suzanne whitby: storyteller & performance artist
In 2010, I attended an intercultural conference in Denver, CO, and in one of the sessions I attended, the facilitator introduced himself as “a professional oral storyteller”, and I thought, “Ooh, that’s how I want to introduce myself!” As an avid reader and consumer of tales, with a fascination for mythology, and a tendency to make things up and write things down, I immersed myself in this new world and started telling stories and being invited to perform that same year!
Stories and storytelling are a core part of all the work that I do. In addition to having an alter-ego, who performs wise, wonderful and witty tales on stage, I work extensively with the stories we tell ourselves, stories in science, stories of the future, and stories that involve climate change and sustainability.
Here are some of the ways that I am working with stories at the moment:
Designing stories of the future (scenarios) to help businesses and communities envision and co-create hopeful, sustainable futures.
Training scientists and researchers on how to use stories and narrative to share their work and engage audiences.
Coaching change makers to tell better stories to educate, inspire, encourage and engage.
Researching how stories can help us encourage pro-environmental thinking and behaviours.
Using traditional stories to gently get people thinking about today’s sustainability challenges and their agency.
Telling wise, wonderful and witty tales to (mostly) adult audiences as a professional oral storyteller.
Working on a way of using my puppets, Tarquin and Taryn, to raise awareness of today’s sustainability challenges.
Curious? Fancy a chat? Want to work together?
Let’s connect on LinkedIn, or alternatively, get in touch. I’d love to hear from you!