Today we’d like to introduce you to Jayme Smith
Hi Jayme, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
We love connecting people with great stories – whether through books, music, movies, or history. It’s our mission to help people build their own story reservoirs, a collection of stories that we store in our hearts and souls that inform our identity, our decisions, our perspectives, and also helps us navigate challenging moments in our lives.
We help people fill that story reservoir with our pop-up bookstore and our podcast, but our favorite way to facilitate connection with stories is to create immersive experiences. We like to create experiences that require all five senses.
Back in 2008, we produced an outdoor production of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in Concert”, with a narrator who told the story in Washington Irving’s original language. Costumed characters would emerge from a greek chorus and pantomime the action while a foley artist provided all of the sound effects. The entire thing was underscored with music. And before the show started guests were invited to attend a pre-show festival where they could play games and eat foods from the Colonial period, as well learn more about the author of the story.
We produced this show a few times in Utah County and once in Cache Valley. Since then we have hosted many different kinds of immersive experiences but on a smaller scale. Our kids were now teenagers and they demanded a lot of attention so we stepped back from the huge productions. But we learned that the small, intimate experiences were just as impactful and inspiring. We held Scottish Robert Burns Suppers, Medieval Feasts, Dr, Who Parties, and a taste-testing presentation from the First Thanksgiving in 1621.
Now that our kids our grown and married, we have more time to devote to the mission of telling stories, professionally. We are super excited to hold our first “real” story immersion event in many years this summer: “Celebrating Little Women”. Guests are invited to come spend the day with the March sisters and Marmee. doing domestic activities and crafts, performing in the Pickwick Club with Meg & Jo, playing games with Laurie, etc. And then ending the evening with a ball. We’ve rented the Grand Victorian in Layton, utah for this one day event which will take place on June 28th. Tickets will go on sale on our website in April 1st. Detailed information on the event will be available on the website in the next two weeks. (We uploaded some photos of the event below).
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The amount of detail we incorporate into our events requires massive amounts of time and effort. This become very difficult when trying to balance family life and taking care of four teenagers who needed my attention. My husband and I made the very difficult decision to walk away from formally running the storytelling business until we felt our kids didn’t need us. as much It was a hard decision but it was the right decision. We still found plenty of opportunities to flex our muscles in amateur settings and it was enough at the time. Sometimes it does feel like we’re trying to play catch-up and we’re definitely not young anymore and feeling our age. But I feel very blessed that I have the time and the resources to pursue our dreams.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My dream is to be like Walt Disney. I want to bring that level of magic and wonder and excitement to all who experience our creative projects, whether it’s a podcast episode, an immersive story event, or a production. Someday I’d like to operate a themed resort that has a dozen magical ways to connect with great stories.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I think Provo tries very hard to be community minded – to make us feel like we belong and have a place here. It’s also very well-managed. But most of all I love the personality that downtown Provo has. It feels magical, especially at night. And there’s an energy to it that I find appealing. The architecture, the great mix of stores, restaurants, and clubs. It’s part of what made me want to move here.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.storybounders.com
- Instagram: storybounders
