Program of teens' stories focus of new book

Children at the Well (C@W) began over a decade ago to bring teens from the Capital Region together to share their stories. Now the group has published a book so other educators and organizations can incorporate storytelling into their worlds using the C@W method.

"Our Stories Connect: Creating Youth Storytelling Programs to Raise Confident, Compassionate, and Capable Leaders," edited by the program's director, Paula Weiss, includes essays by key players and coaches. There are also exercises and lessons on important storytelling tasks, like how to use a microphone, storyboarding, choosing classic tales or making stuff up. Weiss founded C@W with Gert Johnson, who is also the founder of the Interfaith Story Circle of the Tri-City Area. Both C@W and the Interfaith Story Circle are overseen by WithOurVoice, Inc.

Through the C@SW program, the kids who have participated (about 90 in total and many who've done the program more than once) had a chance to celebrate their heritage in a supportive environment — and learn about other cultures. They gather a group of teens from different religions and cultures to work with professional storytellers. They create or select stories and work with those professionals for a few months. Then they present their stories to an audience.

"Before I started I was horribly shy. I didn't talk to anyone," said Ben Russell, in a phone interview. He now works for the New York State Museum, often leading tours and telling stories related to exhibits. In his essay for the book about how he went from a participant to a story coach, he said: "The stories were an outstretched hand welcoming us into something different."

Many of the young storytellers have parlayed the experience into college essays and future careers, like teaching and even spoken-word poetry. They've also gained confidence, learned...