Diamond Dealers.  They exist.  Meet Aleah the diamond dealer.  

vocalostorytellers:

Jamie Smith

Why did you want to become a Vocalo Storyteller?

Becoming a Vocalo Storyteller fed into my goal of creating an audio story at some point over the next year. More specifically, I love the way a radio story can draw you in. The narrative and music give you a little bit more of a boost than can reading a book. But without the often tacky and single-minded vision of many movies. In other words, radio stories fall in that blended space of a Book Reading vs. Movie/TV watching Venn Diagram.

As a performer, I wanted to give people something to listen to. Something to excite them in hopefully the same way radio stories excite me.

Your piece in 20 seconds:

Aleah is an amazing and complex person that you really have to hear more about to understand what exactly that means.

Why did you decide to tell this story?

It’s what was chosen? No. That’s the answer jerks give. I wanted to tell this story because I wanted more people to hear about this person who is so engaging and has amazing stories to tell and loves to tell stories. It’s one thing to talk to other people about this person. It’s another thing to be able to bring her to them through a story.

In what ways are you a better storyteller and/or producer?

I much better understand how to go into a story and what the expectations should be. For example, your story will very likely not turn out the way you wanted it to and that’s ok. Go with what you have, be open to change, and it will be ok.

I also now know that there isn’t enough editing you will be able to do. You can get it as close to perfect  as you can or know how and at a certain point you’ll just have to let go and let the editor. It’s going to be fine.

I am also MUCH more conscious of what a room sounds like and mic usage.Thank you to everyone from Vocalo and WBEZ. This is just the beginning of my Storytelling journey.

Source:

6Diamond Dealer, Chicago, Vocalo, Storytellers, Workshops,

vocalostorytellers:

Nick Walker

Why did you want to become a Vocalo Storyteller?
I wanted to begin to learn how to give voice to those stories and story tellers in our society who are frequently not given a hearing by the wider public.

Your piece in 20 seconds:

I interview mental health consumers and advocates to discuss the process of leaving nursing homes (IMDs as their called) to pursue independent life in the community and the impact of the recent Williams Consent Decree on the current mental health system in Illinois.
 
Why did you decide to tell this story?
I felt that this story was important not only because it effects a large portion of the population but also because it is an interesting example of how public policy frequently has mixed results when enacted on a large scale.  Also, I felt that the mainstream coverage of this story frequently left out the stories and voices of the people directly impacted by this ruling.
 

In what ways are you a better storyteller and/or producer?
 
This experience really taught me the importance of focus in a story.  You have to really have a specific idea of what you’re aiming for in a story and not lose sight of it even when you may be presented with all sorts of interesting tangents that may detract from your primary focus.

Source:

6Mental Health, Advocates, IMDs, Independent Life, William Concent Decree, Vocalo, Workshops,

Meet Arika. She’s our new Vocalo Storyteller. If you only txt and facebook the person you’re in a relationship with…is it really a relationship? Arika asked herself that question….listen to her story.

vocalostorytellers:

Arika Rogers

Why did you want to become a Vocalo Storyteller?
Well I’ve always felt like I’m storyteller at heart, so becoming a storyteller for Vocalo seemed like it would be a good experience. It has been a good experience and much more. I also wanted to learn more about what goes into producing stories for the radio so that that could be another medium I could use to better get a story across.

Your piece in 20 seconds:
My piece is basically a personal narrative. It’s about my relationship with someone that’s quite unusual.

Why did you decide to tell this story?
I always felt like our relationship could be a story. My problem has always been, will other people care? So I guess this is a way to test it and to see how people will react. This is a story for other people who have unusual romantic relationships, to show that they are not alone. It’s also for people who don’t quite understand relationships like mine, so that they may better understand it after they hear my piece.

In what ways are you a better storyteller and/or producer?
I am better in every way. I learned how to condense everything and still produce a story, I learned more things about the computer (since I’m not very technically savvy) and  much much more. But anything you can think of that a storyteller or a producer does. I’ve probably improved in it!

Source:

6Storyteller, Workshops, Vocalo, WBEZ, Relationships, Social Media,