Better Said Than Done has been leading workshops on the art of personal storytelling for nearly 10 years. Our workshops have been virtual for the past year.
Class sizes are limited to no more than 8 registrants so that each attendee will have time to share a story and receive critical feedback.
Read about what you can expect in our workshops here.
Read about our corporate programs here – workshops and presentations we can bring to your organization.
Register for a Spring virtual storytelling workshop below.
After registering, you will receive a receipt. Login information and details for the class will be sent approximately 3 days prior. If you have questions in the meantime, or don’t see the email, please contact stories@bettersaidthandone.com
Your Story, Your Life
Spotlight on You
May 8, 2021, starting at 1:00pm EDT.
This class is only available as a virtual workshop, online. The April class is FULL. The May class is led by Jessica Robinson.
Spotlight on You Too
Read about our storytelling teachers, as well as about what you can expect in our workshops here.
We offer customized in-person or virtual, storytelling workshops, webinars, and presentation for your organization. Read about our corporate programs here.
Find out about our upcoming storytelling shows here.
Sheila Arnold is a co-founding member of Artists Standing Strong Together. Ms. Sheila, as she is known, describes herself as a “professional imaginator.” She is particularly known for her historic character presentations and Christian monologues, but you never really know what you might hear her tell, as she engages with her audiences. But, at heart, she is a builder of community – whether it be in person or (over the past year) virtual.
Jane Dorfman performed in the lunch showcases on Saturday last year. She tells told folktales and personal stories at numerous venues, including the Hans Christian Andersen statue in New York. She has recently discovered the liberating art of lying. She is also president of the D.C. area guild, Voices in the Glen.
Megan Hicks was the fourth featured teller at last year’s inaugural festival. How resilient is Megan? Well, she and her husband kept putting on house concerts (in pre-pandemic times) despite a tree falling on their house. She’s had to move to zoom, like everyone else, but she remains her self-honest, audacious, and irreverent self. Last year, she delighted the audience with stories ranging from her folk music career in Australia to a unique approach to a health crisis. Wherever she takes us this year, it’s sure to be engaging.
Arthuretta Holmes-Martin is an advocate for human and civil rights. She inspires her audiences with her personal stories of healing and transformation. Last year, she performed on Friday the 13th, but the audience at the Auld Shebeen realized her story made it their lucky day.
Jessica Robinson is the founder of Better Said Than Done – and the Women’s Storytelling Festival. Over the past year, she’s produced as many as three virtual storytelling shows a week, as well as monthly story swaps. And that’s on top of performing in other people’s shows and raising two young children! She is especially known for her skill at telling “difficult “stories, with topics including death, struggles with fertility, and overcoming fear. We can only hope that someday she’ll share the story of where she gets her boundless energy!
Sarah Snyder hosted the Friday night showcase at last year’s festival and stepped in to perform in the lunch showcase. She is the author of several books, including her memoir Plant Trees, Carry Sheep, and blogs about retreats and self-care.
Diana Veiga was also featured in the Friday the 13th kick-off show. In addition to being a storyteller, she is a writer and comedian, who has been featured at venues throughout the DC area. She finds humor and beauty in the everyday experiences she shares with her audiences.
Donna Washington is always an audience favorite, for her mixture of folktales and personal stories, told in an animated style and vocal pyrotechnics. She is unique for never having had any job other than storytelling. She is the other founder, with Sheila Arnold, of Artists Standing Strong Together, which was founded to assist storytelling artists to learn about best business practices, provide a platform for showcasing their skills, and provide a fund to help in challenging times like the past year. We’ve all heard the term “living the dream.” Somewhere in there she’s had time to write a new children’s book, due out in September. Donna is truly a woman who demonstrates her ability to live her dreams and inspire those of others.
Noa Baum: 🤨
Vicki Bryan: The conversation would definitely be a girlfriend pass the wine conversation: “Girlfriend… “Any beauty secrets of the sea you would like to share?’ Like what do you use on your skin and hair to keep it from drying out?” “”Where do you hangout?” “Do you prefer dating merman or human males?” “Where is the cleanest water on earth?” “Where do you suggest I go for vacation near the sea?” There would be a lot of laughter and wine!
Katie Knutson: I would start by pointing out the pun in that question. Then, we would probably discuss some of the same ideas I have explored with women from other cultures: ideas of safety, gender norms, expectations, etc. If she seemed comfortable going there, I might also ask about the choice of seashells, which on land would be one of my last clothing choices.
Carol Moore: How she’s been living without coffee, whether or not she washes dishes, how she goes potty, what she thought of the movie Splash, what name does she actually have for a fork, and lastly I’d explain the benefits of not having to shave her legs, because well, she doesn’t have any.
Miriam Nadel: The joys of not needing shoes when you have a finned tail instead. And I’d love some tips on keeping my hair from frizzing up in a damp environment.
Anne Rutherford: I hope you are swimming in money from having licensed your image to Starbucks.
Laura Simms: If I met a mermaid I would be both thrilled and terrified. What would we speak about: the presence of the magical in our lives. The dream walking out of sleep into our day lives. the chance to slip into her skin without fear of theft.
Cyndi Wish: Well…. I’d want to ask her about anatomy, you know, how does she pee if she does pee, what is sex like if she has sex, etc. And I’d also want to know what real mermaids think about how mermaids are portrayed in the movies and pop culture. Daryl Hannah as “Madison”? The Mermaids of Weeki Wachi? Are these true representations, or are they offensive? And if human portrayals of mermaids are offensive, I would probably invite the mermaid to serve on a committee on mermaid representation policy. And maybe she would ask me about Baltimore. Maybe she had a distant cousin that swam to Baltimore and was never seen or heard from again, and do I know anything about Baltimore mermaid trafficking and can I help her find her cousin? I think that is how the conversation would go.
Andrea Young: I would ask questions about where do they go when there is stormy weather and if they have ever tried to go on land. I’d also ask, if they have a pet, what is it?
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