Story Guidelines And Community Commitments
Bellingham Story Hour Guidelines:
Your story must be:
1. True!
2. Your story to tell.
3. On theme (or close!)
4. Told within 10 minutes or less
Please do not:
Use cultural caricatures that are not part of your own culture (and even then…)
Please do not:Make other people the punchline.
Please do not: celebrate unwanted sexual advances in your story.
Please do not use other people’s identity as a prop or a plot point (if you choose to use other people’s race, identity, physical appearance, or able bodiedness be sure it is necessary to the story.)
Absolutely no racial slurs or hate speech.
Be generous and kind with your story sharing; the audience is there to support and connect with you. Treat them like friends!
Be in a good place in regards to the events of your story. Not sure you’re in a good place? You probably aren’t! That’s okay- keep processing and find a different story.
Telling stories out loud is therapeutic but it is not therapy.
Please offer content warnings for any seriously triggering subjects presented in your story
Censoring will not be employed, but if a story being presented is clearly breaking Community Agreements or causing clear harm to the audience, the performer will be asked to leave the stage and future performances may depend on a prescreening from the host.
Community Agreeements:
All stories are true as the storyteller remembers them
Subjects that cause harm to the community are not appropriate for Bellingham Story Hour. Harming an audience can mean exposing them to extremely violent acts, assault (sexual/childhood/other), or extreme gore without their consent or warning. There are also some subjects that when glorified or justified can continue further harm. These subjects are: Racism, Homophobia, Anti-Trans rhetoric, Bigotry toward community groups, ableism, body shaming, suicide/self-harm, violence against animals, child abuse, and severe morality judgments as programmed by faith.
Bellingham Story Hour presumes participant willingness and commitment to responsibly engage the ideas raised by stories addressing challenging topics in a broad range of cultural contexts. Participants should be alert to the fact that many stories/performances include content, imagery, language and situations that might be challenging and/or disturbing to some. Participants are expected to engage seriously with stories addressing diverse spiritual traditions, obscenity, censorship, violence, war, race, religious fundamentalism, pornography, nudity, transgender identity, homosexuality, AIDS, sexual labor, feminism, abortion, self -harm/suicide, and PTSD, among other potentially controversial topics. By Participating in Bellingham Story Hour or Slam events, Participants are obligating themselves to hearing/reading/viewing/discussing such works. Additionally, Participants choosing to be in the space are making a commitment to treating these subjects, community members, and the instructional staff with courtesy and respect.
Synopsis: Don’t be a jerk. Things might get spicy, but they will not become harmful. We’re in this together.
