities including Austin, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Wilmington, Delaware and Worcester, Massachusetts, that are new to the project. 

The 2022 Storytellers Project schedule

• March 9: Growing Up – Feel energized, inspired, and maybe a bit nostalgic as tellers share stories about their younger years.
• June 8: Neighbors – Feel heartened, uplifted, and more connected to the world and people around you as we share stories from the neighborhood.
• Sept. 14: Food and Family – Feel full of warmth, hopeful and a wee bit sentimental as we share stories about food and our family traditions.
• Nov. 16: Holidays – Feel comforted and ready for loved ones, presents and the lights of the season as we share stories about the holidays.

Become a storyteller

The Post is looking for storytellers from all backgrounds who are willing to share their hearts, and jokes, with their neighbors. Tellers work with storytelling coaches to shape their true, first-person story around the theme of the night. Each story will run between seven and 10 minutes, and tellers receive between three and five hours of training to develop their stories.

Tellers begin working with the project coaches about two months before the event, but you can apply now at www.storytellersproject.com/tell/ as Palm Beach Post coaches will select tellers reflecting the diverse experiences of our community in the coming weeks.

The venue

All shows will take place at the Black Box, at Park Avenue and Seventh Street in downtown Lake Park. Formerly known as The Kelsey Theater, it has hosted events as diverse as concerts, comedy shows and dance performances through the years. It seats 275 people and is accessible to people in wheelchairs. 

Tickets

Tickets are now on sale for all 2022 shows. You may purchase season tickets or individual shows. To reserve yours today, visit www.storytellersproject.com/all-events/.

kkokal@pbpost.com

@katikokal