DIY Stories 2008-2010

DIY (Do It Yourself) Stories was a live, open stage storytelling show that was hosted at Someday Lounge, Camellia Lounge, Common Ground Cafe, and Sydney’s Cafe in Portland, OR.

Hundreds of people told stories at the DIY Stories events. DIY Stories was written about in the Oregonian, Portland Tribune, Portland Mercury, and Willamette Week. DIY Stories was featured on the Destination DIY radio show on KBOO, and it was a special event at the Tapestry of Tales Storytelling Festival at the Multnomah County Library.

DIY Stories featured an open stage with storytellers telling tales based on a given topic for the night. At later shows, there was no specific topic. Instead, the first story told sparked a story in a listener who then told a story that inspired another audience member to share, and so on.

I created the event, made the website and promotional materials, wrote press releases, managed logistics, handled the budget, and hosted. DIY Stories was not a story slam. It favored community over competition.

After running the show for two years, DIY Stories morphed from a live storytelling event into a series of storytelling workshops that were held at Sydney’s Cafe, Vibrant Studios, and Zimmerman Community Center.

Topics included storytelling, web coding, and social media.