This course is for experienced writers who want to try out their ideas in new formats and for total beginners who are not sure what story to tell. Come with a story you are already working on or use this course to find a story that you want to tell. Explore your story through a deep dive into multiple ways of telling it: work with a theatre company to stage your story; turn it into a song with the help of a singer-songwriter; try out creative writing techniques to develop a text or use multi-media techniques to make a digital film. Through a structured and supportive group process, you will give and receive feedback to develop your ideas. You will try out different creative forms and choose one to work with in depth. Expert support will be provided by Four-Eyed Theatre Company, the Oxford Centre for Life Writing and Transformative Story. After 5 days, you will have a final version of your story in the medium of your choice and you will share your story in a final group screening/performance.

What is included:

• 5 nights hostel-style accommodation with breakfast, lunch and three course dinner provided at the Dartington Estate, Totnes, Devon (upgrade your accommodation for an additional cost)

• mentoring and coaching from professional creatives over 5 days

• course materials

• full access to the Dartington Estate and facilities

• up to 3 rounds of detailed feedback on your story by the facilitator with additional feedback from the participants

• one-to-one trouble shooting and support for the editing and production process

• an individual session to help you tailor what you have learned about storytelling to your own work

• on-going membership in a network of others working with storytelling.

What you need: a phone/tablet/computer capable of connecting to the internet and enough capacity to install apps needed for recording and editing, an interest in and willingness to explore your own experiences to tell and produce your own story. No prior experience with storytelling, technology or art required.

Course limited to 20 participants.

Course fee: £1800

Independent researchers/practitioners £1600

Students £800

(£250 deposit due by 9th of June required to secure a place)

Up to 4 significantly discounted places available for researchers working in the global South or from small organisations.

Course dates and time: Tuesday 29 August to Saturday 2 September 2023. Course will run from 9:00 to 17:00.

Course location: Hostel-style at Dartington Estate. Upgrades to accommodation possible on request for an additional cost.

What people say about courses like this:

“What surprised me about the storytelling process was how everyone could produce a story which was immensely moving and meaningful as well as interesting to watch. How people who never thought they were creative found that they were. This course was one of the most impressive examples of facilitation I have ever experienced…just the right amount of tailored coaching, coaxing, pushing and pulling. Well done! Tour de force.” Dr Dee Jupp, Technical Advisor, Empatika

“Through telling my story, I learned how vulnerable you can feel at points and the importance of being willing and open to being and feeling vulnerable with a group of individuals you don’t know. I also saw the time and energy you need to be willing to invest as a participant in the process – not just for completing your own story but in order to be an active and present participant as part of the story circle. I also learned how fun and satisfying [this methodology] is both in terms of the individual skills you learn more about and getting the opportunity to develop and in terms of having a final ‘thing’ that you are working towards as documentation of a process and your story.”~Katie Turner

“What I learned through telling my story is that it’s okay to call out bad experiences for what it is, and not just suppress it. That like every other story, my story is important from the storyteller’s point of view. I was also impressed with the how the right space can help bring the right kind of reflection, which I will ordinarily think is difficult for me to do within a space of one week.” Dr Johnson Amamnsunu, Open University, UK

“I was surprised how well the storytelling methodology that I have experienced in person worked in a virtual format. The stepwise methodology was easy to keep up with week to week. Completing the story felt fun, a different way to engage my mind and analytical skills…It is a good process for training academics and action-research practitioners to carry out story-based participatory action research practices….The deep reflection that accompanies the development of the story is a different lens through which to make sense of complex experiences and to do so without suppressing emotion. The engagement with emotion seems particularly important in academic and professional environments where this is typically frowned on.” ~Dr Felix Bivens, Co-director and Founder, The Re-Generative School

“Congratulations on the design of the course and the facilitation. Thank you. You create such a comfort zone and the group was great...It was a space of trust, respect and discovery. A self-gift. For me, it was also a privileged space to meet with people from Bangladesh, South Africa, Jordan…” ~Ana María Claver, Oxfam Spain

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