OVERVIEW:

What is a “Jewish story”? Is it just the stories in the Torah?! No way! Every day we add to the story of the Jewish people just by living Jewish lives! Celebrate the Jewish art of storytelling with your MoHo community! In the month of April/Nisan we have the holiday of Passover–a time to gather and hear the story of our exodus from Egypt and the birth of the Jewish people. The title of the book we read on Passover, the Haggadah, literally means telling or tale. It’s clear that storytelling is central to this time of year and to the Jewish tradition as a whole. The Jewish people have sustained themselves with stories. Gather your MoHo community (any time of year) for an evening of Jewish storytelling! In this program, residents and community members will share open-mic-style stories about their Jewish lives inspired by creative and curated storytelling themes!  

TIP: Talk to your JLS about applying for a Jewish Culture and Holiday grant to print out programs, buy themed snacks/drinks, and/or other listed materials.  

MATERIALS:  

• Microphone and/or DIY stage space  
• Twinkle Lights  
• Cozy seating  
• Optional: Themed snacks and drinks 
• Optional: Small printed or large posted programs of the order of the evening.  

PROGRAM OUTLINE (~1 hour 30 minutes): 

• Program Prep  
• Welcome Guests/Intro (10 min) 
• Story Sharing Part 1 (~30 min) 
• Intermission (10 min) 
• Story Sharing Part 2 (~30 min) 
• Thank You and Goodnight (10 min)

Program Prep

Event Theme 

• Come up with/decide on a Jewish storytelling theme for the evening!  
• Here are some theme ideas: 
  • Jewish Coming of Age  
  • Home for the (Jewish) Holidays  
  • Unlikely Jewish Friendship 
  • Jewish Rites of Passage 
  • Treif: Non-kosher Jewish Stories 
  • Jewish Glow Up 
    • TIP: Peruse the website of The Moth storytelling collective for ideas for storytelling themes.  
• NOTE: It is up to you to decide whether stories should be fiction or non-fiction but it is recommended that they are non-fiction so the event can also be a moment to learn about your community members.  

Event Promotion  

• Ahead of the event, tell your community that you are hosting an evening of Jewish storytelling and you need their help!  
  • Publicize the event to your community early. 
  • Create and share a sign up sheet for community members/residents to sign up in advance to share their stories (TIP: Limit the amount of people who can sign up to ~8-10).  
  • On the sign up sheet, have them share a 1-3 sentence pitch/summary about the story so that you have a sense of the themes of the stories and can plan the event order appropriately.  
  • Set boundaries around the stories: 
    • Time limits  
      • TIP: tell everyone 3 minutes max. but plan for 5 min per story. 
    • Telling  
      • Encourage people to tell the story without notes to ensure that it isn’t just an evening of people reading off sheets of paper. 
    • Topics to avoid  
      • You know your community best, so if there are topics you think won’t land well, let your community know to avoid them. 
    • Trigger Warnings 
      • Set a norm around sharing (in writing and/or in person) a word or two about the story ahead of the share if the story includes some sensitive content.  

Storyteller Support 

• Support the people who have signed up to share stories.  
  • Have one or two MoHo residents serve as story coaches to check in with the storytellers and be sounding boards. (Check in with your JLS if you are seeking support around this.) 
    • Have storytellers title their stories.  
    • Remember to encourage storytellers to share their stories without notes or cheat sheets.  
  • Offer resources like The Moth’s Storytelling Tips and Tricks  
  • Share a video on how to tell a great story 
  • Or just a quick list of storytelling tips  

Performance Prep  

• Put together a run-of-show list ahead of the program so you and your storytellers know the order of events for the evening.  
• Prepare some brief remarks for the beginning of the evening to frame the event, explain the theme you’ve chosen, and set any community norms around interacting with the storytellers and their stories.  
  • TIP: Establish the norm that one asks consent of the storyteller before asking a question about their story. And remind people that the answer might be no.  
• Prepare some brief remarks at the end to thank your storytellers and your guests, and set a structure (or time limit) around how people are welcome (or not welcome) to shmooze or hang out after the program. 

Beginning – Welcome Guests/Intro (~10 min) 

• Welcome guests! Consider having some kind of interactive ice breaker question related to the story theme, or fun name tags for people to fill out and decorate.  
• Optional: Have snacks and beverages themed to the storytelling theme. For example, if you choose “Home for the (Jewish) Holidays” as the storytelling theme, the snacks and drinks could be themed around traditional Jewish holiday food and drink. Reach out to your JLS for suggestions specific to your theme!

Middle – Story Sharing (1 hour 10 minutes)

Part 1 (~30 min)  

• Invite all the guests and storytellers to find their seats.  
• One or all of the MoHo residents running the program will share some opening remarks about the evening. This is when you’ll share your preprepared comments to frame the event, explain the theme you’ve chosen, and set any community norms around interacting with the storytellers and their stories.  
• The first group of 4 or 5 storytellers share their stories.  
  • Optional: Between each story, one of the MoHo residents can play emcee and introduce the storyteller and the title of their story or you can have the storyteller introduce themselves and their story.  

Intermission (10 min) 

• Encourage people to shmooze and enjoy themed snacks and drinks. 
• Good time for a bathroom break.  
• Remind people about any boundaries around interacting with the stories that have been shared in part one.  

Part 2 (~30 min) 

• Invite all the guests and storytellers to return to their seats.  
• The second group of 4 or 5 storytellers share their stories.  
• Optional: Between each story, one of the MoHo residents can play emcee and introduce the storyteller and the title of their story or you can have the storyteller introduce themselves and their story. 

End – Thank You and Goodnight (~10 min) 

• One or all of the MoHo residents running the program will thank the storytellers and your guests, and set a structure (or time limit) around how people are welcome (or not welcome) to shmooze or hang out after the program.