The Story Lab at Olin
Co-Founders and Directors: Jonathan Adler and Gillian Epstein
Our Goal:
Stories connect us – they build identity and community. Grounded in Olin’s hands-on, impact centered approach, The Story Lab designs and coaches powerful storytelling experiences that effect change. We design and launch storytelling performances, collaborative workshops, and special events. We work with a range of individuals and organizations to amplify stories that might not otherwise be heard.
Our Process:
We offer a highly personalized and collaborative process grounded in literary practice, the performing arts, and psychological science. In the Story Lab, we use our experience as teachers, editors, consultants, and directors to empower storytellers with ways to create and share inspiring stories that foster self-awareness and build increasingly empathic and inclusive communities.
Our Clients:
We have worked with leaders who already have a big stage and everyday people who have never stepped on stage: college presidents and college students, non-profit organizations and professional societies, university faculty and staff, high school students and K-12 teachers, professional writers and those just getting started. And yes, even those who never even thought about getting started. (After all, we grew this practice by teaching storytelling to engineers). Past clients include: The American Association for the Advancement of Science, Wellesley College, The WPS Institute, and Georgia Institute of Technology.
All of our work is customized, so please reach out to us to discuss how we might collaborate with you!
Learn More About Us
Scenes from past Story Lab projects
Student Antonio Perez performs at Remaking Education at the Paramount Theater
Group photo of American Association for the Advancement of Science Story Slam performers and coaches
Participants in college-wide story sharing activity
Student Alexis Seith performs at Georgia Tech Story Slam for The Narrative Engineer conference
Student Dre Hilton performs at annual Olin Story Slam for prospective students
Remaking Education story sharing activity
MathWorks STEM outreach engineer, Wynter Duncanson, performs at The Mirror’s STEM Slam at the Cambridge Foundry
Assistant Director for STEM at Brown University’s Center for Teaching and Learning, Logan Gin, performs at AAAS conference Story Slam
Student Micah Reid performs at Olin Community Story Slam featuring faculty, staff, and student performances
Carnegie Mellon professor, Elizabeth Wayne, performs at AAAS conference Story Slam
Group photo of Wellesley College Computer Science Story Slam performers and coaches
President Gilda Barabino performs at her Inauguration Story Slam
Feedback from Previous Story Lab Participants
Watch Selected Previous Story Lab Productions
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"Wow. People here seem to really want stories..."Gillian Epstein: Introduction |
“Stories are the medium of meaning...”Jonathan Adler: Introduction |
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“The no-dads-on-the-stairs rule must have been the foundational precept of carnival police school...”Amon Millner: Recoding The Rules |
“When you get an email inviting you to participate in this Story Slam, you immediately close the laptop. But a few moments later, you open it back up...”Eva Duvrais: Take 2, Or 3 |
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“‘Moisés, tu eres un semi-fake Latino,’ he announced to the entire class...”Moisés Sabido García: What’s in a Name |
“Part of me wanted to shout, ‘Actually, Spam is really tasty!’ while the rest of me wondered if I was going to get cancer, seeing as my body composition is at least 5% Spam...”Meg Ku: Secret Love |
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“You might be wondering, what role did I actually play in disrupting my seventh grade science class? Lowkey by the teacher's answer, I was probably the ring leader… ”Dre Hilton: RUOK |
“I stretch my legs just a little bit further, tiny micro-adjustments on the logistic growth function to perfection...”Hwei-Shin Harriman: Disembodied |
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“One of my friends took to describing me as ‘woodland creature Michael,’ going happily and mysteriously about the forest...”Michael Costello: Split Ends |
“My life story conveys that we don’t enter into the ivory tower of higher education just for our own careers, but to make a difference for people and challenges that others might not choose to address...”David Hall: Open Doors |
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“I have come to see that as I was scrubbing strangers’ toilets and doing their laundry, I was also building the foundation that would inform my commitment to equity...”Antonio Perez: Conversations |