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Whether it's poetry, hip-hop, personal essays, or fantastic stories, our workshops challenge young storytellers to think differently about writing and the spoken word. Workshops are led by an incredible cadre of writers and artists who divulge the secrets of their trades. The kind of workshop offered decides its length of time and duration. A workshop may be held on one full afternoon on a weekend day, or it may happen over a span of time, like a series of four afternoons after school.
No matter the subject or genre of writing covered, our workshops are always fun, even uproariously so, like when Patty pulls out her drums or Gibson gets called into reciting "We Real Cool." They're also always productive. We like to send our writers out the door with their craft, whether a college essay or a notebook full of new song lyrics or a bound book. Scroll down below to see some of the fantastic videos made by workshop participants.
Sportswriting This workshop is full!
3:30-4:45 pm
Thursdays, March 8th-April 12th (Extra session, March 11th, No session, April 5th)
Grades 4-8
Workshop Leader: Gibson Fay-LeBlanc
What many of us love about sports, when we're not playing them, has to do with story. Will the struggling closer be able to strike out the side with the bases loaded in the ninth inning? Can the All-Star shooting guard overcome the death of his father and take his team deep into the playoffs? How will the first-year football coach approach his first game against his mentor's team? Sports capture the human drama within a set of rules and traditions. There are winners and losers and sometimes those winners and losers are not who they seem to be. In this workshop, we'll read great sportswriting and we'll consider local and national sports to find our own stories inside the lines. The extra session on March 11th will take place at 5:00pm at a Maine Red Claws game.
Participation in this workshop is free. However, it costs The Telling Room $315 to run this program, and we welcome donations of any amount to help support our work in the community. Register here.
Spring Break Guerilla Literary Art Camp:
Pamphleteering and Broadsides with Pickwick Press
Monday-Thursday, 10am-4pm - Friday, 10am-Noon
April 16-20th
Grades 6-9
Workshop Leader: Heather Davis and Pickwick Press
In the year 2012, we have endless ways to express our opinions, spread news, and raise awareness about important issues. But before Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Tumblr, and the like, what was an opinionated young person in the 1700s to do? Make pamphlets! George Orwell wrote this about pamphlets: they “do not have to follow any prescribed pattern. It can be in prose or in verse, it can consist largely of maps or statistics or quotations, it can take the form of a story, a fable, a letter, an essay, a dialogue, or a piece of reportage. All that is required of it is that it shall be topical, polemical, and short.” During this year’s April break, we invite you to join the staff of The Telling Room and the artists of Pickwick Press to learn more about the history of pamphleteering and broadsides, write about the ideas that matter to you most, and create your own original printed broadsides to spread throughout Portland.
Participation in this workshop is free. However, it costs The Telling Room $1,300 to run this program, and we welcome donations of any amount to help support our work in the community. Register here.
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Elementary and middle school workshops in the past have included Flowers, Clementines, and a Duck: Painting a Picture with Words; The Grok, the Sneasal, and Frank: An Encyclopedia of Imaginary Animals; HELLO, Wharf Kitties!; and Who Cares about Harry Potter. High school workshops have included City Poetry: Legal Graffiti; College Essay; Shoot This! Creating a Screenplay; and The World According to Me.
Workshop Mini-Films
Students in a Stop Time Animation workshop created these video shorts using legos, egg cartons, felt scraps, modeling clay and figurines brought from home.
In another exciting Telling Room workshop, students brought new life and color to the familiar children's classic, Where the Wild Things Are, by adding unexpected twists, turns, and surprises. They then created an original shadow puppet play to tell their revised version of the story. The workshop culminated with a performance for friends and family at The Telling Room. Check out the video below!
Register here for our free workshops. Please double check the listed dates and times and arrange transportation first - your full participation in all facets of the workshop is expected with your commitment. We reserve spots on a first come, first serve basis so please be sure that you can attend the full slate of classes before signing up.
All of our workshops are free, but individual donations to help run these programs are always appreciated - your assistance allows us to reach more young writers in our area.
Enrollment
Maximum enrollment is 12 students, unless otherwise noted.
Location
All workshops take place at our writing center at 225 Commercial Street, Suite 201, in Portland, unless otherwise noted.
Cancellation
Occasionally, the lovely Maine weather turns frightful, or for other reasons we are forced to cancel or postpone a workshop. We will always email our registered participants, or please call us at 774-6064 or check back right here for notification.