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Why Join FEAST?

Feedback from our members (most recently at our annual TOWN HALL (January 2023) often speaks of FEAST’s strong sense of community and camaraderie, and of sharing and support. It’s a warm inclusive group drawn from many different countries (and not just in Asia - see membership category 4!) People join at us at different stages in their storytelling journey. Some are starting out and are keen to learn more about how to engage an audience, while others are looking for the finer 'nuances' from experienced tellers during our webinars. Others are looking for a community of like-minded people - possibly with a shared interest in say eco-telling or improvisation, or in using story to share cultural values.

The tangible benefits are:

Regular webinars that offer you the chance to learn from experienced tellers as they share ideas on both the craft and the business of storytelling. Two mentorships every year each offer 4-5 members the chance to learn from a highly respected teller - in 2023 we are focussing on Personal Storytelling and Adult Performance Storytelling
Our Conference is a chance to meet fellow tellers, take part in practical workshops and see/hear lots of storytellers in action. We rotate the conference around different Asian cities: Suwon (South Korea, Sept 2024) India 2026 (city will be revealed at the end of the Suwon Conference!) and Singapore (2028) for our 10th anniversary.
Although English is our main language of communication, we also welcome and celebrate tellers who tell in their Mother Tongue, and our programming always aims to include such stories and tellers.
Storytelling sessions including story swaps (some of which are peer coached or have a guest teller providing coaching) Read 31 May Peer Reviewed Story Swap on the benefits of joining a Story Swap.
Special Interest Groups (or SIGs) are a great way to meet like-minded members and to sharew ideas and resources , often while acquiring new skills. Plot Luck is for those who want to develop their skills in improvising stories.
FEAST was set up by the directors of storytelling festivals in Bangkok, Chennai, Jakarta, Kuching, Seoul and Singapore, so if you tell a story you may be talent-spotted! In 2022, three tellers presented a performance for an American corporate client, and in 2023 we began a collaboration with Six Feet Apart (a story production company in California) which is presenting four tellers from our FEAST FEST (2021) in a ticketed show. In March 2024 six Feet apart showcased a 60-minute version of the Ramyana (also created for the FEAST FEST) All these events meant paid work for the 16 featured members.

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NOTE If you do not live in ASIA (see list below of the 46 countries we define as Asia) you need to reigswter as NOT RESIDENT IN ASIA, regardless of whether you are professional or just starting out on your storytelling journey.

FEAST is currently (July - December 2024) transitioning its membership period to run from January to December (rather than the current July to June) We would prefer new members to opt for an extended initial membership subscription that is pro-rated to run through to 31 December 2025. It's less work for you (one payment) and us (one book-keeping entry) and probably reduces the fees deducted by Paypal or Stripe (if you use a credit card). If you consider how low our subscription fees are, you'll understand why minimising our costs is appreciated on any transaction!

However, we understand that you might prefer to play safe and opt for a short term pro-rated membership to December 2024 while you explore what FEAST can offer you. If that is the case, do email us and let us know which kind of membership you are interested in (see below). We will create a membership and generate an invoice for you.

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FEAST MEMBERSHIP FEES

All fees are in Singapore dollars (which hovers around $1.36 to the US dollar – Jan 2024). Please note that prices throughout our website are always in SINGAPORE dollars.

As of 1st FEBRUARY 2024, all new memberships follow the calendar year to December 31st.

Fees are pro-rated monthly - see the chart, which indicates fees for a membership from the current month to 31st December 2025.

FEAST accepts payment by Paypal and Credit Card (processed via Stripe) You will be asked to choose your preferred mode of payment when you come to make payment.

Note: members/guests with a Singapore bank account are encouraged to use PayNow using our UEN: 201818697Z) as this is faster and avoids 4.5% service fee. When making payment you can either include the Club Express payment reference number, or a note saying who/what its for (Lee, membership).

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WHY DOES FEAST CHARGE FEES?

Although FEAST is entirely run by volunteers (the Directors and FULCRUM members) some expenses are unavoidable and total around SGD$8,000 per year:

\as a company limited by guarantee (the de facto legal framework for a non-profit company in Singapore) we need a company secretary (who only handles legal pro-forma matters, not the day-to-day running of FEAST!) We have to have an annual audit (and we pay a book-keeper to keep track of our monthly financials) and then file a tax return.

our annual subscriptions include paying Club Express ($7 a year for every member - that's almost 25% of a Community member's fee!) plus subscriptions to zoom, godaddy, google drive for storage, facebook advertising etc

our facilitators and mentors all receive an honorarium. It is considerably below what they might expect to receive from sharing thier expertise/time independently, so we are most grateful for their willingness to support us, but in total, the fees approach $3000 a year.

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FEAST FEES MODEL

Our model is to keep our membership fees low and to charge for the optional extras. This allows you to pick and choose which learning modules/mentorships are the most relevant for you.

We are aware of the wide range of members' incomes, both when comparing countries in Asia and in terms of what storytellers can charge for their work.

We also distinguish between members in Asia and those Not Resident here.

All members are receive substantial discounts on ad hoc registrations to events. There are also many free events such as Story Swaps & Just Tell.

Membership Levels

To tellers living in Asia

we offer three different levels of membership according to experience and purpose (Professional or Community) and by age (Young Storytellers, for those aged 16 - 30. Proof of age requested on application.)

If you are NOT RESIDENT IN ASIA (see the list of 48 countries that we designate as Asia!) you can only apply for the Not Resident in Asia category, regardless of your experience, age etc.)

We also offer INSTITUTIONAL Membership as a way for tellers in Associatoons, Guilds, clubs or educational settings to sample what FEAST has to offer as the member-discounted rate, before deciding to commit to become a primaqry member as an individual. Similarly, we welcome STORY FESTIVALS to become members so as to publicise their activities to our members - and hopefully sourcve tellers who might appear in your next festival! See the individual panels for the benefits and terms of each membership levvel

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1) Professional

If you are already an active and capable storyteller who wants to market your skills and services to more clients/audiences at home and abroad, this category is for you!

The benefits of professional membership are:

your experience, upload a photo gallery, links to sample videos and provide a link to your website, and social media;
members rates to all our events,
priority when it comes to Guest coaching sessions and most mentorship programmes
opportunity to refine your stories with culturally appropriate input from fellow members from Asia (and even beyond!)

Level 1: PROFESSIONAL $50.00 (SGD)

Subscription period: 1 year, from January1st

No automatically recurring payments

Access to all resources
Mentorship fee (if your application to take part in a mentorship programme is successful) $30
Your personal profile in the Members’ Directory

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2) Community

If you are interested in storytelling but you are still developing the skills and experience to become a more confident and effective teller, or if you prefer to tell simply for fun (eg within your family or community) or as part of your work (eg as teachers, librarians, counsellors), this is the group for you.

The benefits of being aq community member:

have the opportunity to tell in a supportive environment, such as Just Tell and our Story Swaps.
be part of a community that celebrates sharing and learning - see our Prop Swop series of stopry videos, and our regular Learning Capsules. There are over 40 already in our archives in the Story Store
the Foundations of Oral Storytelling course (FOOS) is an intensive 10 session (105 minutes each) online oprogramme designed specially for our community members.
gain exposure to stories from diverse cultural sources, and get tips to make sure your telling is culturally accuurate and appropriate

Level 2: COMMUNITY $30.00 (SGD)

Subscription period: 1 year, from January 1st

No automatically recurring payments

Access to all resources
Mentorship fee (if your application to take part in a mentorship programme is successful) $50
Your personal profile in the Members’ Directory

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3) Young Storyteller

We define 'young' as 16-30 years of age

Benefits:

your membership also gives you free access to all the FEAST Learning Capsule. These are 75-90 minute skill-sharing sessions by highly experienced sotrytellers on a wide range of subjects. We encourage you to learn from our collective expertise. Do note you need to REGISTER for each learning capsule

You are also entitled to up to 50% discount on the Conference fee.

Level 3: YOUNG STORYTELLER - $20.00 (SGD)

Subscription period: 1 year, from January 1st

No automatically recurring payments

Eligibility:

Aged between 16 -30 (proof of age required - eg student ID) membershipfeast@gmail.com
You must be Resident in Asia.

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4) Not-Resident in Asia*

FEAST welcomes storytellers everywhere who have an interest in Asian stories and we are delighted to welcome members from Australia, Canada, USA, UK, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Norway and Argentina (the list is growing!) on a regular basis.

Benefits:

Discover Asian stories told by Asian tellers
Significant savings on the event registration fees
a series of online trainng sessions delivered by leading names from the world of storytelling at a rate that compares very favourably with fees in the US or Europe (note all our fees are in Singapore dollars (SGD is about $1.36 to the US)
the chance to interact with talented, experienced Asian storytellers and possibly broaden your repertoire
need advice on a cultural element in your story? struggling to pronounce an Indian characer's name? We have members well qualified to assist you!

Level 4: NOT RESIDENT IN ASIA $45.00 (SGD)

Subscription period: 1 year, from January 1st

No automatically recurring payments

Please see our definition of the 48 countries in Asia

Access to all resources
Mentorship fee (if your application to take part in a mentorship programme is successful) $70
Your personal profile in the Members’ Directory

*How do we define Asia?

If you are resident in one of these 48 countries Countries of Asia and you consider yourself to be in Asia, we are happy to accept you as a member of FEAST:

Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen.

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5) Institutional

Institutional Membership (IM) is for organisations which run or promote storytelling events, and other organisations that wish to be affiliated with FEAST and our network of tellers (such as book councils, libraries, educational institutions with storytelling programmes, publishers, or media and content producer).

The Institution will have its profile page – a section in mother Tongue where appropriate – would be very welcome. We invite you to promote any of your events which you feel would be of interest to our members – both through the website and our social media channels.

Up to 5 members of your institution can register for any FEAST event at the member rate. Members of an Institution are registered as SECONDARY LEVEL members (with the Institution being the Primary member) This gives them their own ID/password to access the site for regiswering for an event (eg a Learning Capsule, the FOOS Course, the Conference, a Mentorship)

Note: As the IM is intened to enable individuals to sample FEAST's activities, the Learning Capsule Discount Package (which covers a whole year) is not available to Secondary Level mmebers.

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Benefits of Institutional Membership

Level 5: INSTITUTIONAL $200.00 (SGD)

Subscription period: 1 year, from January 1st

No automatically recurring payments

Access to all resources
Your own institution page with logo, photo and link to your website
Up to 5 members of your institution can register for any individual FEAST event at the member rate

We are always keen to explore ways of promoting stronger links between our IMs and the rest of ther FEAST membership. If you have an online event (eg story swap) you are welcome to send us details of it to include in our monthly mailer (please submit to membershipfeast@gmail.com by 20th of the month for inclusion in the following month's mailer.)

Across Borders is a series of Story swaps where we invite members of an IM to share three stories, alongside three stories shared by FEAST members. You can see the recording of our collaboration with Ayo Dongeng Indonesia (July 2024) in the next column.

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6) Institutional: Story Festival

We are keen to be connected with Story Festivals, not only in Asia but around the world and therefore offer this special category.

It offers you your own profile page. (with website, logo and a write-up on your Festival programming) and the chance to send two representatives to the Conference at Members rates.

Level 6: INSTITUTIONAL: STORY FESTIVAL $150.00 (SGD)

Subscription period: 1 year, from January 1st

No automatically recurring payments

This discounted rate is only for Storytelling Festivals. Benefits are:

Access to all resources
Your own profile page with Festival logo, photo and link to your website
Two representatives of your organisation can attend the Conference at the member rate

Join FEAST Now

Why Joi﻿n FEAST?

Membership Levels

Why Join FEAST?