Every year, an event is held featuring workshops relating to theater, called All-City. As the name suggests, schools from around the city, from grades 6 to 12, are invited to participate. This year, the theme was storytelling, run by professional storyteller Patti MacNamee Prosenberg. The workshop was held at the Burpee Museum on March 9, 2022. 

   “I signed up for [the workshop] because I wanted to tell stories to people and make them laugh,” said Christopher Caruana, junior, who attended the event. 

   Students at the event learned how to effectively tell a story, and were then given the opportunity to write and share a story themselves, using the techniques they had learned. 

    “My favorite part of the workshop was getting to stand in front of a crowd and tell my own story about how my Freshman year was like,” said Caruana. 

   Some students, such as Caruana, chose to share comedic stories about their lives, while others told more heartfelt, personal stories.

   Not only did the workshop help refine skills in storytelling, but it offered an experience to perform as one’s self, as many students don’t get to do as often in acting. 

   “Sometimes, acting students like to be heard in their own voice and not always speak through a character,” said acting teacher Mrs. Melissa Wolf, who helped staff the event. 

   Participants were not required to share their stories, as performances were on a volunteer basis. However, every participant was required to be an audience member for those who did choose to storytell. 

   “I signed up for the event in hopes that I’d get to perform in front of an audience, which I did, and it was so much fun,” said Hobart. 

   Caruana found that the diverse audience, filled with those who all similarly participate in theater, contributed to his enjoyment of the workshop.  

   “There are a lot of different kinds of theatre kids, and they’re all fun to be around,” said Caruana. “If I were given the opportunity to do [the workshop] again, I would do it 100%.”