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We Are Telling Our Stories Recruitment Video

We Are Telling Our Stories Residency

Center for Documentary Expression and Art (CDEA) is pleased to invite students to participate in We Are Telling Our Stories (WATOS), a unique, 4-week, summer (June 3 – June 27, 2024), writing/poetry/performance residency for local youth ages 15-22, at the West Valley Performing Arts Center.

Dr. David Gonzalez, a celebrated NYC-based poet, storyteller, playwright, and musician, is this year’s WATOS artist-in-residence. David is a Joseph Campbell Foundation Fellow and the recipient of the International Performing Arts for Youth “Lifetime Achievement Award for Sustained Excellence.” His writing has also been featured at Lincoln Center’s “Out-of-Doors Festival,” Bill Moyers’s documentary “Fooling with Words,” and NPR’s “All Things Considered.”

David will be joined by award-winning local writers and poets Dr. Masha Shukovich and J.R. Martinez to help participants dive deep into their own stories, connect to what they care about in the world, and receive guidance on how to share and amplify their creative gifts. In this unique, free program, participants will draw upon their lives and imaginations; discover messages and meanings embedded in their narratives; and shape and share the stories through a range of performances that use voice, song/music, props, movement, and theatrical tools. The residency will culminate in a performance developed through the braiding of individual and collective voices on June 26, 2024. All residency meetings and the final performance will take place at West Valley Performing Arts Center in West Valley City.

WATOS aims to engage high school and college age youth (ages 15-22) in Salt Lake Valley, with a special invitation to Latinx, BIPOC, and immigrant/refugee youth, and is limited to 35 participants. Each participant will receive up-to-3 University of Utah Elective Credits, a cash stipend of $200, and an opportunity to have their writing published in the “We Are Telling Our Stories” 2024 chapbook (a part of the SLCC annual publication series).

There is NO COST to participate in the WATOS residency, but there is an expectation to be present for all the residency sessions. Some exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis, so applicants should indicate any expected absences in the application form. The $200 stipend, course credits, and the completion certificate will be provided upon the completion of the program.

The application deadline is midnight (MST) on Thursday, May 9, 2024, so please apply below as soon as possible.

Click here for the application with additional information, including meeting times and dates.