Getting Started

So You Want to Start Your Own Tellabration!...
What Do You Do?

An "F.A.Q." for potential Tellabration! Producers

May I produce a Tellabration!?
	Sure, you can. All kinds of people produce the event -- librarians, teachers, church folks, clubs and guilds, as well as individuals! So can you!

What do I need to do in order to produce a TELLABRATION!?

	Choose a site
	Recruit a co-producer and staff workers
	Decide who will be your target audience
	Choose and invite your tellers
	Sign up with NSN and order your materials

I'm interested. . . so how do I get started?

Ideas for possible sites:

	Church halls
	Libraries
	Small theatres
	Community halls
	Bookstores
	Your own home

Places to find tellers and production staff:

Find your local story sharing group or Guild--check NSN's national directory of tellers and storytelling organizations

Ask at your local library, arts organizations, theatre groups...be creative!

Look at the material here in the Producers' section of the Tellabration! website, especially the producers' timeline--what you should be doing and when you should be doing it

Contact NSN for a Manual and Guidebook, which has more detailed information on such topics as:

Securing a performance space, and all the details involved in turning it into a storytelling venue

Filling your house and other uses of publicity

Developing a staff and all the jobs they will be needed to do

Crafting your evening--seeking a balance of stories, styles, and moods

NSN also publishes a Promotional Kit with materials such as templates for:

Tickets

Program pages

Bookmarks and Postcards

Fliers

Can I be flexible in my event?

Yes! Although Tellabration! was intended originally for grown up audiences, it has evolved over the years. It is up to local producers to decide what will best suit their communities.

Events in the past have included:

All adult tellers for an all-adult audience

Emerging tellers performing alongside experienced tellers

An afternoon event for children followed by an evening for grown-ups

A family event

A drop-in/home party for a group that chooses an informal evening of storytelling

What if I can't tackle an elaborate stage performance?
	Then have a Drop-in/Home Party! Invite friends to your home, enjoy a potluck meal, and share stories.

Do I Need to Sign Up?

Yes! By doing so, NSN will be able list your site both in the Storytelling Magazine and on this web site. NSN will also send press release information to two media sources in your area.

If you need a sign up form. . .

Call NSN: 1-800-525-4514

Or, Sign up on the Internet

How do I get the materials?

	Send a check made out to NSN to: 132 Boone St. Suite #5, Jonesborough, TN 37659 (Guidebook $25 Promo kit $15)
	Or, call NSN: (800) 525-4514 for credit card orders

Who Benefits?

"Everyone!" says Anansi.

	Introduce adults to storytelling "It is a gratifying experience to meet new people who had no idea that adults would gather and listen to stories." Mary Jo Huff Evansville, Indiana
	Delight listeners "I got the same feeling I used to get when I was a child and someone would tell me a story -- that feeling where you just get lost in the tale. And to think that people across the country and around the world were telling and listening at the same time gave such an overwhelming feeling of peace and the potential for universal understanding." Stephanie Gertler Freelance Reporter
	Showcase tellers "We have been asked to come to the Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in January to hold another night of storytelling. Several of us have storytelling invitations during December...and it all feel so RIGHT." Roger Armstrong South Arkansas Storytelling Society
	Encourage personal storytelling "We had a lot of people go home ready to share stories with their families too." Teresa Clark Idaho Falls, Idaho
	Connect cultures "Last year Donald and I were in Australia for an International Festival. There were tellers from Japan, Thailand, New Zealand, the United States, and Australia -- all with a common experience -- bound together by Tellabration. It was a goosebump experience." Merle Davis Ocracoke, North Carolina
	Organize a storytelling group "TELLABRATION is a wonderful jumping board for the beginning of a new local story sharing group or a Storytellers Guild. The Broward Storytellers Guild was formed as a result of our 1991 Fort Lauderdale TELLABRATION." Jo Bridges Fort Lauderdale, Florida
	Generate funds "All in all it was a marvelous night and the proceeds will be used to underwrite a series of free storytelling programs at local libraries." Carol Connolly Niskayuna, NY