Taylor Sanders was among the seven storytellers who shared stories of hardship, triumph and success from "Behind the Kitchen Door" at the Naples Daily News' inaugural Storytellers Project event on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 at Venue Naples. Naples Daily News
Brian Roland was among the seven storytellers who shared stories of hardship, triumph and success from "Behind the Kitchen Door" at the Naples Daily News' inaugural Storytellers Project event on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 at Venue Naples. Naples Daily News
Raphael Feliciano was among the seven storytellers who shared stories of hardship, triumph and success from "Behind the Kitchen Door" at the Naples Daily News' inaugural Storytellers Project event on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 at Venue Naples. Naples Daily News
Amber Phillips was among the seven storytellers who shared stories of hardship, triumph and success from "Behind the Kitchen Door" at the Naples Daily News' inaugural Storytellers Project event on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 at Venue Naples. Naples Daily News
Grant Phelan was among the seven storytellers who shared stories of hardship, triumph and success from "Behind the Kitchen Door" at the Naples Daily News' inaugural Storytellers Project event on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 at Venue Naples. Naples Daily News
Chrissy Bianchi was among the seven storytellers who shared stories of hardship, triumph and success from "Behind the Kitchen Door" at the Naples Daily News' inaugural Storytellers Project event on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 at Venue Naples. Naples Daily News
Massimo “Max” Puglielli was among the seven storytellers who shared stories of hardship, triumph and success from "Behind the Kitchen Door" at the Naples Daily News' inaugural Storytellers Project event on Monday, Nov. 13, 2017 at Venue Naples. Naples Daily News
Storytellers Behind the Kitchen Door with Taylor Sanders
Storytellers Behind the Kitchen Door with Brian Roland
Storytellers Behind the Kitchen Door with Raphael Feliciano
Storytellers Behind the Kitchen Door with Amber Phillips
Storytellers Behind the Kitchen Door with Grant Phelan
Storytellers Behind the Kitchen Door with Chrissy Bianchi
Storytellers Behind the Kitchen Door with Massimo “Max” Puglielli
Do you have a story that you've been keeping inside or one that you've shared and want to take to a bigger audience?
At the Tallahassee Democrat, every day we are committed to telling true, compelling stories both digitally and in print and now live and in person.
The Tallahassee Democrat Storytellers Project, a series of live storytelling events that we will record and publish online, might be the perfect opportunity for you to open up on stage in front of your community.
Part of the USA TODAY Network's Storytellers Project, the Democrat's events aim to connect the community through stories and by sharing diverse voices
We hope to bring together people with varied backgrounds, beliefs and opinions for a shared experience. Storytellers Project events, which have been held in cities like Phoenix, Fort Myers, Naples, Nashville and Louisville, are typically filled with neighbors and notables, pals and professors, and teachers and preachers, friends and firebrands who have a true, first-person story to share in 8 to 10 minutes in front of a live audience. Events are themed and storytellers are welcome to address the theme literally or metaphorically.
To kick off our Storytellers Project, we will be hosting a night of stories and information about the series at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 29 at The Junction at Monroe. The open house event is free but tickets are available here.
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We are recruiting storytellers and sponsors for the shows planned for 2018 and beyond. The first official storytelling night of 2018 will be themed around "How Tallahassee became home" and will be held on March 6 at The Junction at Monroe.
If you're interested in stepping up and telling a story, please fill out this survey and the Tallahassee Democrat's storytelling coach/news editor, Andrew J. Skerritt, will be in touch. Each storyteller will be coached and prepped for the big night.
On May 15, our night will focus on teachers and the life lessons we garnered in the classroom.
This fall we will host an evening featuring journalists and writers themed "Stories about Stories."
For the romantics among us, it's never too early to think about that love story worth telling for Feb. 12, 2019. The exact locations and times will be announced soon.
Want to share your story but feeling nervous about that LIVE and RECORDED part? Have no fear! In preparation for each event, a team of journalists will coach participants through their story structure, and a rehearsal will be held before the live event.
"For more than a century, the Tallahassee Democrat has been sharing stories that matter to this community — first in the pages of our print edition and then online on the webpages of tallahassee.com," said Editor William Hatfield. "It's a cool thing to be able to return to the origin of all stories in the spoken word. And we are blessed to live in a community where everyone has a story. We can't wait to hear yours."
Storytelling Project Guidelines
- Stories must be true — something you experienced.
- Stories must be (mostly) about you.
- Anything you say in public must not compromise your ability to return to work, your family or your community.
- Anything you say in public must not damage the reputation of another person.
- Stories are not talks. If you want to teach something, explain something, convince people of something, inspire people to feel something or call people to some action, we invite you to pitch a TED talk.
Storytelling Basics
- All stories document change. If you don't change what you think, what you do or how you act, then you don't have a story.
- People, place and time in the first sentences.
- A conflict or problem.
- Someone or something that helps you solve the problem or resolve the conflict.
- A point. Implicit or explicit. Please don't end your story with a cliffhanger. Tell us how things end.