Bringing oral storytelling to all
Utah Storytelling GuildThe mission of the Utah Storytelling Guild is to promote the art form and practice of storytelling, to foster and nurture oral storytellers, and to stimulate the public’s interest in storytelling.
Getting Involved
Embrace the Power of Storytelling
Telling
Truth, naked and cold, had been turned away from every door in the village. Her nakedness frightened the people. When Story found her she was huddled in a corner, shivering and hungry. Taking pity on her, Story gathered her up and took her home. There she dressed Truth with folktales, fairytales, myths and legends. Now clothed in story, Truth knocked again at the villagers’ doors and was readily welcomed into people’s houses. They invited her to eat at their table and warm herself by their fire.
Listening
When you tell a story that touches me you give me the gift of human attention. The kind that connects me to you, that touches my heart and makes me feel more alive. When I have lost my way and I am wandering in the wilderness, it is stories that light the way home. Stories are our universal storehouse of knowledge, beliefs, values, attitudes, passions, dreams, imagination, and vision. I need your story to remind me of who I am and where I belong.
What we do
Our Guild Services
Creating Community
The most powerful narcotic in the world is the promise of belonging. To be acknowledged and seen. We see you and want to hear your stories. We are supportive and encouraging.
Coaching & Collaborating
Our guild meetings are a place to learn how to tell and to have a safe place to practice your stories. Audience reactions are a critical part of developing a story. We are a practiced and sympathetic audience.
Perfomances & Festivals
If you are looking for a storyteller for a community, school, or private event, contact us, and we will help you find the right fit for your need.
If you are a teller, or would like to learn to become one, we provide our guild members with training and information resources and notify members of upcoming auditions,
festivals, and other opportunities to use your storytelling talents.
Commissioned Work
The Guild is a great place to look for someone to craft a story tailored for your event. We have worked with organizations like Better Days 2020, Story Map Utah and countless school districts creating curriculum catered to their individual needs.
Book a Storyteller for . . .
Schools & Libraries
Classroom Residencies
Historical Curriculum
Community Festivals
Art Festival
Renaissance Festival
City Historical Days
Themed Events
Better Days 2020 – Suffrage
Pioneer Days
Ghost Tours
Museums & Gardens
This is the Place
The Leonardo
Red Butte Gardens
Corporate
Team Building
Branding
Conferences & Keynotes
Roots Tech
Mt. West Arts
Holiday Gatherings
Romantic, Patriotic
Halloween, Christmas
House Concerts
Family Reunion
Fantasy/Superhero Party
Our Chapters
Bridgerland
Bridgerland covers Logan, Brigham City, Bear Lake, and southern Idaho.
They are not currently meeting regularly, but join other members at the Zoom virtual meetings.
Farmington Bay
Davis County is the home of the Farmington Bay Chapter of the Utah Storytelling Guild.
This chapter meets monthly every 3rd Thursday, 7:00 pm, at the home of the chapter president, Wayne Kartchner.
Use the email below for the address.
Stop by and join us and learn how you can become a storyteller or use storytelling in your life.
Contact Farmington Bay President, Wayne Kartchner, at wkartchner@gmail.com
Timp Tellers
Utah County is the home of the Timp Tellers Chapter.
They meet monthly every 1st Tuesday at 7:00 pm, at Cove Point Retirement Center 1988 N. Cove Point Lane, Provo, Utah.
Co-Presidents Steffani Raff & Paige Funk at steffaniraff@gmail.com, paigefunk@gmail.com
Virtual
We hold two virtual meetings a month. The afternoon meeting is on the third Wednesday at 11:30 am. The evening meeting meets on the fourth Tuesday at 7 pm.
Reach out to usgmemo@gmail.com for the Zoom link.
Ben Lomond
Weber County is the home of the Ben Lomond Chapter.
They are not currently meeting regularly, but join other members at the Zoom virtual meetings.
Olympus
Salt Lake County is the home of the Olympus Chapter of the Utah Storytelling Guild.
They meet on the 3rd Thursday of every month at 7 pm in the home of Annie Eastmond in Sandy, Utah.
Contact Olympus Chapter President Annie Eastmond for the address:
801-859-9601 or AnnieEastmond@gmail.com
Dixie
Southern Utah is the home of the Dixie Chapter.
They meet every other month on the 2nd Thursday at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Contact John for a Zoom link.
Dixie President John Harrison at John@goharrison.net
What Drives Us
Our Mission
Our mission is to keep the oral tradition of storytelling alive and exciting by helping to train performance, business and family storytellers.
We think in story. It’s hard wired in our brain. It is how we make strategic sense of the otherwise overwhelming world around us.
Storytelling is a necessary art for our times. Though we have invented an amazing technology for saving data, we are at risk of forgetting our personal, family and cultural stories. Often that data, though saved, is not absorbed or shared. When you listen to a well-crafted story, it lives in your memory, ready to share the wisdom when needed.
“If you want to study another culture, what better way than to hear it through stories.” Syd Lieberman
The well-told story can invoke discussions, and it is those discussions that can become a tool to mending broken worlds.
Storytelling has the power to influence.
Story is the language of experience. Stories allow us to simulate intense experiences without having to live through them.
Story evolved as a way to explore our own mind and the minds of others, as a sort of dress rehearsal for the future.
Get Involved
Learning our own stories and the stories of other cultures has the capacity of helping to anchor our identity, preserve our family and community histories and heritages and build intercultural bridges.
Upcoming Events
Sept 4-6 Timpanogos Storytelling Festival
Timpanogos Storytelling Festival Experience the Magic!
If you haven’t been able to attend the world-renowned Timpanogos Storytelling Festival in the past, now’s your chance! See details at: https://timpfest.org/