The Storytelling Program

Mission Statement

To develop aspiring older storytellers into diverse community artists who bring people together through story.

Goals & Core Principles

The Stageridge Storytelling program is an arts initiative spanning over 40 years. As we continue the legacy of celebrating, fostering & sharing stories, this education-focused program looks to create a rich community of storytellers that reflects and celebrates diverse audiences. By bridging both learning and applied learning opportunities, the Storytelling program prepares individuals for arts-driven leadership around community support and outreach.

Since the racial reckonings in 2020, Stagebridge’s goals have shifted to support community health for BIPOC individuals, in and outside of our community. Aligned with our 2020 Solidarity Statement and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee, the Storytelling program’s strategic goals for 2021 include:

  1. Developing cultural awareness through engaging with diverse tellers in the Performing Arts Institute (PAI)

  2. Expanding opportunities for storytellers to perform for, and therefore, serve their communities—with a special focus on BIPOC communities.

  3. Cultivating a community and cohort that values the powers of storytelling and focuses to inspire and teach other aspiring artists.

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

To quote an adage, the shortest distance between two people is a story. 

Starting in 1980, Stagebridge’s Storytelling program was enacted to introduce storytelling into education while providing an additional pathway to improve student listening and speaking skills. Over the four decades, the program has blossomed into a multifaceted pathway for aspiring older storytellers to receive training and support in becoming community-engaged artists.

Currently, the Storytelling program has five main components:

  1. In the Performing Arts Institute, aspiring storytellers are given a range of classes to learn and develop their craft as students. They are also given access to several performance opportunities such as in-class showcases, yearly storytelling events, and our monthly storytelling showcase

  2. The Lunchtime Storytelling series is a monthly celebration of new work from Stagebridge students & community members, as well as a successful outreach method.

  3. Our Storybridge program connects Stagebridge storytellers with local primary schools. After completing a 16-week training program, Stagebridge students become Senior Storytelling Residents and present Storybridge workshop & curriculum for 6 - 14 consecutive weeks in K-8 classrooms around the San Francisco Bay Area. 

  4. Some of our highly-trained and experienced storytellers become performers in Stagebridge’s Seniors Reaching Out (SRO) program. These storytellers work with and perform at senior centers, private events, and cultural hubs around the area. Previously, our storytellers have worked with the Asian Art Museum as well as the Libraries of San Francisco and Oakland and a variety of community centers and convalescent homes.

  5. Additionally, Stagebridge has several community partnerships that have fostered multiple performance opportunities for our storytelling. Most notably, we have yearly performances with Tell It On Tuesday (co-produced by The Marsh) and Love Lines (co-produced with Beats Rhymes & Life). We also work with Covia, an active aging organization, on a monthly phone-based storytelling hour to provide restorative art spaces for immobile elders.

PAST PROGRAMS

EPIC Storytelling was an extension of the Performing Arts Institute in which students would complete a comprehensive education-based storytelling program. After completing the entire program, students would complete an internship or pitch and produce a final project to receive  a certificate of completion. Many of our EPIC Storytellers still work with Stagebridge in our Storybridge and Seniors Reaching Out Program.

Our Grandparent’s Tales program gave Storybridge storytellers the opportunity to celebrate the legacies of elders in their communities. Children (aged K-5) transcribed stories told to them by a grandparent or other elder, often with an original illustration. Storytellers would select narratives to re-produce and perform. These re-tellings were either in classes, televised, or performed at a public Grandparent's Tales event hosted by a community partner. Additionally, every child who submitted a story received a certificate to celebrate their participation.

To learn more about the Stagebridge Storytelling program or how to become a community partnership, contact our team here.