San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Public Library Storytelling Workshop Series Culminates with Free Public Event

The second season of The Opera in You, San Francisco Opera’s free storytelling workshop series presented in partnership with San Francisco Public Library (SFPL), will culminate with The Opera in You: Season Finale Showcase on Saturday, June 15 at 3 p.m. in the Koret Auditorium at SFPL’s Main Library. Hear Bay Area workshop participants share their own true operatic tales at this free event. 

Twelve selected participants from The Opera in You workshops will share their five-minute stories at this public storytelling celebration. During the event, three additional workshop participants will also be selected by lottery to read their stories, which this year connect to themes in San Francisco Opera’s 2023–24 Season: fairytales, tales of consequence, and the comedy of love. The showcase will be hosted by The Opera in You Program Facilitator Corey Rosen and feature songs performed by San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow Arianna Rodriguez, accompanied by pianist andThe Opera in You Program Administrator Cole Thomason-Redus. 

The Opera in You is a partnership of San Francisco Opera’s Department of Diversity, Equity and Community and San Francisco Public Library to offer free writing and storytelling workshops at SFPL branches across the city. Storytelling is an essential component of opera and The Opera in You offers individuals, no matter their background or prior experience, an opportunity to develop their storytelling skills. Led by experienced coaches and teachers, the workshops bring participants together in a creative and collaborative environment to share their own unique life stories.

The March–May 2024 series of weekly in-person workshops took place at six San Francisco Public Library branches (Bernal Heights, Golden Gate Valley, Noe Valley, Richmond, Sunset and Visitacion Valley) and was also offered via three series of weekly live online sessions. This season’s team of teaching artists was led by storyteller, improviser and teacher Corey Rosen, together with writers and storytellers Nicole Apostol Bruno, Patricia Cotter, F.T. Kola, Sara Marinelli and Christian Wilburn. Since its inception in 2022, the program has been offered at nearly half of SFPL’s branches.