Storytelling Toronto

In-Person and Online Courses in Storytelling

Storytelling Toronto’s teaching program helps all our students, regardless of experience, to achieve a deeper connection with the stories they tell and better communicate those stories to to everyone who listens.

Our First Steps (Storytelling I) is typically the course most begin with. Next Steps (Storytelling II) is open to those who wish to take their telling further, whether they have taken First Steps in the past, or have equivalent experience. We offer the Master Class for advanced and professional-level storytellers.

We also offer a variety of themed courses, whether it is taking your story from a narrative to a script for a puppet show, shaping your family stories, to bilingual storytelling. Our non-foundational courses vary from year to year.

Financial aid is available for those students for whom cost is a barrier. Please email us at hello@storytellingtoronto.org. Be sure to let us know which course you are interested in taking; how the course can benefit you; and, how much you can afford to pay. Assistance will be awarded on a case by case basis.

In addition to our core and special courses, Storytelling Toronto also facilitates private courses and workshops tailored to client needs. If you are looking for a professional development workshop for teachers or librarians, or leadership development for corporate employees or interns, you have come to the right place. Reach out to us and we’ll help you create the right program to suit your needs

Improv For Storytellers ONLINE

with Christel Bartelse

Dates: NOVEMBER 26 & DECEMBER 3, 2025

Time: 6:30 - 9:00 PM

Price: $115.00 + tax ($95.00 + TAX FOR MEMBERS)

To Register

About The Course

This course is taking place entirely online!

This two-session workshop will focus on guided improv exercises to help you build confidence in your storytelling ability and loosen your inhibitions. Through a variety of interactive games and exercises, you'll gain inspiration to be more spontaneous, find your authentic voice, and as a result, develop a deeper connection with any story, personal or traditional, that you choose to work on in future. You’ll learn how to take risks and fail — but gracefully, and with wild abandon. And you'll have fun!

This course is open to anyone who has taken an introductory storytelling course, from Storytelling Toronto or elsewhere.

Actor, storyteller, writer, creator and teacher, Christel Bartelse got her start in comedy and improv with the physical comedy duo, The Burnt Marshmallows (Canadian Comedy Award Nominees). She has also created and written six award winning solo shows and has toured them all across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. Christel is Co-Producer and Co-Host of the Toronto storytelling show "But That's Another Story" and has told her stories on several personal story stages across the Toronto area. She teaches numerous workshops in improv, physical comedy, and solo creation around the city and is a faculty member of Humber College, The Toronto Film School and George BrownCollege.

Storytelling 1: ONLINE First Steps

with Lynn Torrie

Dates: FEBRUARY 1 - MARCH 8, 2025

Time: 2:00 - 4:00 PM

Price: $160.00 + tax ($144.00 + TAX FOR MEMBERS)

To Register

About The Course

This course is taking place entirely online!

Are you curious about storytelling? Would you like to learn from the comfort of your own home? This beginners’ course will help you discover the basics of what makes an engaging tale and how to tell one without notes! We’ll use folktales as a starting point to learn principles you can apply to any other story. You will discover your strengths as you work in partners and small groups. Every class, you will tell a story and receive supportive feedback. Each week, you will learn about a new aspect of storytelling through lecture, discussion, and hands-on experience. By the final class, you will be telling your story to the whole group.

Lynn Torrie is a patient and experienced instructor who knows how to make an online class fun. A professional storyteller herself, she has told stories to audiences of all ages, from toddlers to seniors, sharing her passion for folktales and stories from Canadian history.