Story Swaps
Monthly Story Swap
Every second Friday of the month, 6:30-8:00 pm
Want to participate? Doors open at 6:15
The swap is open to all,
both listeners and tellers!
If you’d like to put your name in the hat to tell a 5-7 minute story just sign up when you get there!
Join us for a great time at St. Philip Neri Church
2408 SE 16th Ave. Portland, OR 97214
The swap is in the Parish Hall (west end of the parking lot). This location is ADA accessible and has plenty of brightly-lit free parking available.
There is a large off-street parking area which can be entered from either SE 16th or SE Tamarack; from there, look for the Parish Hall sign and go up the steps or ramp to enter. After you come in the door, turn left and follow the signs to the room we'll be using.
If mass transit is your thing, the #2 Trimet bus runs every 15 minutes and stops on SE Division St. adjacent to the parking lot.
GUILD MOVES TO VIRTUAL SWAPS
MORE INFO HERE SOON !
We strive to make our venues accessible.
If you have a disability and need accommodation, please
The Parish Center is behind the church (west end of the parking lot).
Do you like stories?
Join us at our story swaps the second Friday of every month!
PSG Story Swaps are a great way to visit with others that love stories. Story Swaps are open to all whether or not you are a PSG member. You will hear stories from every level of teller; seasoned, first timers, or those in between. Many people come at first just to listen to stories but decide over time to give storytelling a try. Swaps are a safe place for people to take those first steps into the world of storytelling. We like to get in as many tellers as possible. However, we only have so much time. If you want to tell a story, try to arrive early and get your name on the list.You are welcome to bring food, no citrus please (allergies).
Guidelines for the Portland Storytellers Guild Story Swap
We welcome the gift of new and seasoned tellers and listeners as we continue to grow our storytelling community.
Guidelines for tellers:
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Stories need to be 5 to 7 minutes long.
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Your time starts when you begin talking.
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Check with the swap host to see if additional time is needed.
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Be mindful of the host’s signals about time.
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Practice your story before you arrive.
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No reading or notes.
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Stories should have a planned beginning, middle, and end.
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Copyrighted material is fine for swaps but not for paid performances.
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Any kind of story is welcome:
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Personal
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Folktales
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Historical
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Literary
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Ask before you start telling if you want feedback about your story.
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Feel free to ask for positive feedback only.
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In the interests of allowing time for all tellers, please refrain from responding to feedback verbally. (You can always connect with someone personally afterwards.)
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Be specific about the kind of feedback you want. For example:
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Gestures
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Voice
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Content
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Ending
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No lewd or graphic content.
Guidelines for listeners:
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Expect success!
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Respect the wishes of the tellers regarding feedback.
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Try to be specific in your feedback.
(“I loved the king’s voice,” as opposed to, “Great story!”)
Suggestions for feedback
— I liked how you described…
— I liked the voice you used for…
— Your gestures were really effective when…
— Your pace was good…
— Your facial expressions added a lot
— I was a little confused when…
— I didn’t need quite so much detail about…
— I’d like to know more about…
— For me, the story really started when…
— You could play with slowing down/speeding up when you…