Vienna is one international city that promotes storytelling and poetry reading. Being a cultural city, it values activities that help people gain valuable insights.
This month of May, the International Storytelling Festival will take place for 11 days from May 20 to 31. The three main venues are Vienna, Styria and Lower Austria.
In Vienna, the Novomatic Forum is the venue for the Magic of Stories evening galas. For two days on May 26 and 27, 10 artists from seven countries will present the world’s best stories. This event, however, is exclusive for adults.
The major storytelling event will take place on May 30 and 31 in a place about an hour away from Vienna. In a small village known as Bad Schonau, some 30 of the world’s best narrative artists will tell their stories. They will feature mime, puppetry, clowning, acrobatics and dance to music.
This event started in 1988 with the main goal of founding the first storytelling festival in Europe. After more than 27 years, the activity has become of the most important events of this genre.
Other than the classic storytelling activity, this event is also combined with other narrative arts such as pantomine, music, dance and clownery. This is a great opportunity to see the live performances of some of the world’s best storytellers.
There are various benefits to storytelling regardless of the age of the audience. These include emotional connection, understanding others and growing intimacy.