Beyond Cinderella: If the Shoe Fits

Join us March 27th for the final installment of the Beyond Cinderella series: If the Shoe Fits. The glass slipper is the most iconic symbol in the story of Cinderella. Join us for an evening of cultural and personal stories about situations where a good fit was the key.

Free and open to the public from 6:30-8 pm in the SMCC Studio Theatre, PAC725. Please find a map at the end of this newsletter.

The featured tellers will be:

Karen Burns

Donna Martin

Roxanne De La Rosa

Sharee Hurts 

Nereyda Martinez

Marilyn Torres

Summer 2025 Storytelling Classes

STO 292: The Art of Storytelling - 3 Credits

Class #15814 - Online - 05/27 – 06/26

Class # 15842 - Online - 05/27 – 07/17

STO 294: Multicultural Folktales - 3 Credits

Class # 15888 - Online - 05/27 – 06/26

Find classes online here.

Sunland Asphalt

The Storytelling Institute was delighted to welcome the second group of foremen from Sunland Asphalt to SMCC in February for three sessions on utilizing storytelling tools to improve workplace communication. The foremen also participated in sessions led by Donna Dietrich from Know Your Talents, and Eric Knott, who taught on generational differences in the workplace. Liz Warren and Travis May led the training for the Storytelling Institute. A highlight was hearing each of the foremen stand and tell a story about their road to leadership. In addition to reporting gains on all the objectives set for the training, the foremen were very positive about their experience at the college. One wrote, “I learned a lot about communication and how to use storytelling in the workplace.” That was the goal!

Meet Bryce Barraza

Bryce is a student at the South Mountain Community College Storytelling Institute, and will be graduating from the Applied Storytelling Certificate Program in May 2025. He took his first class in the spring of 2021, during the pandemic.

Bryce has been a featured storyteller for the Arizona Storytellers Project, Arizona Desert Botanical Garden, and the Phoenix Art Museum.

The youngest of five children, an identical twin, and the self-proclaimed favorite child, Bryce enjoys sharing stories about family and versions of traditional tales that you my not have heard. For Bryce, storytelling is about forming connections and having fun.

Welcome!

Welcome to our first newsletter! I hope you will come to rely on it for your information about the SMCC Storytelling Institute and for what is happening with storytelling in our community.

Next October, the Storytelling Institute will be celebrating its 30^th anniversary. My colleagues and I had actually been developing the idea for several months before, but we count our official beginning on the date of our first storytelling festival, October 14, 1995.

Big anniversaries are times for reflection, so of course I’ve been thinking about our beginnings. What was important to us? What did we want to create? I’m writing a history of the Storytelling Institute, and as I read through the old files that document our process, I’ve been struck by how clear we were from the very start on what we intended.

We always intended to offer classes and events that gave people the opportunity to experience the benefits of oral traditional storytelling, that most ancient artform, our primary information technology as humans. The way all our ancestors – no matter from where on earth we come from – related and shared what was most important to them. And we were very committed to the “relating” part of storytelling. We had experienced the power of having stories related to us by gifted and experienced storytellers and we wanted to learn how to get better at that ourselves and teach other people how to do it.

And so, the Storytelling Institute was born. In the past 30 years, storytelling has spread to the other colleges in Maricopa, and district-wide more than 28,000 people have taken our storytelling classes. We’ve put on hundreds of events, and several dozen people have completed our 30-credit academic certificate in Applied Storytelling and become storytellers themselves.

And all that time, we maintained our focus on oral traditional storytelling. There are lots of places where people can learn writing, theatre, or movie making, but there are very few places where they can learn how to tell a story face-to-face, in real time, and how to make a difference by doing so. We are proud to be one of those places.

(The image is one of our early brochures, featuring our first logo, created by Joe Ray.)

How She Loved by Chrissy Dart

At the SMCC Storytelling Institute, St. Patrick’s Day lasts all month! Check out this post from the Tell Me Something Good blog by Chrissy Dart about St. Brigid.

Tell Me Something Good!

Mothers, Daughters, Sisters

by Janet Fraser Means

In March, the SMCC Storytelling Institute celebrates Women’s History Month! Check out this post from the Tell Me Something Good blog remembering storyteller and teacher Janet Fraser Means!.

Tell Me Something Good!

Upcoming Storytelling Events

At South Mountain Community College:

Thursday, March 27, 6:30: Beyond Cinderella – If the Shoe Fits!

• The glass slipper is the most iconic symbol in the story of Cinderella. Join us for an evening of cultural and personal stories about situations where a good fit was the key.
• PAC725, Studio Theatre. Please find a map at the end of this newsletter.
• Free and open to the public.

Friday, April 25: Annual Storytelling Institute Graduation. 

• 7:00 p.m. Student Union Room 100 at SMCC.
• Bryce Barraza and Shannon Sweat will receive their 30-credit Academic Certificate in Applied Storytelling, and many more students will be receiving their 6-credit Foundations of Storytelling Certificate. We will also be honoring our partners and allies!
• Free and open to the public.

In the Community: 

Phoenix Folklore Friday:

• Monthly on the Third Friday of the month at Fiddler’s Dream Coffee House.
• 8:00 - 10:00 pm., $10 ticket.
• Themes vary monthly.

Gather Storytelling:

• ASU Kerr, 7:30 pm, $10 ticket
• Gather features an emcee who opens with a traditional story, and then introduces the other tellers, most of whom tell personal stories.
• Days vary. Check out the Kerr Center’s Facebook page for upcoming events.

The StoryLine Slam:

• Changing Hands First Draft Bar, 300 W. Camelback. Go here for tickets and/or to sign up to tell. 
• The Storyline Slam features six-minute stories from eight different storytellers from our community. Signups are limited to six people, with two more chosen at the night of the event.
• Once a month on Fridays.

S.O.S. – Studio Open Storyslam:

• “Storytelling is a dynamic art form that brings people together through shared experiences, emotions, and ideas. When we open our souls through storytelling, we transcend both time and culture to broaden our understanding of what it means to be human.”
• Monthly on Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
• Go here for dates, themes, and other details.

Barflies:

• “True Stories. And Drinks.”
• A monthly reading series at Valley Bar.
• Dates and themes vary.

The Moth:

• “The Moth StorySLAM is an open-mic storytelling competition in which anyone can share a true, personal, 5-minute story on the night's theme.
• Monthly at the Crescent Ballroom.”
• Go here for upcoming dates and themes.