Okapi Duo at the Story Mixer Enneagram event
Story Parlor presents two events focused on grief this December. On Thursday, December 1, the monthly Creativity Mixer will explore the concept of Creative Grief. The workshop will be hosted by Erin Hallagan Clare, a certified Creativity Coach and accredited Enneagram practitioner who is obtaining a masters in the Psychology of Creative Studies. “Through all of these studies,” says Clare, “the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that if a person can move out of a mentality of victimhood into the driver’s seat of their own experience—knowing that the answers lie within—the more sustainable long-term change will be. To that end, while each creativity mixer has dedicated prompts and exercises based on the monthly theme, the overarching goal is to invite folks to participate as co-facilitators.” The workshop is followed by an all-arts open mic, where participants can volunteer to share a 5-minute work-in-progress. All Creativity Mixers are donation-based, and no one is ever turned away for lack of funds.
On Friday, December 9, the Story Mixer Good Grief! will feature several narrative performances in storytelling, music, comedy and more, each focused on finding good in the grief that can appear for some during the holiday season. Singer, songwriter and guitarist Jane Kramer will be performing songs related to pregnancy loss, the death of a friend and the collective grief of the pandemic. “Even though the theme is grief, it will not be a bummer,” she says. “While grieving certainly has a heavily painful component, and the pieces shared, including my own, will acknowledge and express this, there is also an equally healing, hopeful and transformational component to the grieving process that will be threaded throughout.”
Comedian and storyteller Morgan Bost will discuss the grief of estrangement from her biological family and the unconditional love of community. “Though my typical genre is comedy—I’m both a standup and improvisor—this will be a more serious piece of storytelling with humor peppered throughout,” she says. “Hearing stories of finding good amongst grief can provide comfort and inspiration.”
Poet and teaching artist Glenis Redmond will deliver a series of poems about her experience with Multiple Myeloma. “I will take the audience on a journey,” Redmond says. “I will speak to how poetry has always been my lifeline and it definitely saved my life during the last three years. Poetry has been cathartic. I believe it holds medicine.”
Tickets are $20 and it is recommended to purchase in advance, as Story Mixers have previously sold out. “A beautiful venue nestled in the heart of West Asheville, this intimate, community-driven art space showcases a diversity of voices throughout WNC,” says Bost. “Storytelling is one of the most powerful aspects of the human experience. Stories unite us.”
Story Parlor is located at 227 Haywood Road in West Asheville. Learn more or purchase tickets at StoryParlorAVL.com.
