Storytelling For Everyone: Four Week Course in Personal Narrative (Mondays in July 2024)

2) I don't strive to “fix” your stories. My goal is never to get you to tell a story the way I, or anyone else, would tell it. Instead, I work to give you techniques, ideas, tools, and feedback to try on for size so that you can further develop your voice and stories. Feedback is always a “could,” and never a “should.” The classroom gives you a protected place to experiment, but my hope is that you will continue to use what you have learned to grow long after our time together is done. Ideally, I want to make myself unnecessary, and watch you outgrow me.    

3) Knowing something is one thing. Knowing how to teach it is another. I have developed sound pedagogy, technique, and structure over the course of the last decade. Through trial and error, support of mentors, and constant tweaking and experimentation, I have sought, and will continue to seek, the most effective ways to communicate, encourage, and educate. I offered free workshops for years before daring to charge a fee, as I wanted to ensure that my offerings were fully thought out, developed, and well worth the money spent.

    

Class size will be kept to 7 to insure that participants receive maximum individual attention.

Instructor Info:

Scott Whitehair is the producer of THIS MUCH IS TRUE, one of the city's longest running personal narrative series, creator of STORY LAB CHICAGO, featured in Forbes and Newsweek, and founder of DO NOT SUBMIT, a citywide network of pressure free open mics. He has told stories anywhere somebody will listen, including The Steppenwolf, Second City, The Green Mill, The Woodstock Opera House, and for NPR, The Risk Podcast, Sirius XM, and more. Scott is a 2x Moth Slam winner and has been featured at The Printer's Row Lit Festival, Fillet of Solo Festival, Chicago Improv Festival, The Fox Valley Folk Music & Storytelling Festival, The Evanston Public Library Storytelling Festival, and The Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference. He has taught sold-out monthly classes since 2012, and has done training for such organizations as Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Price Waterhouse Cooper, RW Baird, Chicago Cares, Loews Hotels, Lurie Children's Hospital, Crate & Barrel, Dyson, United Way, and many others. Scott has been a guest instructor at DePaul, Northwestern, Loyola, University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, IO Chicago, and The Latin School. His private coaching clients have included a Fortune 500 CEO and top speakers nationwide. Scott formerly served on the Board of Directors for the National Storytelling Network, taught a week long course at All Hallows College in Dublin, Ireland, and was the featured instructor at Hong Kong Story Worthy Week, which was headlined by David Sedaris. Scott performed at The National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough in 2017.