Detroit’s Own Mega-watt Star
She’s turned storytelling into a ritual of healing and worship. Satori Shakoor’s series, The Secret Society of Twisted Storytellers®, is a stable in Detroit’s arts circles and a stalwart institution housed at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on the third Friday night of the month.
She is “Transforming Lives One Story At a Time.” It’s no wonder that she’s one two of the most coveted arts prizes: A Detroit Knight Arts Challenge and a Kresge Arts Fellowship.
This series is a gift to the city, elevating the performance of stories to its rightful place as one of the highest callings of the human spirit. Shakoor brings decades of blood, sweat and tears that she dedicated to honing her craft as an actor. She pours her training as a writer, actor and storyteller into others and in so doing she plays an unimaginably vital role in the life of those whose stories she curates and helps to craft – and to the audiences who are uplifted by the telling. This project is her life’s work – it is unequaled – it is essential.
Each month Shakoor sets a theme and puts out the call for participants to train to take the stage. Themes range from “Father Figures,” to Betrayal and Trust,” to “Reparation,” to “Real Men” and “Ain’t I am Woman.” Her production of “Breaking Down the News,” allowed media professionals such as Stephen Henderson, Devin Scillion and Chastity Pratt a moment to retort to the incessant and usually erroneous cries of “fake news.”
She writes, “We have a global mission to connect humanity, heal and transform community. Our mission is achieved through live performance art, storytelling workshops, and private story coaching to individuals, organizations, businesses and educational institutions.”
For information on the next production of to participate, go to: www.twistedtellers.org
