In the midst of the chaos of Dead Week and finals, students will have a chance to sit back, relax, listen to a story and learn a thing or two about other people at the same time.

This opportunity will come at Iowa State’s International Storytelling Festival on Saturday, May 2, which will include a storytelling workshop and a storytelling concert.

“The International Storytelling Festival is the finale of a workshop the theater department did this spring,” said Shirley Dunlap, director of the festival. “It is being presented by ISU Theater and the International Resource Center.”

Other storytelling workshops have been done before on campus, Dunlap said, but this time, there will be central Iowa storytellers in attendance.

“A grant from Target of about $1,800 allowed us to bring regional storytellers to campus to visit the classes and do storytelling workshops,” she said.

The workshops and the concert are being conducted by internationally renowned master storytellers Brenda Wong Aoki, Kevin Locke and Omofolabo Ajayi-Soyinka.

Aoki is a storyteller, solo theater artist, singer and actress whose background is in Japanese theater, according to information from ISU News Service. She has performed throughout the United States, Canada and Japan.

Locke is a Lakota dancer and storyteller who has performed throughout the world.

Ajayi-Soyinka’s storytelling technique comes form her Yoruba background in Nigeria and other West African traditions. Aoki and Locke are also award-winning storytellers, Dunlap said.

This is the first time this has ever happened on the ISU campus, Dunlap said.

“The three will be teaching the story-telling techniques of their cultures, and the fact that they are coming here to show others how to understand and develop their cultures and incorporate a more culturally diverse society is a pretty special thing,” she said.

And, Dunlap said, finding out about and understanding different cultures is really what the festival is all about. “Understanding a person’s culture enables us to understand their makeup,” she said.

The storytelling festival is also advocating an end to racism, prejudice and discrimination, and opening up to learning and understanding.

“It’s about letting the society know that there are other cultures out there to make up this world, and we have to accept them,” Dunlap said. “And in order to accept them, you have to know them.”

The workshops are hands-on story-telling workshops, she said, and that’s something that should be taken seriously.

“It’s about teaching and learning through the art of storytelling,” she said. “It’s a fun thing, but it’s a serious thing. The only way we really communicate with each other is through telling stories — from jokes to serious facts — because stories educate as well as provide entertainment.”

Dunlap said she hopes to see a diverse variety of people attend the workshops and concert.

“I would like to see some professional people as well as the general public out there,” she said. “I would also like to see more of the ISU faculty out there.”

Dunlap also said she is personally anticipating the festival. “I find interest and excitement in learning about others,” she said. “I really just want to do and know about it all.”

The workshops will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Memorial Union on Saturday, May 2.

They are free and open to the public. The concert will also be held on Saturday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m. at Fisher Theater. Tickets are on sale at the Iowa State Center box office and through TicketMaster. Cost is $8 for students and $10 for non-students.