Masterclasses are workshops of 3 hrs

Masterclass 1. 9am - 12pm with Noa Baum,

USA STORIES OLD AND NEW - A PATH TO HEALING AND RESILIENCE - Interweaving traditional and personal stories to foster connection and transformation. Traditional stories ignite our connection to self and affirm our belonging to community. Connecting our personal stories with traditional stories we can access a deeper wisdom about life. In this dynamic workshop we will explore the intersection between storytelling and healing arts and learn skills to guide others in a creative and empowering experience. Through a variety of interactive exercises participants learn:

• To tell a short traditional tale and uncover personal meaning in timeless themes and structures.

• The universal element in their own personal story.

• Skills to guide others in a non-threatening creative process that leads to insight, resilience, and transformation.

Noa Baum, an internationally acclaimed storyteller and author of the award-winning memoir ‘A Land Twice Promised’ and a picture book ‘How the Birds Became Friends’ focuses on the power of storytelling to heal across divides of identity and build peace. Noa will be the keynote speaker for the 2023 Sydney International Storytelling Conference as well as offering a workshop on a different topic and performing in one of the concerts.

12pm - 1pm LUNCH - will be provided

Masterclass 2. 1pm - 4pm - with Colin Urwin, Northern Ireland

TRADITIONAL STORYTELLING: A GIFT FROM THE PAST - Bygone storytellers learned at the knee of their elders, by firesides and in fields. In the process they naturally absorbed and then conveyed a profound knowledge and love of landscape, local flower and fauna, and native wit and wisdom.

• How does this organically grown cultural awareness distinguish old storytellers from their modern-day counterparts who find traditional stories and songs in books or online?

• We bring our own experience to the telling of a traditional story, but how might our practice be invigorated by understanding the lore of the people and land from which it came?

• In the gulf between the traditional oral storyteller of old and the modern-day stage performer, what has been lost and what gained?

• Just how far are we permitted to go to in reimagining and reworking a traditional folk tale?

Through discussion and some simple practical exercises, Colin Urwin – a renowned international storyteller, folksinger, songwriter and author of ‘The Iron Hag and other stories’ from the Sam Henry Collection – will explore these questions. He will provide participants with the opportunity to share their insights and become more creative and comfortable with old stories. Colin will also be offering a workshop on a different topic at the Sydney International Storytelling Conference and performing in one of the Conference concerts. ( A free copy of Colin’s book will be available to participants)