DEATH STORIES

Join us for a night of Death Stories at the mic. 

Almost all of us have a death or grief story to tell. Either about someone we love who passed away or perhaps about our experience with our own death or dying process. 

We want to provide more opportunities for people to share those stories with others in a safe and respectful space. Being able to tell our death story is a powerful method of expression, so that we don't have to carry it in our body and mind, alone. Listening to other's death stories also reminds us we are not alone in our grief or dying experience and that we can find inspiration and comfort in hearing how others have navigated similar waters. 

Everyone is welcome. Even if you have no death story to share, you can be a support and light for others or be a good listener of other's stories. 

No need to RSVP, especially if you're a listener, just turn up. 

Drinks and cookies will be provided with cozy decor and vibes.  

Please try to arrive before the starting time so we can start as soon as possible to give enough time for more people to share. If you know ahead of time that you want to share a 10 minute story of your own, email us (info@deathdancer.org) to add your name to the list. This also gives you an opportunity to practice and to time your story. It's really hard for us to ring a bell to tell you to stop after 10 mins when you are sharing a sensitive and emotional story, so please practice ahead of time so you don't go over your time. If you go over it eats into the time someone else can have before we finish, so please be considerate of others. 

If it is full already we can let you know and let you know about future dates. Depending on the number of ‘storytellers’, we may need to cap it to a certain number but there should be enough slots for 5-6 in total on each night. 

On the night, after an explanation of the format, we will open it up to the participants to take it in turns to come to the stage and tell your story at the microphone.  We ask that the audience doesn’t interrupt or comment during or after someone's story telling or clap at the end of each one. At the end of each one, we will hold a minute of silence to honor those in the story and take a collective sigh and then move onto the next story.

In the final 15 minutes of the evening, we will open it up to all participants to share their responses or comments about the stories they have heard.

Story guidelines:

• Up to 10 minutes long only please. 
• Tell us who the story is about, but feel free to leave out names if you wish, so you could say 'a family member', 'my sister', or ' a friend' etc. 
• Think about why you want to tell your death or grief story. Can you come up with a suitable ending, either how you felt about the experience or what you learned from that person or how it influenced you in how you relate to death now, etc. What do you want the listeners to take away from hearing your story?
• Please practice the timing of your story before hand so you know you won't go over the 10 minutes. We also ask you to 'watch the clock' yourself which is on the opposite wall to the stage. 

We ask that you do not film or record people's stories or share them on social media. 

Although we are happy to share resources and professional therapy contacts if anyone needs to talk to someone more, we are aware the event is in a public space, so we ask for everyone to focus on their 10 minute story and that everyone keeps what they hear confidential. If you would like to share more about your experiences of death and grief in a more intimate space, do consider attending one of our monthly Grief Gatherings.