Pre-Festival Intensive Workshop! Prior to the welcome reception at 4pm, this workshop offers you an in depth opportunity to work with our storyteller in a Master Class setting.
TEACHING WITHOUT PREACHING:
The Art of Edutainment
Thursday, January 23, 2025
9:30am – 3:30pm (includes an hour break for lunch)
Lakeside Inn, Grandview Room
Sign up when you register for the festival or “a la carte” on the Festival Registration site.
This master class pre-intensive registration is only $100.
TEACHING WITHOUT PREACHING:
The Art of Edutainment
Some people talk about social issues, and we feel scolded, beaten down, and hopeless. Others uplift and inspire us to be part of the solution. Join us to learn how to create stories that invite people to leave compassion fatigue behind and care about your cause. Our facilitator, veteran storyteller Sue O’Halloran, will demonstrate how she approaches her stories that revolve around themes of race equity and women’s health. These principles will apply to any theme that calls to you, whether you are an active advocate or just beginning to take on stories with deeper themes. You will be able to distinguish between stories that preach in a negative and patronizing way compared to stories that enlighten, encourage, and emotionally move your audience to take action.
About Susan O’Halloran
Sue O’Halloran is a writer, story artist, television personality, and keynote speaker whose stories explore the complex issues of social justice. Sue is the author of several books and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion curriculums, plus a producer of multi-cultural shows, videos, and films, including Tribes & Bridges at the Steppenwolf Theatre and More Alike Than Not: Stories of Three Americans – Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim. She was the producer/director of the first online story festival in 2012 that reached fifty-two countries. Her Racebridges website showcased 260 video stories by professional story artists telling America’s untold stories and received over half a million visitors each year.
The Chicago Reader says O’Halloran “has mastered the Irish art of telling stories that are funny and heart-wrenching at the same time.” Sue has been a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festivals and Residencies, a National Storytelling Network keynote speaker, and a community-building facilitator, plus a winner of the Florida Royal Palm Literary Award. She lives in Lady Lake, Florida, and can be found at www.susanohalloran.com