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Workshops

In person / Online

Children | Family Friendly | Adult/Senior

Will adapt most programs for the specific needs of the event.

Online / Live Workshops

  • Storytelling 101
  • Story Cube
  • Finding Your Voice
  • Performance Basics
  • Changing Paradigms Through Stories
  • Developing the Story from Within
  • Thinking out of the Box
  • Antibullying
  • Assorted Stress Relief
  • Communication

Pre-recorded Workshops

Available – Contact if interested

Personal Stories
Workshop
Teen/Adult
Currently Available Online

“We appreciated Judy’s dynamic and informative virtual program! She gave our patrons a lively presentation with a wonderfully personal touch. Her ability to adapt her interactive program to fit the virtual landscape was beautifully achieved.”

Najea Grimes

Library Associate | Woodbridge Public Library

Story Voice
Workshop
Teen/Adult
Currently Available Online

“Excellent and so helpful” 

“Great Program” 

“I’m so glad that we were able to use the breakout rooms for this session they really add a nice dimension to the workshop, working with the material, and other tellers learning the craft” 

“She was definitely one of the best presenters and would enjoy taking other classes from her.” 

“I learned so much!” 

“LOVED IT. Learned so much. And Judy is a great teacher as well as a great presenter. Lots of insights that gave me a slightly different perspective–I always love that. Am going away thinking differently than when I came in.” 

Participants

Story Center | Mid-Continent Public Library

Just Listening Ferguson
The Just Listening Project took shape in 2014 as a community response to social justice in Ferguson, Missouri. The Missouri Humanities Council and the University of Missouri came together to do this joint project and it was screened in February 2016 at the University of Missouri Saint Louis. This video is my contribution to that project and was showcased at the event and focuses on art as a reaction to tragedy as a form of activism.
Events

Workshops

Workshops can be adapted for any age group.

Use storytelling as a fun learning tool to engage the minds and hearts of your listeners.  Learn new ways to help tell stories effectively. Everyone will be so caught up in the fun they won’t know that they are actually learning important aspects of putting together a story. This workshop has lots of practical hands-on work for the participants to do. By the end of the workshop the groundwork for building and telling a story will be firmly in place, with the tools on how to put your own spin on it.

Storytelling Principles
This workshop allows people to focus on a theme, create small touchstones to use as tools and set about through the use of story to encourage their listeners or audience to understand the theme and bring it into their lives.  Stories are broken down into the basic components and the participants are taught the skills to understand what a story is made up of and how to put one together.  Please wear comfortable clothes.  All material is supplied by instructor.
Building a Story
From the Ground Up
The participants will learn the skills necessary to present an idea using a story that engages the minds and hearts of their prospective listeners. There will be lots of practical hands-on work that will teach ways to help tell stories effectively to their intended audience.
Developing the Story
from Within
This workshop allows people to focus on a theme, create small touchstones to use as tools and set about through the use of story to draw in their listeners or audience. It teaches the skills to understand what a story is made up of and how to put one together. Using themes to bring meaning into their stories.
Find Your
Voice

Find  ways to help tell stories effectively and find your personal style. There will be lots of practical hands-on work for you to do, with the opportunity to put your own spin on it. By the end of the workshop the groundwork for building and telling a story will be firmly in place.  Use storytelling as a fun learning tool to engage the minds and hearts of your listeners.

Interaction through Themes

Using small touchstones and other tools, we will focus on a theme, learn to build a story and learn how to direct it towards a select audience.

Thinking Out of the Box

Learn to expand the role of storytelling from entertainment to educational. Collaborative discussions, Facilitator-led discussions, building on other’s ideas in a team effort with activities to learn better listening skills and recognizing cues of others.

De-stress & Relax
Learn how to relax and de-stress with some basic techniques. Good for people of all ages. Requires no fancy equipment, or preparation other than a few minutes of time and the willingness to practice. Available for businesses, schools & great for Senior Centers most workshop/presentations programs can be geared towards the needs of any organization.
Changing How You See
The World

This is a game changer for anyone who wants to gain insight into perspective and change how they see the world. It explores shifting paradigms and ways to interact more fully with each other. Through the use of stories, props and games the participants learn how to unleash their imagination and communicate their own personal story, in fun ways, with others.

Paradigm Shifting
for Better Understanding

Ability to spark and enhance critical synergy and creative energy by focusing on skills of observation, motivation and paradigm shifting with a team building emphasis. Using stories to gain insight into how we see the world. Shifting our paradigms to interact more fully with each other. The workshop helps the individual find a fun way to better communicate.

Workshops/Presentations
for the following groups
  • Woodbridge Library
  • South Plainfield Library
  • Boscov’s Department Store
  • NJ League for Nursing Convention
  • AARP Linden Chapter 
  • South Plainfield Library
  • First Unitarian Society of Plainfield
  • Mother’s Center of Central NJ
  • BPU
  • Program Leader JFK MRMC nursing
    boot camp
  • Pregnancy workshop UMDNJ
Antibullying

No act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted.”  Aesop

This workshop is proactive rather than reactive to the issues of inappropriate behavior. Through interactive storytelling the participants look at and see where, why and when inappropriate behaviors occurs in the story. Participants get the opportunity to come up with alternatives that might make for a more positive outcome. Finally, the participants must take on a new behavior and choose ways to implement it over the following week. In the follow up workshop discussion of what transpired for participants is processed. This workshop incorporates  using story to change the paradigm in a positive way.



The students truly enjoyed their engaging experience that they encountered with Judy. She told the students meaningful stories with an education theme.

Maria Melillo

4th Grade Teacher, Carteret Board of Education

The theme of kindness truly spoke to the students. They took the assignment very seriously and were constantly talking about how they could show an act of kindness.

Sharon Christie

Reading Teacher, Carteret Board of Education