Timeless Tales: Bringing Yesterday’s Stories Into Today
Target Participants:
Open to both new and seasoned playwrights and/or prose writers who are fluent in English.
Duration:
2 sessions, two hours per session
No. of Participants:
Min: 6 people; Max: 12 people
Pre-Workshop Preparation:
- Please bring pen/pencil and paper or laptop for the writing exercises.
- Please have 2 fables/myths/legends/folktales in mind that you would like to adapt.
Notes for Organisers:
Please make available a quiet, fair-sized room that allows participants to move about freely and provide sufficient chairs/writing surfaces for all the participants.
Ancient folk tales, fables, myths and legends, that are still being read or told today, have stood the test of time as their content and story structures still resonate with audiences today. When we do our own creative writing, sometimes it can be useful for us to draw inspiration from these old stories, instead of trying in vain to devise new plotlines and themes to capture what we want to say.
Using various Aesop’s fables as examples, Verena Tay will share with you tips and tricks on how you can rework the structural elements of these stories to develop a fresh piece of writing before you reinterpret a traditional myth/legend/folktale of your choice.
Areas Covered:
Session #1: Crafting
• Tips on reworking structural elements of old stories
• Crafting your own text
Session #2: Polishing
• Review of the story that you have crafted
• Tips on how to polish the story
About the Facilitator
Verena Tay has spent more than 25 years acting, directing and writing for Singaporean English-language theatre. She has three published collections of plays and is now working on her debut novel and first volume of short stories. In addition, Verena is an active storyteller-cum-storytelling coach and a co-founder of MoonShadow Stories. Possessing an MA in Voice Studies (Central School of Speech and Drama, 2005) and an MA in English Literature (National University of Singapore, 1993), she has been helping people to improve their communication skills since 2001 and currently teaches voice, speech and presentation skills at various local institutions. For more information about Verena, please visit www.verenatay.com.