Storytelling Troupe: Engaging Communities with History, Culture and Humor

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

The MDPLS (Miami Dade Public Library System) Storytelling Troupe was established in 2019 to bring history, culture, and education into our local neighborhoods in a fun and exciting way. In December 2018, eight staff met to discuss which cultural themes they would like to focus on and began practicing stories and brainstorming ways to engage local audiences. The Storytelling practice sessions began as a grassroots effort to promote literacy and engage the community. The MDPLS Storytelling Troupe grew to 15 members in 2022 and attracted larger audiences to the library in 2022 and 2023 and held twice as many library events as in 2019. MDPLS maintained a high number of Storytelling outreach requests despite Covid 19. In 2019 we performed indoors at libraries and at 25 venues outside the library. In 2022, as restrictions were lifted on programming and outreach, we pivoted to outdoor venues and maintained a high audience participation. We engaged approximately 5,000 people annually both at the library and at outside venues since 2019.