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Whether it's poetry, hip-hop, personal essays, or fantastic stories, our workshops challenge young storytellers to think differently about writing and the spoken word. Workshops are led by an incredible cadre of writers and artists who divulge the secrets of their trades. The kind of workshop offered decides its length of time and duration. A workshop may be held on one full afternoon on a weekend day, or it may happen over a span of time, like a series of four afternoons after school.
Elementary and middle school workshops have included Flowers, Clementines, and a Duck: Painting a Picture with Words; The Grok, the Sneasal, and Frank: An Encyclopedia of Imaginary Animals; HELLO, Wharf Kitties!; and Who Cares about Harry Potter. High school workshops have included City Poetry: Legal Graffiti; College Essay; Shoot This! Creating a Screenplay; and The World According to Me.
No matter the subject or genre of writing covered, our workshops are always fun, even uproariously so, like when Patty pulls out her drums or Gibson gets called into reciting "We Real Cool." They're also always productive. We like to send our writers out the door with their craft, whether a college essay or a notebook full of new song lyrics or a bound book. Scroll down below to see some of the fantastic videos made by workshop participants.
Draw, Write & Publish! A teen zine factory This workshop is full!
Thursdays, 3:30-5:00
January 5, 12, 19, 26
Grades 6-12
Teaching Artist: Jamie Hogan
Come play with the creative possibilities of cut-and-paste photocopied self-publication. Your zine will involve combining images and words as well as the relationship between form and content. Using drawings, photos, rubber stamps, stickers, collage, found text, poetry, lyrics, or maybe your ex-best-friend’s diary, your zine will be your visual shout out to the world.
Participation in this workshop is free. However, it costs The Telling Room $300 to run this program, and we welcome donations of any amount to help support our work in the community. Register here.
Sorry, this workshop is full!
Rhythm, Verse, and Rhyme: Songwriting For Beginners
Mondays, 4:00-5:30pm
Jan. 9, 23, 30, Feb. 4 (optional, special guest workshop), 6, 13, 20
Grades 3–5
Teaching Artist: Emilia Dahlin
Come One, come All, to engage in the alchemical process of writing songs. Collaboratively and individually we’ll explore our surroundings through all our senses, and distill our experiences into verse and chorus. A guest songwriter/musician will join us for a special session on Saturday, February 4th. Performers and non-performers are welcome, as well as interest in all genres of music. No experience necessary, only enthusiasm!
Participation in this workshop is free. However, it costs The Telling Room $450 to run this program, and we welcome donations of any amount to help support our work in the community. Register here.
Razzle Dazzle Blanket Forts! This workshop is full!
10am-12pm
Saturday, February 11th
Grades K-4
Workshop leader: Gibson Fay-LeBlanc
Imagine! Build! Write! Engage in the time-honored activity of building fantastical structures out of fabric, cushions, tables and chairs (that's right...blanket forts!) in order to explore the ways in which stories are imagined, blueprinted, and structured. In this workshop, students will build their own houses for individual stories, and then we will all combine our efforts to create a larger, communal blanket fort village—a social space in which our stories can also combine, expand, and evolve. Workshop participants should bring their own blankets and blanket fort furnishings (lamps, books, pillows, razzle dazzle... anything you'd like for construction and decoration).
Participation in this workshop is free. However, it costs The Telling Room $150 to run this program, and we welcome donations of any amount to help support our work in the community. Register here.
Look Out, Look Up, Look Down This workshop is full!
10am - 2:30pm
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, February 21st - 23rd
Grades 3-5
Creative Director John Holdridge will be leading a February vacation mini camp for students in grades 3-5. The camp, Look Out, Look Up, Look Down, is looking for a few detectives to help us discover the small details in Portland so we can help them stand up and shout "Notice Me!" The days will include map making, drawing, writing and maybe even a little photography as we explore the Old Port looking for secret staircases, dramatic views, mysterious sounds and anything else that catches our attention. Please bring a lunch, snacks and drink and be prepared to be outside.
Participation in this workshop is free. However, it costs The Telling Room $825 to run this program, and we welcome donations of any amount to help support our work in the community. Register here.
Sportswriting
3:30-4:45 pm
Thursdays, March 8th-April 12th (Extra session, March 11th, No session, April 5th)
Grades 4-8
Workshop Leader: Gibson Fay-LeBlanc
What many of us love about sports, when we're not playing them, has to do with story. Will the struggling closer be able to strike out the side with the bases loaded in the ninth inning? Can the All-Star shooting guard overcome the death of his father and take his team deep into the playoffs? How will the first-year football coach approach his first game against his mentor's team? Sports capture the human drama within a set of rules and traditions. There are winners and losers and sometimes those winners and losers are not who they seem to be. In this workshop, we'll read great sportswriting and we'll consider local and national sports to find our own stories inside the lines. The extra session on March 11th will take place at 5:00pm at a Maine Red Claws game.
Participation in this workshop is free. However, it costs The Telling Room $315 to run this program, and we welcome donations of any amount to help support our work in the community. Register here.
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Workshop Mini-Films
Students in our Stop Time Animation workshop created these video shorts using legos, egg cartons, felt scraps, modeling clay and figurines brought from home.
In another exciting Telling Room workshop, students brought new life and color to the familiar children's classic, Where the Wild Things Are, by adding unexpected twists, turns, and surprises. They then created an original shadow puppet play to tell their revised version of the story. The workshop culminated with a performance for friends and family at The Telling Room. Check out the video below!
Register here for our free workshops. Please double check the listed dates and times and arrange transportation first - your full participation in all facets of the workshop is expected with your commitment. We reserve spots on a first come, first serve basis so please be sure that you can attend the full slate of classes before signing up.
All of our workshops are free, but individual donations to help run these programs are always appreciated - your assistance allows us to reach more young writers in our area.
Enrollment
Maximum enrollment is 12 students, unless otherwise noted.
Location
All workshops take place at our writing center at 225 Commercial Street, Suite 201, in Portland, unless otherwise noted.
Cancellation
Occasionally, the lovely Maine weather turns frightful, or for other reasons we are forced to cancel or postpone a workshop. We will always email our registered participants, or please call us at 774-6064 or check back right here for notification.