Join us for a weekend of story!

Grab your notebook and your nerve. This is your invitation into the heart of storytelling. Whether you've never told a story out loud before or you've been at this for years, this in-depth, two-day workshop meets you where you are. Writer and Minneapolis Story Laureate Kevin Kling and award-winning playwright Steven Dietz will guide you through the essential tools of the craft: creating vivid imagery, structuring a narrative, wielding humor, and writing dialogue that sings. No prior storytelling or writing experience is necessary, just a willingness to show up and try something new.

On day one, we'll dig into the elements that transform a raw experience into a story including "the invitation," that crucial moment where trust is built and a real conversation with the audience begins.

On day two, you'll keep shaping your story, then step into the spotlight to perform it for each other and an invited audience, with live musical accompaniment by composer Rob Witmer, walking away with feedback that will sharpen your voice for good. You'll share your story with a small, encouraging group who are all taking the same brave step alongside you.

This is a rare chance to learn directly from masters of the form — no experience required, just curiosity and courage. Don't miss it!

Ages: 14 and up
Cost: Sliding scale, $100 suggested donation
Space: Limited to 16 participants
Supplies: Pen and paper, or a tablet

Schedule:

Friday, 11/6 — 7pm Performance of KEVIN KLING: UNRAVELED written and performed by Kevin Kling (ticket included in workshop fee)
Saturday, 11/7 — 12–5pm
Sunday, 11/8 — 2–5pm, followed by a performance at 6pm at the 1932 Criterion Theatre, with live music by Rob Witmer

Bring your people! Friends and family are warmly welcome to attend the final sharing on Sunday evening.

About the Instructors

Kevin Kling is a playwright, storyteller, and author hailed as a Minnesota state treasure. Named Minneapolis Story Laureate by Mayor R.T. Rybak in 2014, Kevin has been awarded an NEA Grant, a Whiting Award, a McKnight Fellowship, a Bush Fellowship, and two Upper Midwest Regional Emmy Awards. His plays have been produced at the Guthrie Theatre, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Seattle Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, the Sydney and Perth Arts Festivals, Spoleto USA, the Goodman, Children's Theatre Company, Denver Center Theatre Company, and off-Broadway at Westside Arts and Second Stage Theater, among many others. He's also known for his commentaries on NPR's All Things Considered, has written five books, and is a frequent performer at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN.

Steven Dietz is one of America's most widely produced contemporary playwrights. His forty-plus plays and adaptations have been seen at over one hundred regional theatres, as well as Off-Broadway and in twenty-five countries internationally, and American Theatre Magazine has repeatedly named him one of the "Twenty Most Produced Playwrights in America." He's received the American Theatre Critics Association's Steinberg New Play Citation for Bloomsday, the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award for both Fiction and Still Life with Iris, the PEN America Literary Award in Drama for Lonely Planet, and an Edgar® Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure. He taught in the MFA playwriting and directing program at the University of Texas at Austin for twelve years and now serves as a Dramatists Guild "Traveling Master," teaching workshops in playwriting and storytelling across the country.

Rob Witmer is a composer and sound designer whose work has been heard at Seattle Opera (The Magic Flute, Tosca), A.C.T. (The Lehman Trilogy), Seattle Shakespeare Company (Twelfth Night), Village Theatre (The Color Purple), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, and Teatro ZinZanni. He previously collaborated with Kevin Kling on Best Summer Ever at Seattle Children's Theatre and Merrimack Repertory Theatre, and provided live music and sound design for the premiere of Kevin Kling: Unraveled at the Contemporary American Theater Festival.

Making It Personal: Storytelling Workshop with Kevin Kling & Steven Dietz