“There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.”
Storyteller. Coach. Consultant.
Vara Cooper is a Moth Story Slam champion and winner of the 2017 National Story Slam at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Vara emceed and co-produced West Asheville's longest-running story slam and has performed on various shows including WGBH’s Stories from the Stage, RISK!, First Person Arts, and other beloved programs.
Vara first took to the storytelling stage in 2016 and has been charming audiences with authentic, humorous, edgy, heart-rending tales ever since. At the core of every performance is the desire to do life experiences justice and make the audience feel something.
Vara brings enthusiasm and experience to individual coaching sessions, group workshops, and professional development, training, and community-building seminars in corporate and organizational spaces.
Vara earned a bachelor’s degree in English and American Literature from New York University, master’s degrees in English and Adolescent Education from Hunter College, and master’s certification in Academically and Intellectually Gifted Education from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
“Owning your story is the bravest thing you will ever do.”
Popular Workshops
Finding Your Voice
An introductory storytelling workshop for generating ideas, practicing stories, sharing feedback, and learning to revise first drafts and other works in progress. The goal is to leave with at least one polished story.
Owning Your Narrative
A supportive workshop for tellers exploring and developing their most challenging stories. Embrace vulnerability and process memories and experiences through the lens of character and story arc development.
Kill Your Darlings
An editing workshop for storytellers. Experiment with structure, tone, tension, and other finer points of story craft. Create a pitch, a 5-minute slam story, and a 10-minute stage version of the same piece.
Warts and All
How to turn your flaws and failures into endearing, entertaining stories. Craft your messes, mistakes, and other inglorious stories into relatable tales. Bring your authenticity, leave with your dignity.
Coaching
For the Page
Individualized support and developmental editing for writers of personal narrative. Want to write your memoirs or transform your stage pieces into polished written stories? Contact me to get started.
For the Stage
Private feedback sessions for performers of personal narrative. Need to practice your slam story or solo show? Want to take your performance to the next level? Are you preparing to tell your first story on stage? Let's talk.
Consulting
For Companies
Infuse your brand and messaging with storytelling to connect people to your products and services. Each person, each department, each era of your business has a story that makes your company unique.
For Organizations
Inspire, motivate, and connect people within and beyond your cause with personal narrative. Learn to harness the power of story to strengthen bonds between team members, build bridges in your community, and call people to action.
For Schools
Build a strong academic community with storytelling. Customize professional development programs and dynamic student curricula that align with language arts, social studies, STEM, and other accountability standards.
For Your Group
Entertain guests at your gathering, retreat, reunion, or any special occasion with professional storytelling, and enhance any event by archiving your stories. Create audio, video, and written keepsakes of your shared history.
For more information about coaching, workshops, booking shows, or consulting, drop me a line.
