Story Wise Women

THIS EVENT IS NOW A FREE ONLINE EVENT  

Monthly True, Personal Storytelling Nights

for Women 

Third Tuesday of the Month

March to November, 2020

7.30pm – 9.30pm

Women’s experiences are different, how we see the world, how we are treated in the world and how we make sense of the world are unique and diverse.

Women’s stories are not heard as loudly, as often, as seriously or as humourously as they could be.

Women need space and time to tell, to be heard, to listen and connect through sharing our experiences, through our crafted stories. We need to make sense of our lives in a way that brings peace and hope to the events that have shaped us, as we then in turn shape them into a story. We then give this as part gift part message to our audience and know ourselves in a deeper way.

This is an open opportunity for a handful of women to tell a 5 – 10 minute true story – no notes, it happened to you, and for the rest of us to listen. There is no obligation to tell a story, in fact listeners are needed just as much as tellers.

You can buy a meal beforehand and drinks at the bar then settle in, and let the stories begin. See the Story Wise Women webpage for more information, including Frequently Asked Questions.

Each storytelling event has a theme (set out below). Themes are meant as prompts, guides, helpful for those of us stuck, not to restrict or stump you. If you have a story knocking inside you that needs to be told and you think it has no connection to the theme, that is fine too. Here are the themes for 2020:

17 March, 2020 Theme: Guilt

Tell us about that time when you would have given anything to turn back time, to start the day again, to undo the thing you did. Lead us with story to that place, that moment when all you wanted was for the ground to open up and swallow you whole, to stop the aching remorse, the blinding obviousness of hindsight. Tell us a tale about the other person’s guilt, the hurt of their actions, and perhaps the seed of your role even in their wrongs. Share with us a story of the dance with forgiveness, for yourself and for them, unfold the journey to hope.

21 April, 2020 Theme: Greed

Tell us a story about greed, the hunger, the need and the 'never enough’. Share a story about the fear that pushes - of not getting, having, or being enough; of the driving dream that when you get ‘it’, it will all be ok. Tell us a story about greed backfiring, your own or another's. Tell us about racing the clock to grab it with both hands, about the counting out and the counting down, the anticipation, the wanting and the coveting, and finally the having and holding. Tell us about the after effects, the shame and guilt, the emptiness returning. Tell us a story about judgement, in its many facets. Share with us a story about the battle to let go, to accept, to feel and be and know and have enough, just as you are.

19 May, 2020 Theme: Grief

Story your sorrow, so we may swim through our own. Take us through your heart, on the journey to its tender, empty, aching centre, through its longing, and loving, its bitter sweet and melancholy. Tell us stories of being washed clean, the salty balm of tears that need to be shed, the dark night of the soul and the light, the tiny flickering light on the other side. Tell us about when you caused them grief, or when you tried hard not to cause grief. Tell us of the hanging on and the letting go, the yearning and the relief. Tell us about the funeral, the business of endings, the mess of unexpressed sadness, the being struck down when you least expected it, tell what you’ve learned, what it all means and how life, your life, goes on.

16 June, 2020 Theme: Grace

Tell us a story about a moment of grace, a moment when you felt in exactly the right place at the right time doing what you were meant to do, story us a world and how it felt to be in grace. Tell us of the dancing, the art, the sport and the yoga. Tell us a story about being graced with their presence: those folks whose very proximity makes us weak and wobbly inside, or tell a story about a moment of communal grace, when a moment was felt by all. Tell us about the religion of grace and how you make sense of it, then and now; of the grace before eating, or a story about the auntie or ancestor called Grace. Grace us with your presence on the stage and share a story with about and full of grace.

21 July, 2020 Theme: Gentleness

Speak to us softly of babies and embraces, of soothing words and tender touches. Take from hard to show us gentle. Tell us a story of the kindness of strangers or the kind hearts of friends. Share a time when the hot tears welled unbidden in the presence of unexpected compassion: when with a word, a tone, a brush of love, you wept without knowing why. Tell us a story of giving comfort to fear, of holding the sobbing child or the trembling dog, the anxious elder. Bring your tender moments, your loving touch to a story that settles in our hearts.

18 August, 2020 Theme: Gratitude

Share a story about the clouds and their silver lining, about the time it all went to shit, but you found the seam of gold in the grist. Tell us a story about the someone, or the something that saved you, from misery, madness or death. Or tell us how the shit made the shine, when your appreciation surged because you nearly lost something more precious to you than the world; when you realised simple is all you need and all you have, when the everyday dramas faded away in the presence of something much bigger. Share with us a story that forged your thankful heart.

15 September, 2020 Theme: Growth

Craft a story and grow as you do. Make sense again, of those times of struggle, those points of pain that spurred you, challenged you and pushed you into a new understanding of being human. Tell us about the kids, the babies, the animals, and the plants - planning and planting, tending and watching, as right before your very eyes they swell and grow, change, flourish and fruit. Tell us a story about growth and fixed mindsets - your own or others. Tell us a story of stagnation and frustration, of ceilings and barriers, being held back and held down and how you grew anyway, anywhere, the unstoppable force of life, to unfold and move forward, to change and grow.

20 October, 2020 Theme: Generosity

Tell us a story about the generosity of strangers or the kindness of neighbours. Tell us a story about the largesse of giving, the endorphins of being able to help, the satisfaction of making a difference. Tell us about the difficulty, or not, of receiving, of asking, of needing. Tell us a story about the free lunch that was not, of the gift with strings attached, the gift that was not a gift. Share a time when what you gave was not wanted, or what you received was all wrong, tell us the story and help us make sense. Give us a story, food for our soul, from the heart of your life.

17 November 2020 Theme: Gender

Tell us a story about the boxes, the ill-fitting boxes of gender that we are all assigned to at birth, about the mis-match, the mix-ups the mistakes we make, that are made about us and that direct our lives, for better or worse, and those around us, from day one. Tell us a story about a time your gender made a difference, gave you an advantage, or more likely, in this world, was a disadvantage. Tell us about shifting genders, being trans, gender diverse or non binary, or the struggles of loved ones who challenge the boxes, and the support you gave or should have given. Tell us a story about loving and relating through, around and over gender, bridging the divide, or not. Tell us how you live in a gendered world.

See the Story Wise Women webpage for more information, including Frequently Asked Question.