Day 1

July 16
Present: Danny, Brenda, Sandy, Saudra, Rachael, & Josh.

Schedule changes:
Class added for Wednesday, July 18, from 9am to 12pm. (Saundra will you check classroom availability?)
Class cancelled for Wednesday, July 25
Tuesday, July 31, class meets from 9-12 at NC Stage Company, Asheville
Wednesday, August 1, 9-12 at ETSU
Thursday, August 2, 4-6:30 at NC Stage in Asheville (public performance)
Friday, August 3, 9-12 at ETSU.

Blog assignment: begin to post your notes on "Suddenly They Heard Footsteps" thru Page 105

Writing exercise: list all the stories you can think of that you could easily tell at will.

Today we met. Well met everyone! We decided to change the room to better suit storytelling. At Josh's suggestion we move the tables back and sat in a semi-circle inside the horse-shoe of tables. You will notice that Dan Yashinsky writes about moving furniture and his preference to get the desks out of the way. We discussed the 2 books and assignments briefly. (Note: this blog will be our communal journal, a place for dialogue about class experiences and readings.) Danny told us that he did not have a repertory of stories, then proceeded to tell us 5-6 in the space of 4 minutes. I introduced the idea of a "body of text" that we all possess. We don't fully know what we know until we are prompted to a thought by some "cue" or "trigger" from our environment or a conversation. This idea will be more fully explored in the text by Roger Schank, "Tell Me A Story" For now, seek to be aware of the way you are prompted to recall a "story" (ie. memory, anecdote, etc.) and develop the habit of being "reminded" (that is, of getting your mind back.) Consider that every day we are prompted by our environment to think about any number of things: how we look, what we possess, who we know or don't know, etc. Our environment leads our thinking much of the time without our really noticing. Now it is time to notice. Do you really want to think about the things the radio or the t.v. or the newspaper prompt you to think about? Are you ever kept from remembering and exploring the more important parts of your body-of-text?

After a break, we shared stories from our repertoire. As it happened, 3 of you shared composed and practised stories: Rachael, "StoryPox"; Brenda, "Abiyoyo; Josh, "3 Sisters" and 3 of you shared works-in-progress, Saundra, "Miss Ruby"; Sandy, "Audio Diet"; Danny, "Leadership". We discussed briefly the telligng and the stories. On Day 2 we will work those stories and learn more.