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Many Lives, Many Voices: Reconnecting With Self and Community Through Story

HSA Concert

Healing Story Alliance Pre-Conference Concert

Wednesday July 19, 7-9 p.m.

Join us for an exciting evening!

Fran Yardley - Finding a Place of Her Own - With truth, humor and insight, a journey through despair and hope in dealing with a life threatening illness.

True Story Theater – an exciting form of improvisational theater. Each event is a unique collaboration with the audience and their stories, where every voice can be heard and any story told.

Open to all HSA members, SIG Pre-conference and NSN Conference attendees, and to the general community. Admission is $10 ($5 for HSA Pre-conference registrants).

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HSA Pre-Conference

Many Lives, Many Voices: Reconnecting With Self and Community Through Story

Thursday, July 20

8:30 a.m.– 4:45 p.m.

This year’s HSA Pre-conference reaches deeply within and without. We will explore ways to create safety in community, to elicit and honor stories that yearn to be told, and to engage in fresh ways with our creative processes.

On Wednesday, after a brief morning welcome and opener, participants will attend one of two concurrent all-day workshop intensives.

Fran Yardley will present From Isolation to Community: Encouraging the Deep, Untold Stories. How do we establish a safe space that encourages the deep, untold stories? How do we create a lasting community? Fran will recreate parts of her Adirondack Arts and Healing Retreat for women with cancer and chronic disease. The session will explore techniques, theories and exercises that can be adapted for use in healing story work with any group.

Christopher Ellinger and Maria Pinheiro of True Story Theater will demonstrate Playback Theatre techniques, creating a respectful atmosphere where every voice can be heard and any story told in a community. Participants will engage in lively activities from theater, movement and music to enrich their storytelling and deepen their connection to an audience. Gain fresh ideas and applicable tools extracted from the Playback Theatre model that are readily adapted to storytelling.

Both intensives will continue into the afternoon. At the end of the day, we will regroup and share our experiences, followed by a short closing ceremony.

For complete HSA Pre-conference details, check HSA’s spring newsletter, the HSA web site at www.healingstory.org, NSN's web site at www.storynet.org, or the NSN Conference program book.

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HSA Concert

Saturday, July 22

The Healing Story Alliance presents a surprise evening performance you can really sink your teeth into. Come participate in the mystery that lies within your stories.

“The world connects not by molecules. It connects through ideas, hopes, faces, dreams, actions, stories, and memories.” - Barrie Sanford Greiff, Psychiatrist

True Story Theater, with members of the HSA Executive Committee and HSA Pre-conference attendee volunteers present Playback Theatre, a unique collaboration between audience and actors. Audience members describe important moments from their lives, which are reflected back by the troupe through improvised movement, music, and dialogue. A show can be humorous, profound, surprising, and moving. Playback is a powerful way to celebrate commonalities, to build bridges across differences, and to honor the magic in everyday life.

***Times are subject to change***

Come to Pittsburgh, July 20 - 23 and experience Community!