About the WAAS Residency Program
We Are All Stories (WAAS) is an annual storytelling event that brings people together to hear stories and experiences from people in our community. The event features lived-experience stories written and shared by volunteers and invites community listening, dialogue, and discourse on the major themes and shared understandings.
The WAAS Residency program is a 12-week workshop program in which volunteers are taught storytelling, story writing, public speaking, and performance techniques to enable them to participate in the annual storytelling event.
This collaborative, community arts-based project is led by Dr. Patlee Creary, an experienced author and trauma-sensitive writing and narrative development coach, alongside actor, arts educator, and performance director Rachel E. Smith.
The We Are All Stories Residency Program is a place for volunteer participants to learn a variety of skills while deepening their sense of community, inclusion, and belonging. This initiative promotes storytelling that fosters cross-cultural exchange while supporting English-language communication, confidence-building, and public speaking skills.
Benefits to Participants
Creative Writing
Participants will learn to craft compelling personal narratives, including structure, character development, and emotional resonance. These skills can be applied to work and education, personal journaling, memoir writing, public speaking, and advocacy going forward.
English Language Proficiency
Through writing and storytelling, participants will practice English vocabulary, grammar, and fluency. They will gain enhanced communication skills that will help them in professional, educational, and everyday interactions.
Public Speaking and Stage Presence
Participants will gain confidence in delivering their stories to an audience using voice modulation, body language, and pacing. These skills are valuable for job interviews, presentations, community leadership roles, and personal expression.
Self-Reflection and Emotional Expression
Writing and performing personal stories will help participants explore their identities, emotions, and life experiences. This fosters resilience, emotional intelligence, and a stronger sense of self.
Cross-Cultural Communication
Participants will learn to share their stories with people from different cultural backgrounds, promoting mutual understanding. These skills can help build relationships in diverse social and professional environments as they continue to explore and build a new community network.
Collaboration and Feedback
Through workshops and rehearsals, participants will learn how to give and receive constructive feedback in a supportive setting. They will gain collaboration skills essential for teamwork, professional growth, and community involvement.
How the Program Works
Each year, The StoryBridge Network invites 8-12 people to volunteer to learn storytelling, story writing, public speaking, and performance techniques so that they can publicly share a story, experience, or memory that sparks dialogue and community engagement.
While our main focus is to bring together newcomers from all cultures and backgrounds, this program may also include persons who identify as Indigenous or settler Canadians. Our goal is to bring participants together to hear each other's stories and experiences, build a sense of belonging and community, and increase capacity for cross-cultural and intergenerational compassion, empathy, and connection.
Program participants are taught basic story framing and writing techniques during the first half of the 12-week program. In the second half of the program, the focus shifts to strengthen communication through lessons on public speaking and performance as well as rehearsals for the We Are All Stories performance event.
The WAAS residency program focuses heavily on trauma-sensitive storytelling and facilitation practices to help participants craft and share stories in ways that reduce the risk of retraumatization and promote better mental well-being and emotional regulation.
Program participants are offered an honorarium for sharing their stories at the annual We Are All Stories performance event and are invited to contribute a written version of their story to our community book project, The Story From Here.
Apply for WAAS Residency
Applications for the WAAS Residency Program open in the Fall, with the performance event scheduled for the following Spring. Participants are selected by early December, and workshops for this 12-week program typically begin in January. Workshops are held weekly and in person in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Interested individuals may apply to join the residency program by completing the WAAS Residency Application Form. There is no fee to apply or participate in this program. No prior experience in writing, storytelling, public speaking or performance is required. All applicants are interviewed, and selections are made thereafter.
We maintain a waitlist in the event that a selected participant is unable to take their spot in the program and as a first call for future programs. If you have any questions about applying for the WAAS residency program, contact us.