If you've a hankering to give storytelling a shot, or you've already spun a few tales and want to meet others who share the habit, there are two troupes in the Pittsburgh area:

StoryWorks is based at the Murrysville Community Library, 4130 Sardis Road in Westmoreland County. The members of StoryWorks meet at 7:30 p.m. in the library on the fourth Monday of each month.

"We have about a dozen tellers and more listeners," said Judy Seeley, spokeswoman for the group. "We have all types of storytellers, some that focus on family stories, some that do children's stories."

The troupe has a roster of "Not So Scary Stories" that is perfect for the younger set at Halloween. They also make a point of asking their audiences to write down and tell family stories.

No dues are required and they don't mind taking someone with nothing more than a desire and helping them become dream-weavers. "We like to mentor people who want to go through the process and encourage them to come to meetings," said Seeley.

StoryWorks members share their stories with audiences in libraries and schools, as well as at community functions. Members also participate in "concerts," or evenings of stories told by a variety of tellers.

To contact StoryWorks, call Seeley at 724-327-4833.

The StorySwap storytelling group is based at the Northland Public Library in McCandless Township, Allegheny County. The troupe has existed for about 15 years, but only last year moved to the Northland Library. Officially, it has more than 30 members, but a smaller, faithful core of a dozen or so make the monthly meeting, said Alan Irvine, spokesman for the group.

StorySwap meets from 7 to 10 p.m. in the library the first Thursday of each month. Full-fledged members pay dues, but all meetings are open to the public, as well as to those who want to see if storytelling is for them. Members are about equally split between the genders, and ages range from the mid-20s up.

A couple of StorySwap members teach storytelling at a variety of venues such as Chatham College, North campus, Community College of Allegheny County and University of Pittsburgh lifelong learning programs, said Irvine. "Newcomers are always welcome."

StorySwap draws its name from the informal practice of telling stories, as opposed to a concert, which is more formal. "A swapping session is an open session where anyone can get up and tell. You might find someone trying out a new story or telling their first story," said Irvine.

Monthly meetings of StorySwap are just that, a swapping session. "We have a theme, but the stories can wander pretty far afield," he said.

To contact StorySwap, call Irvine at 412-521-6406.

Both StoryWorks and StorySwap participate in Tellabration each autumn. Tellabration is a nationwide storytelling event sponsored by National Story Telling Network. Each year, Tellabration occurs during the weekend before Thanksgiving.

In order to maximize the two-day event, StoryWorks and StorySwap make sure they celebrate, or tellabrate, on opposite weekend days.