During a welcoming event for the StoryCorps mobile recording studio on April 28, volunteer producer for Utah Public Radio Mary Heers explains the methodology she will to to create local programming from StoryCorps interviews.
LOGAN – The 30-day visit of StoryCorps to northern Utah got off a flying start on Friday, April 28.
“We already have 57 recording sessions scheduled,” according to Bronx native Franchesca Peña, a recording facilitator and site manager for StoryCorps.
That means that 104 local residents – that is, 57 pairs of individuals — are ready to share their stories with the world via StoryCorps podcasts and National Public Radio broadcasts.
With the interviewee’s permission, their stories can also be archived in the Library of Congress.
The StoryCorps’ customized mobile recording studio – in an airstream trailer – arrived in Logan on April 27. It is now open for business through May 26 in the parking lot west of the Historic Cache County Courthouse at 199 North Main Street in Logan.
Peña adds that 66 appointments for additional recording sessions are still available for northern Utah residents to tell their stories.
StoryCorps is a non-profit group dedicated to recording, preserving and sharing stories of people from all backgrounds and beliefs.
It’s 30-day visit to Logan is being sponsored by a partnership including Cache County, the Utah State University Credit Union, National Public Radio and local affiliate Utah Public Radio, according to Kerry Bringhurst, a general manager at UPR.
UPR hosted a well-attended event welcoming the StoryCorps crew at Historic Cache County Courthouse on April 28. A wrap-up listening party will also be scheduled at the Utah Theatre in late May.
Founded in 2003 by award-winning documentarian Dave Isay, StoryCorps seeks out candid, unscripted conversations about things that are really important in life – including love, loss, family and friendship.
These recorded conversations reflect the broad range of American experiences while helping to create a world where we listen closely to each other and recognize the wisdom, beauty, grace and even poetry in everyday lives.
“StoryCorps tells an authentic American story,” Isay explained, “confirming that we are a people defined by small acts of courage, kindness and heroism.”
After each 40-minute recording session, the participants receive a digital copy of their interview. With their permission, a second copy of their interview will be archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for future generation to hear.
StoryCorps has offered similar interview opportunities to more than half a million Americans in all 50 states. Its archive at the Library of Congress is already the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered.
StoryCorps also shares selected stories with the public through weekly podcasts, NPR broadcasts, animated shorts, digital platforms and best-selling books.
During StoryCorps’ month-long stay in Logan, volunteer producer Mary Heers promised that UPR will air a selection of local interviews and create special programming highlighting the project.
“Our partnership with StoryCorps represents what UPR does best,” Bringhurst added, “namely connecting and strengthening communities through storytelling.”
The StoryCorps mobile tour is made possible in part by grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
UPR is a service of the College of Humanities and Social Science at Utah State University, providing news, information, public affairs and cultural programs to listeners throughout Utah and southern Idaho.