Applied Storytelling: the Power of Story

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Comment by Susi Wolf on April 30, 2008 at 12:16pm

Susi Wolf Overview

Susi Spirita Wolf comes from a background in acting, professional clowning, writing and storytelling. She became a therapeutic storyteller while still living in Dallas, Texas and used healing tales in substance abuse recovery programs, domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters, crisis situations, as well as with those incarcerated. She soon discovered the power of Story as a living entity that could impact and transform lives, with the message coming through her as a vessel.

She was a peer counselor and victim’s advocate at the Rape Crisis Center for two years in Dallas and found storytelling an effective tool in helping survivors of rape and incest sort through their feelings.

Currently residing in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she continues this sacred work in domestic violence shelters, transition programs, drug/alcohol recovery groups, youth detention, a children’s hospital, and more. Working at the local zoo, she incorporates healing storytelling to encompass environmental issues and endangered species, as well.

“The King’s Wisdom” (an original story by Susi) has been used and well-received in alcohol/drug rehab centers and domestic violence shelters. Susi has also used it as a teaching tale in her general public shows, with warm reception. It is published on the Healing Story Alliance web site in the Treasure Chest section. Just follow this link.

http://www.healingstory.org/treasure/kings_wisdom/kings_wisdom.html

Comment by Ramona King on April 29, 2008 at 12:03pm

Dear Steve: I'm looking forward to more communications. RK

Comment by Steve Evans on April 22, 2008 at 2:52am

Thank you, Ilene, for your wonderful description of "storytelling as an art applied" ! I love your imagery and wish I could join it !

Comment by Ilene Evans on April 14, 2008 at 12:42pm

I hear the sound of laughter. I hear tiny footsteps and then running. I hear the hush of little voices. And they are here. The children have come. And my heart leaps. My friends have come to sing and dance and play. That is how our class starts. We greet each other with smiles and breathfuls of laughter.
I look forward to our set aside time. You know you really have to set time aside to do the things that really matter now a days.
The time is just not given to the most important things.
Breathing together, singing together, moving in rhythm with our world together.
That is what we do when we go into art. Storytelling is an art... applied.
We give ourselves to nature in a way that brings out beauty and empathy in us as we relate to our world.
I watch the young ones participate in this fully. Adults often have to relearn how to do this.
Our natural way is storytelling and characterization of the animals, energies, sights and sounds as we relate them to one another, trying to have someone else imagine what we hold in our memory.

Four young children sit around a circle with me as we sing and clap and roll and imagine and tell stories.

Comment by Steve Evans on April 13, 2008 at 11:38am

I love the topic, Sondra: Be Heard by the Other Side - Using Stories to Build Bridges. And I love the goal the goal (to get people from other walks of life interested in the power of story): fabulous. Wish I could be there! And I hope you get a chance to give isu a write-up all about it. Best wishes to you and your work! STEVE

Comment by Sondra Singer on April 12, 2008 at 12:22pm

I will be doing a tandem workshop with Linda Jacobson on April 26th at the Rocky Mountain Storytellers' Conference called "Be Heard by the Other Side - Using Stories to Build Bridges." We need hours, but we only have one, so we will be touching on a few topics and having discussion on those. Hopefully, we'll have other opportunities to expand this for other groups. Anyone in the Denver area, check out www.rmstory.org. The workshop is part of the overall conference, but the public can come just for our workshop for a nominal fee. The goal with this part of the Conference, is to get people from other walks of life interested in the power of story!

Comment by Steve Evans on April 2, 2008 at 6:03am

Applied storytelling, that's what this group is all about. Thanks for sharing this wonderful example, Mara. And I love the art! This relates so much to our discussion on story, identity and community as well.

All the best you. STEVE

PS - I'm thrilled you've joined the group. Thanks! I look forward to learning lots from you.

Comment by Mara Hawks on April 2, 2008 at 5:22am

A story of land and why the people come there to live... a new development of homes is introduced to the community, story-style: