Soundings

Improv in the Real World

There’s something special about theatrical improvisation. There’s a trust, a confidence, and a sense of risk that can help individuals grow and bring groups together. But what happens when you graduate and your source of improv (mainly, your college improv group) goes away?
In this piece, Mona Thompson, Stanford class of 2013, explores the concept of improvisation in the “real world.” Would it be possible to create a whole life centered around improv? And if so, would it be meaningful?
Producer: Mona Thompson
Featuring: William Hall, Dr. Nika Quirk, & Patricia Ryan Madson
Special Thanks: Charlie Mintz, John Lee, and everyone at Stanford Storytelling Project
Image via Flickr
For more information about the Braden Grant for Oral Narrative: http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/grants.html

Reimagining the 2002 Gujarat Riots

On February 22nd, 2002 a train carrying 58 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya was attacked by a group of Muslims, resulting in the death of all of its passengers. What followed was a series of violent, retaliatory attacks against Muslims in the state and the death of over 1,000 people.
In this piece, Stanford students Claire Colberg 14’ and Ravi Patel 13’ travel to Anand, India, to understand how these riots have affected Gujarat’s youth. Despite deep-rooted challenges, their conversations with both Hindu and Muslim students reveal the future vision of communal unity shared by Gujarat’s youth.
Producers: Claire Colberg and Ravi Patel
Featuring: The students of D.Z. Patel High School, D.N High School, the Hanifa School, and the Chaortar Institute of Technology - Changa.
Special Thanks: Andrew Todhunter, Kiran Patel, and all the students who shared their stories with us in Gujarat.
Image courtesy of Claire Colberg
For more information about the Braden Grant for Oral Narrative: http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/grants.html

Greenlands

Rachel Kelley interviewed over two dozen activists, artists, and their friends as part of her effort to capture an oral history of Greenlands, an intentional community in Nashville, Tennessee. Their reflections ranged from the ethics of air conditioning to Occupy antics to the moral quandaries of gentrification. Here is a snapshot of Rachel's experience and some of the Greenlanders' stories.
Producer: Rachel Kelley
Featuring: Karl Meyer, DJ Hudson, Kate Savage, Tristan Call, Jena Robinson, Matt Christy, Keith Caldwell, Trevor Bradshaw, Megan Gilbreth, Rachel Kelley, and the Greenlands community
Special thanks: community members and friends of Nashville Greenlands, Charlie Mintz
Music links: "Bluegrass Banjo," "Insomnie", "Slide Cowboy," "Cerises," "Quasi Motion," "Hip-Hop 4," "La Toupie,” "Rae & Christian Remix dub 'Testify'," "We Shall Overcome,” Broke for Free
Image courtesy of Matt Christy
For more information about the Braden Grant for Oral Narrative: http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/grants.html

The Blind Leading the Blind

Understanding someone who experiences the world differently than you can be hard. In fact, it can be downright scary.
In this piece, Austin Meyer, a senior from Stanford University, visits the Earle Baum Center for People With Vision Loss to tell his story of what it's like to navigate the intimidating space between two opposite ways of experiencing the world... one with vision and one without.
Producer: Austin Meyer
Featuring: Denise Vancil, Scott Murray, and Sharon Brown
Special thanks: Dan Needham and The Earle Baum Center
Image via flickr
For more information about the Braden Grant for Oral Narrative: http://web.stanford.edu/group/storytelling/cgi-bin/joomla/index.php/grants.html