STORY COACHING
GIVE A GIFT OF STORY…STORY COACHING WITH MICHELE CARLO
Photo by Mindy Tucker
Reworking an old story or polishing a new one for an upcoming story slam, show or festival? Need help finding an arc, the nut, the why? Trying to make all your stories and snippets into one longer-form story or maybe even a solo show? I can help!
I’ve told stories across the U.S., including RISK’s live shows and podcast, and the MOTH’s GrandSlams and Mainstage in NYC, plus NPR and the PBS World Channel TV series “Stories from the Stage.”
My Moth Slam stories became a book: “Fish Out of Agua”.
After over 20 years of performing in multiple genres too numerous (and sometimes too tortuous) to mention, I know when to bring out your “funny” (and when not to).
Day and evening coaching hours available. Contact form at the bottom of this page.
PROGRAMS / WORKSHOPS
(All can be geared for grades 8-adult)
Photo: Fay Hauser-Price
THE STORIES BEHIND YOUR STORY We all have stories inside us. But sometimes it's difficult for the young (and not-so-young for that matter) to articulate them. This reading/ writing/storytelling workshop will teach students how to shape a three to five-minute story through examples (including a story from Fish Out Of Agua), along with prompts and exercises, culminating in each student reading their story aloud and a takeaway suggested reading list for further inspiration.
“FISH OUT OF AGUA” Can support a class teaching Fish Out Of Agua or be tailored as a standalone reading/discussion for a school's Hispanic Heritage, Women's Studies, Latino Leadership or Diversity programs. A short reading from the book will be followed by an artist's talk, Q & A and discussion on the realities—and rewards—of finding your own path, as an artist and person.
THE ART IN YOUR HEART Is being an artist a viable life choice for city youth, youth of color—or anyone for that matter? This presentation will uncover the pros and cons of choosing a life in the arts through mapping exercises and the breaking of stereotypes, along with insights from life-learned lessons, the importance of craft and survival techniques, and the relevance of art to a tech-obsessed world — including balancing a day (rent) job with a life (art) job, shared in a memorable and moving way,
Photo: Larry DesGaines
Photo: G. Balkcom
SOLO SHOWS
FISH OUT OF AGUA (60 mins) Nuyorican author/performer Michele Carlo grew up as a double-outlier: a redheaded, freckle-faced Puerto Rican in an Italian/Irish Bronx neighborhood who was too “white” for some of her family…and a mystery to nearly everyone else. By turns heartbreaking and humorous, the personal stories of her search for identity interweave with traditional Puerto Rican folktales and unfold like a runaway subway train—for a unique first-generation Latinx—and American—narrative. Can be a standalone performance or in conjunction with a panel, workshop or special event.
(Latin Studies groups, Latino History groups, Latin Women’s groups, schools and community events. ages 12+)
THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD (55 mins) Four stories. Two centuries. One neighborhood. The causes and effects of gentrification on four inhabitants of the same Brooklyn neighborhood — including the polar bear living in the Prospect Park Zoo — who just may have been the catalyst for it all. Can be a standalone performance or in conjunction with a panel, workshop or special event. (Latin Studies groups, Urban History groups, NYC History groups, Civics groups, schools and community events. ages 12+)
Photo at left: David Dyte.
Book Michele for a Performance or Program!