Community Events
Community storytelling events are held live (or over zoom) for groups in your neighborhood, school, church, synagogue, bookstore, yoga studio, or other. These events typically include an emcee, musicians to both provide musical entertainment during intermission and serve as time keepers, 5-7 story tellers, food and drinks.
These events are a powerful way to make deeper connections with one another and to increase empathy in a group.
I coordinate, select and coach storytellers, and produce the logistics of the event.
“I’m writing my story so that others might see fragments of themselves.”
— Lena Waithe, screenwriter for Bones and Master of None
Stories told live:
Marshall tells a story about a near miss when he was in college and how if affected him.
Gail tells a story about a regular , everyday outing with her kids and a surprise guest.
Testimonials:
“For what it’s worth, this storytelling thing has become somewhat therapeutic for me. It makes me feel less alone in life’s insanity. We live in paradise here, but life is still what it is, and work is still tugging on us, and cars break, and we are still not yet complete. To look out over this beauty and somehow yet still feel a longing, a desire to belong and to be a part of something great, is a feeling I do believe we can all relate to. Your storytelling work touches on that and I think it somehow makes all of us feel a little less alone and a little more understood. Even if we don’t tell our story, I think all of us to some degree feel like a bit of our own story is still being told through others. That is comfort.”
–AJ
“About 3 years ago, I was living in Costa Rica and trying to find my community. Lisa’s initial El Morfo email arrived out of the blue, inviting me to participate in her project and, in doing so, to become part of a family of storytellers and story-listeners, supporting each other through narrative as we built the community we were looking for.
I have spent years teaching creative writing, from the level of elementary school to the level of university and beyond. I understand the instruction of stories, and Lisa’s coaching of El Morfo storytellers was full of the kind of care and precision that you would want in shaping one’s memories into monologues. I have also staged others’ work and had my own work staged in venues in New York City — the detail and craft that Lisa brought to the staging of these Morfo stories in Costa Rica was both personal and professional, as well-executed as one could wish for.
But it wasn’t the coaching or the direction that was the most important element of the El Morfo event that I joined. What was most important was the spirit of open-hearted sharing, the risks that performers, both professional and non, took with their stories, the generosity and warmth with which the audience was encouraged to listen.
I am very glad that I answered Lisa’s initial invitation to join this effort. Not only is the performance itself an important memory for me, but the community that came from it, was strengthened by it, is one of the most important communities in my life.”
–GK
“Lisa Waltuch has the unique ability to make you feel incredibly supported and comfortable while simultaneously asking you to do hard things. As the architect and main coach of the El Morfo storytelling series in Costa Rica, Lisa was responsible for shaping and implementing her vision, and she did so beautifully.
As a storyteller, I felt encouraged and safe in her guidance and as an audience member, I can say that I have never felt more warmth and connection to my community.
Lisa is a force, unyielding in her commitment and tenacity to create. She understands and promotes community and connection, and the results are simply lovely.”
–KM
“Lisa was instrumental in the creation of our community story events at our school "La Paz Community School" in Costa Rica. The biannual event "El Morfo" was a highlight for parents and other members of our community as the storytelling was authentic, meaningful and while it was raw, it was still structured. She would coach individual storytellers and take their life experiences and make subtle changes in order to help form and shape the story. These stories were sometimes funny, but more than often they were emotional and moving.”
–GG
“Participating in El Morfo was a remarkable experience. Standing in front of a group of close friends in a tight knit community and expressing myself in a structured, crafted way, while sharing a story from my childhood was difficult and challenging but ultimately so very rewarding.”
–MH
“As an audience member of El Morfo for 2 years, I appreciated the stories community members shared and found them quite refreshing and enlightening. Our already tight knit community gained a deeper and more authentic sense of each other during these storytelling nights. I miss them!”
–DH
“I love gathering with people and sharing what is always a unique and delightful experience full of unexpected surprises. I love listening to people tell their story.”