I spent a fantastic weekend in Washington DC learning the Center for Digital Storytelling’s approach to, well, digital storytelling.  Although each of the 5 other participants were new to digital storytelling, they were master storytellers.  They presented powerful life stories in compelling and visually stunning ways.   Stories about negotiating death, separation, adoption, becoming a parent, having parents… the complexities of everyday life.  The storytelling “midwives” were fantastic and their methodologies were tight.   They use story circling as an approach to refine stories, and they provide a nice balance of group work and one-on-one mentoring.   I walked away a more empathic individual, a better storyteller with a better appreciation for combining text, audio, and video through Final Cut software.

The digital story I made is sad, and as a friend noted, is rated “NC-17 / G”.  A strong theme throughout my creative practice has been investigating childhood, sexuality, and different forms of emotional / physical abuse.   So the story isn’t for everyone.  But if you want to watch it, it’s here.  The title is “Some secret things I know.”

My next story will examine newcoming and homecoming.  Stay tuned.