Paul Belserene, Consulting Storyteller

"Get to the heart of something, then tell the truth,with whatever tools are best for the job" Paul Belserene has been active as an envisioner and storyteller in a wide range of media and interactive environments for more than 20 years, first as a writer and marketer in the arts community, Later as part of the creative team of Creative House, then as a founder of Producer's Workshop, more recently as Senior Strategic Storyteller at Envisioning and Storytelling, and continually as a consulting storyteller, branding consultant, namer, marketer and producer. Belserene first received international recognition for his work on behalf of EXPO 86. Called upon to provide all presentation materials used by the EXPO Corporation itself, he and his longtime collaborator Paul Smith were responsible for four major attractions at this world's fair including the Celebration Theatre in the Canada Pavilion, the 315-seat interactive Futures Theatre in the EXPO Preview Centre, The BC Pavilion's Discovery Trees, and the Air Canada Pavilion (in its entirety). They also played a major role prior to the exposition in producing materials instrumental in securing international participation, corporate sponsorship, public support and ticket sales for British Columbia's largest and most successful event. At World Expo 88 in Brisbane, Australia the two also produced "This Is Our Home" for the highly successful Canada Pavilion at World Expo 88 in Brisbane, Australia as well as designing, fabricating, and installing British Columbia's interactive theatre at the same World Exposition. Belserene has been a pioneer in the development of Interactive Theater and object theater as part of a new wave of interactive storytelling in museums, attractions, science centres and interpretive centres. The Kwakiutl House in the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, the Native Heritage Centre in Duncan, BC, the "Frozen in Time" exhibit at the Royal London Wax Museum and the Grouse Mountain Theater in the Sky are each examples of his ability to conceive and create powerful storytelling environments capable of making three dimensional artifacts "come to life." in combination with advanced theatrical technologies. For the Columbus Quincentennial Year, Paul Belserene collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution and the Ohio Historical Society to write and produce the 14,000 square-foot exhibition "The Smithsonian's Seeds of Change at AmeriFlora '92." He played a major role in the positioning of the event itself (America's sister celebration to Expo '92 in Seville), and in the creation of two major Pavilion attractions for the Fair. Belserene developed the concept and script for Smith's productions in the Discovery Pavilion, which included a 21-screen main theater experience entitled "I Love this Land" supported by a 3-screen preshow based on the life of Thomas Alva Edison. For the Expo '92 Corporation in Seville, Belserene led the Canadian-based design team which provided marketing and design services to the Expo Corporation and which developed the "Siempre Adelante" concept and storyline for the Exposition's 10,000 square-metre Navigation Theme Pavilion. As world expositions are strongly linked to tourism and attractions, it should come as no surprise that Paul's work has been in heavy demand in the tourism industry. in 1986, the year Intrawest aquired Blackcomb Mountain, Belserene began a 20-year relationship with that company that saw them transition from a general purpose property developer to one of the world's leading experience-oriented resort developers. Belserene's ability to envision a visitor experience that does not yet exist, and to communicate that vision to those who must work together to make it real became part of the core of Intrawest's business model until the acquistion by Fortress. He was engaged in the planning and marketing of resorts throughout North America and Europe, including Blackcomb, Whistler, Mont Tremblant, Mammoth, Snowshoe, Squaw Valley, Panorama, Keystone, Straaton, Les Arcs, Sandestin, Winter Park, Blue Mountain and Copper Mountain. Other resort clients include KSL Recreation (La Quinta Resort and Spa, PGA West, Lake Lanier Islands, and Grand Traverse) and Club Resorts (Pinehurst). Additioanlly he has worked for Tourism BC, Tourism Vancouver, and Canada West. He has conceived, written and produced tourist attractions in Singapore, Australia and the United States as well. His writing and direction have helped BC government ministries and Crown corporations to make powerful impressions to benefit international trade, as well as tourism. As an educator, Belserene headed the conceptual design for "Boosters," a national health and wellbeing program being formed out of Johns Hopkins University. He consults for the Alberta Center for Injury Control and Research as well as the Alberta Motor Association in the areas of injury awareness and prevention. He was a member of the Smithsonian's conceptual team for the permanent exhibit entitled "Forces of Change" scheduled for installation at the National Museum of Natural History. Belserene earned an AMI International Gold Award for "Heroes," a program designed to help reduce injuries among high school students. Originally produced for the University of Alberta Hospitals, the one-hour multimedia traveling program was experienced by some 200,000 Alberta teens. Paul has since adapted "Heroes" for national distribution (in both of Canada's official languages) by the Canadian Injury Prevention Foundation. He has also produced a companion program for the Canadian Air Command. Paul was also the writer and producer of "Outrageous Acts", another AMI International Gold Award winner which took students backstage at Vancouver Opera. Paul is also the holder of an IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) Gold Quill award for work on behalf of the University of Alberta Hospitals. In 2007 Paul celebrated 30 years of offering adult courses in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.   Naming Naming is the most concentrated form of storytelling. Belserene's creative and strategic strengths are ideally suited to the naming and positioning of products and services. The Catalyst Paper Company was named out of a long consultatin with the compay as it evolved from Fletche Challenge Canada Limited to Norske Skog to Catalyst, a name that came from one of the differentiated paper products that Belserene named and positioned for the company. Belserene provided the category "Hard Lemonade" to the Mark Anthony Group, whose "Mike's Hard Lemonade" went on to become one of North America's biggest beverage success stories. He has named Iris Optical, Botticelli Chocolates, Creditenial Securities and Amica Seniors Communities, among others. Companies with strong marketing capabilities in house often turn to Paul to help them create effective names for new products and storytelling for new projects. Belserene is sometimes called upon to give identities not only to a company's products but to the company itself.                                   In the area of corporate communications, special events and traveling shows, Belserene has been responsible for the concepts, writing and direction of several hundred mixed media presentations including preview presentations on behalf of Expo 86 and AmeriFlora'92 that were key elements of the successful advance marketing of those events, and the show that galvanized support for Victoria's successful bid to host the 1994 Commonwealth Games. Corporations such as Disney, Procter & Gamble, MacMillan Bloedel, Fletcher Challenge, MTS Advanced, Davis & Company, Subaru, and Air Canada have turned to Paul when faced with particularly challenging storytelling requirements.

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