Florida Repertory Theatre Offers Virtual Story Slam Taught by Mark Shanahan

Florida Repertory Theatre will offer a Virtual Story Slam class for adults 17 and up taught by Broadway actor and regional theatre director & playwright, Mark Shanahan. The virtual class meets Tuesday nights from 7 PM to 8:30 PM March 16 through April 6, and culminates with a Virtual Story Slam where students tell their stories for an invited virtual audience of family and friends on April 10th at 4PM.

Tuition for the five full sessions is $120/student, and thanks to generous support from a group of donors, Florida Rep is able to offer a limited number of scholarships for students who may need financial assistance. Enrollment is now open at www.FloridaRep.org.

The Virtual Story Slam is taught by Mark Shanahan, an actor, writer, director, and longtime member of the Florida Rep theatre community. His directing credits at Florida Rep include "The Hound of the Baskervilles," "Around the World in 80 Days," "How the Other Half Loves," "Hay Fever," and his play writing credits include "A Christmas Carol," "The Dingdong," and "A Sherlock Carol,"which was most recently presented in the 2020 Virtual PlayLab Festival.

Mark's work has been seen on and off Broadway and at theatres across the United States and beyond. Most recently, he is the creator of the "The Ghost Light Series" for White Heron Theatre and NPR's WNCK, featuring actors such as Christopher Plummer, Judith Ivey, Celia Keenan-Bolger, and Rhonda Ross in original radio dramas. Mark serves on the teaching staff at Jen Waldman Studio, one of New York's leading training grounds for theatre artists and at Fordham University, where he teaches classes on the films of Alfred Hitchcock.

Enrollment is open at www.FloridaRep.org and through the box office at 239-332-4488. For more information about scholarship opportunities, please call the box office.

Florida Rep's Virtual Story Slam with Mark Shanahan
Tuesday Nights 7 PM - 8:30 PM | March 16-April 6
Virtual Story Slam: Saturday, April 10 at 4 PM
Cost: $120

Class Description:
Everyone has a story to tell. Your story might tell of a brief but meaningful occurrence or it might recount the most crucial turning point of your life. But it is YOUR story! And only YOU can tell it.

The art of storytelling is a skill - and a practice.

Whether you are an actor seeking to develop your craft as a performer, a business person looking to sharpen your communication skills - or even if you're simply looking to become a better dinner conversationalist - Florida Rep's VIRTUAL STORY SLAM is a four-week workshop designed to give students the confidence, freedom, and structure to hone their storytelling skills.

Through a series of writing and performance-based prompts delivered in their 90-minute meetings, they will invest in the fundamental tools to craft and perform a personal, FIVE MINUTE STORY designed and rehearsed to engage and impact your audience with maximum effect.

Together, students will undergo a step-by-step process to:

1) FIND YOUR STORY: Inspiration is right at your fingertips if you know where to look.

2) DEVELOP YOUR VOICE: A good story reveals as much about the storyteller as it does about tale itself.

3) MASTER STRUCTURE: Grab your audience's attention with sure-fire ways to take them on a journey from beginning, middle to end.

4) STAND AND DELIVER: Discover the unique challenges and exhilarating joys of interpreting and performing your own work before a live audience, informed by a clear point of view, infused with a specificity of intent and clarity in your delivery.

At the end of the sessions, they will gather together via Zoom to hold FLORIDA REP'S FIRST EVER VIRTUAL STORY SLAM, hosted live from the Historic Arcade Theatre. All family and friends of Florida Rep's theatre community are invited to attend as they share the remarkable takes they will give birth to in class.

All you need is your laptop, a voice recorder app for your phone, and a willingness to contribute to the spirit of community building. All backgrounds, points of view, and experiences are welcome and encouraged to express themselves with a promise of being met with respect and encouragement. The STORY SLAM invites us to participate as both performer and audience member - creating a theatrical event that speaks to the very heart of Florida Rep's artistic mission.

Your story is waiting to be told. They can't wait to hear it.

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