2025
Annual Report
Unpacking the Invisible Bag of Tricks
What. A. Year.
It started off pretty rocky, with a life passage we all experience if we live long enough and are connected to other humans. I’ve had more of these than feels quite fair.
Not long after, I learned that Teapot had been accepted into the Atlanta Fringe Festival (more below). Nothing like that to get you back to work, whether or not you feel ready.
There’s this moment in Teapot when I talk about the grief of being let go from a temporary job, how, at the end of the day, I didn’t even have a desk to pack up. [Sidebar: I’ve always felt a gutpunch with pop culture moments where a person who’s been fired forlornly walks to their car with a meager box of mementos. Might relate to the itinerate nature of how I grew up and always wanting to know where my sense of place is located. For so long during the two-year period my show covers, just getting to a job where I had my own desk felt like the ultimate dream!!.] Which is why, in the moment I got fired, it felt so insulting there was no desk–just my “invisible bag of tricks.”
Over the course of this year, thanks to some creative coaching by a dear friend and mentor, I’ve now visibilized the invisible bag of tricks as part of the show–all the skills and lessons I was picking up along the way. Sometimes those things are good, sometimes bad. Sometimes we have to learn how to let them go or re-metabolize them in a new way.
This year, I’ve been learning how to appreciate the bag of tricks I carry in radical new ways. Whether that’s foregrounding myself as a storyteller as much as a story coach, or appreciating that the space I hold for myself and others to breathe and cry, be present and heal a little is always, always, ALWAYS, more important than the to-do list.
I’ve said this for NINE years (yep, look out–next one’s gonna be a DOOZY!) in a row now, but I love how creating and sending the Annual Report / my newsletter inspires conversations with you all. Please talk back, ask questions, share feedback, tell me what you’re seeing in the work.
What are you learning about your own invisible bag of tricks? What’s good in there that you can appreciate like never before? And what do you maybe need to let go of?
Onward…to the great big next,
Shannon
Contents
The Teapot Project
Residencies, Workshops, & Coaching
Community
in the News
The Teapot Project
If you’ve been following for a while, then you’re probably aware that, I started building my first full-length show last year. Teapot: Existential Angst and the Search for Purpose at the Dawn of the Millennium debuted this summer at the Atlanta Fringe Festival with direction by Melissa Foulger (Georgia Tech’s DramaTech). In November, I had the opportunity to take the show to New Orleans to Mondo Bizarro’s Catapult for a week, where the show continued to evolve and home in on its themes of purpose, passion, power, and possibility.
Focused on the two-year period of my life just after graduating from college, Teapot explores how we grapple with ourselves through work, through relationships, through scarcity, through starting over. Although it’s hyper-located in the experience of being a Gen X-er, I find it provides a fresh opportunity for cross-generational dialog.
Click here to listen to a recent podcast episode with the fine folx at Mondo Bizarro, reflecting on the process of growing the show through multiple manifestations. Shoutout to two other residencies this year in Kentucky and North Carolina as opportunities for rest and artistic community / research time.
I had this profound moment in the lead-up to the Fringe when I was promoting the production, when people kept asking, “so…it’s a one-woman show?” My mind was doing the math–all the many, many humans behind the scenes who donated to various phases of fundraising campaigns, friends who helped me run lines and creatively problem solve and fed me when I was overly stressed out and sat with me through dark nights of the soul (read: imposter syndrome), mentors (those still around and those who’ve earned their backstage pass to the universe). A “one-woman” show seemed laughable.
Teapot is now available for booking, not just for performances, but along with a full platform of related workshops for corporate, nonprofit, and community environments.
Residencies & Workshops.
Harmonic Design
In September, I offered a workshop at Harmonic Design, a service design firm, as part of their weeklong “bootcamp,” amongst a variety of trainings from participatory practice to letterpress techniques. As Becky mentions below, they were already seasoned storytellers, so I really had to level up my game for this crowd!
We had the pleasure of learning from Shannon M. Turner of StoryMuse, who led us through a hands-on storytelling workshop.
We explored:
The StorySandwich as a tool for shaping stories,
LifeMaps to chart our own creative journeys
Even though many of us at Harmonic have storytelling backgrounds, Shannon opened up fresh ways of thinking, practicing, and connecting. The workshop was equal parts insightful and fun — a great reminder of the power of story to bring people together.
Highly recommend Shannon if you’re looking for someone who can spark creativity, foster connection, and make storytelling accessible and joyful.
Becky Scheel
Design Lead & Strategist
Harmonic Design
Park Pride
Was delighted to return to Park Pride for the second year in a row, serving as one of the trainers in their Park Stewardship Academy. This is an annual training cycle for new cohorts of people who are ambassadors and champions of City of Atlanta and DeKalb County Parks. We worked on life maps, my basic “story sandwich” curriculum, and helped them prepare to use their stories in any number of environments from advocating for funding to speaking with elected officials to leading programs at their parks. It was a very robust day.
The Porch
(City of Atlanta’s
Office of Design)
As part of the City of Atlanta’s, “The Porch,” I led seniors in storytelling workshops at recreation centers across the city. This initiative, funded by AARP, is striving to protect and preserve the stories of legacy Black residents who were uprooted by the highway and “slum clearing” projects of the 1960s and 70s. After the workshops I led, audio artist Nedra Deadwyler recorded their stories in a separate series of events. They are now being archived on this webpage. (Click the grey “listen” at the end of each clip.”)
Korean Adoptee
Association of Georgia
If you’re unfamiliar with the deeply complicated legacy of what it means to be a Korean adoptee in the U.S. or indeed the global diaspora around, I highly recommend checking out this Frontline documentary.
That troubling history is why I was deeply honored to serve the Korean Adoptee Association of Georgia, offering an afternoon workshop around storytelling as a method for healing and continuing to build their salubrious connections with each other.
Toomer Elementary
Career Night
Career Night
One of the most unusual nights of my entire year was being part of a Career Fair at Toomer Elementary. Answering the call to help kids understand how literacy shows up in grown-up jobs, I offered a rotating set of activities about what it means to be a storyteller and story coach as one’s job. I wound up especially leading kids and their parents through life maps together, as parents told their kids about the journey of their lives, which was something I’d never had a chance to do in quite this form. It worked so well that I really hope to return to this module in the near future!
Storytelling in Community
Georgia Advocacy Office
Over the course of 2024-25, I coached and helped to produce a series of films about Supported Decision Making with the Georgia Advocacy Office using their iDECIDE framework. We traveled from Statesboro to Macon, from Sautee-Nacoochee to Roswell for this series, which highlights people navigating the world on their own terms from employment to families to caregivers.
From Basic to Bosses: Synergies
Legal Perspectives
From Caregivers to Coaches
Carapace
It was my great privilege to help Carapace, the premiere personal storytelling event here in Atlanta I now produce, celebrate an auspicious occasion. Spoiler Alert: The Carapace 15th Anniversary Special on November 21 was one of the most beautiful and special evenings I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach/produce.
If you’re interested to follow along, and maybe come out to throw your name in the hat!, please find us on our website, newsletter, Facebook, and/or Instagram page!
Photo credit: Andrew Huang
Stand with Peace
This summer, I was approached by a nascent group, When We Stand, which is endeavoring to address some of the harmful anti-science, anti-immigration, and anti-trans rhetoric and legislation in the political climate. Together, we co-produced a beautiful day of action and solidarity in North Decatur, which included a Story Tent (a visual exhibit where people could answer questions such as “What makes me feel welcome is…”), a Story Party (strangers sat down with story prompts such as “What’s the biggest sacrifice you’ve ever made?“), and a Story Booth, people whose stories we want to preserve and uplift during this time had the opportunity to record conversations in a private booth.
Coaching
I recently had the pleasure of working with Shannon M. Turner from Story Muse for story coaching, and I couldn’t be more impressed with the experience. Shannon’s expertise in storytelling is evident from the moment you start working with her.
What sets Shannon apart is her ability to not only share her extensive knowledge but also guide you through the specific challenges that hold you back. Her approach is both professional and deeply supportive. She has a gift for helping you find your authentic voice while ensuring your story resonates with your intended audience. Whether you’re working on personal branding, professional storytelling, or simply want to communicate more effectively, Shannon brings both the technical expertise and the personal insight needed to help you succeed.
I would highly recommend Shannon M. Turner and Story Muse to anyone looking to improve their storytelling abilities or break through creative barriers. Her coaching made a real difference in how I approach sharing my story, and I’m confident it will do the same for others.
Aaron Lichkay
Founder & CEO
For-Impact ATL
What the Heck is a Story Coach Anyway?
Glad you asked. I have worked with thousands of people as a coach to help them prepare stories for upcoming, presentations, performances, testimonies at the Capital, elevator pitches, to simply work on getting better and more comfortable at how they talk about their business and their why. I’ve worked in therapeutic environments, in community, in advocacy spaces. I’ve worked with girls who’ve been trafficked, people with disabilities, people who are building their way out of being unhoused, clergy, real estate agents, professors, and other storytellers.
I like to say there’s no one who doesn’t need to get better at telling their own story.
My process often begins with going over the basics of telling a story, as well as having the person draw their life map. From there, we go into outlining, finding key beats like the first & last line, and practicing until they feel confident and ready.
If you’d like to learn more, please visit my coaching page. When you feel ready, feel free to book an initial consultation call, and we can explore your goals, how coaching might just be the thing so you never say, “I’m such a bad storyteller!” at your next dinner party. (Please don’t say that. It’s your story; you can’t get it wrong. But you can tell it better. It literally says that in my brochure!)
I recently had the pleasure of working with Shannon M. Turner from Story Muse for story coaching, and I couldn’t be more impressed with the experience. Shannon’s expertise in storytelling is evident from the moment you start working with her.
What sets Shannon apart is her ability to not only share her extensive knowledge but also guide you through the specific challenges that hold you back. Her approach is both professional and deeply supportive. She has a gift for helping you find your authentic voice while ensuring your story resonates with your intended audience. Whether you’re working on personal branding, professional storytelling, or simply want to communicate more effectively, Shannon brings both the technical expertise and the personal insight needed to help you succeed.
I would highly recommend Shannon M. Turner and StoryMuse to anyone looking to improve their storytelling abilities or break through creative barriers. Her coaching made a real difference in how I approach sharing my story, and I’m confident it will do the same for others.
Chris Compton
Real Estate Agent &
Cycling Enthusiast