The Art of Storytelling and Personal Essays

Everyone has a funny or crazy true story, and anyone can be a storyteller: It's all in the way you frame it. This workshop will give you the tools necessary to turn your favorite yarn into a piece of entertainment for larger audiences. Those already writing or performing will gain a fresh perspective on their craft. 

Because the workshop will focus on development itself--structure, metaphor, beats, connections, character arc-- we'll be able to work on both performance storytelling, and also narrative-nonfiction prose/memoir. As well, you'll learn how to mine material from your past that you may not have considered story-worthy before. 

Come prepared to put tales on their feet in front of the class! And bring a pen and paper too. 

STUDENT FEEDBACK:

"Jane's ability to make even the most jittery performer whether novice or professional relax and feel their story is incredible. She can hear your whole story while pin pointing the moments you may have never thought about as a revelation." 

-- MaryBeth Makara, former IB student

"Jane Borden's storytelling class was both creatively stimulating and instructive in storytelling techniques. She pointed out the solid paths as well as the pitfalls in both the writing and performance aspects of live storytelling." 

-- Stephen Chupaska, former IB student

"Sixth months later, the energy I got from Jane Borden's storytelling workshop continues to inspire and influence my writing. From real-life experiences to the fictional characters thumping around in my head, Jane's no-nonsense insights are small gems creating big, word-on-the-page impact. Her teaching technique is intimate and precise and uniquely hands-on. Just what we all need."

-- Julia Newman, former IB student, blogger for Feed Me Daily

"The Art of Storytelling with Jane Borden was one of the best workshops I have ever taken. Jane has an amazing way of helping each writer discover the true meaning of their stories, and is incredibly insightful with her suggestions for improvement. I would absolutely recommend this class no matter what stage of your writing/performing you happen to be in." 

-- Jessica Regan, former IB student

WORKSHOP OPEN TO ALL WRITERS AND PERFORMERS

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$50.00 per person. Maximum: 16 participants per class.

Day/Time: Saturday 12PM - 2:30PM

Class Dates: January 5, 2013

Student Showcase: None

Class Location: ImprovBoston Main Theater

Instructor: Jane Borden is an author, arts-and-entertainment journalist, and comedian. Her first book, a memoir in essays, titled "I Totally Meant to Do That", was published by Crown this year. Vanity Fair called it “affectionate” and New York Magazine deemed it “lowbrow-brilliant.” The Brooklyn Paper announced Borden as “the new ‘It’ girl.”

Her humorous writing has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine and Modern Bride, in two anthologies, and on Saturday Night Live. And as a comedian, she’s appeared on Comedy Central and VH1, and performs regularly at storytelling and stand up shows, and in festivals. She has appeared at the Women in Comedy Festival and as part of Junior Varisty at the Boston Comedy Arts Festival.

Borden was a staff editor at Time Out New York for seven years, predominantly covering comedy and theater, and health and wellness. She appeared regularly on local morning news programs (NBC, Fox, CW) as a guest expert. And she’s been fortunate enough to interview several of her heroes (Ricky Gervais, Christopher Guest, and Garrison Keillor, among many others).