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Press Play to hear Michael Reno Harrell speak about American Folk Music and it's effect on American Storytelling Community on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Michael Reno Harrell Writes...
People like to be talked to. Well, if you have something interesting to say, they do. It's in our genes. All of mankind's knowledge was passed on through storytelling until very recently as things go. And it's a good bet that music started out as a part of that storytelling at about the same time. The two are as closely intertwined as fishing and talking about fishing.
I've been playing the guitar and writing songs for longer than I care to admit. And having grown up on folk and bluegrass, the songs that I tend to write are apt to be the kind that tell a story. And as a singer/songwriter I tend to do a whole lot of solo performances and am lucky enough to do mostly concerts. That is to say, where folks sit and listen to what I'm offering.

I found out a long time ago that an entertainer needs to connect with his audience on every possible level, so I started talking to my listeners. So, what do you say other than, "Thanks for coming out" or ‘The title of this next song is…"? Well, I've found that people have an interest in the story behind the song. So, I began to tell a bit about what I was doing or thinking about when I wrote a particular piece. That grew into writing a story that would lead into the song. Pretty soon the stories were longer than the songs, but my audiences didn't seem to mind.

Now when I do music festivals and someone comes up after a set and says something like, "Man, I really dig your songs, but I love the stories", I say, "Dude, you need to check out a storytelling festival!" (Hey, I only say "dude" if the guy says "dig".)

About Michael Reno Harrell

Michael Reno Harrell is an award winning songwriter, as well as a veteran storyteller and entertainer, and he's from the South; the Southern Appalachian Mountains to hone it a bit finer.

One could compare Michael's performances to his granddaddy's pocket knife: well warn and familiar feeling, but razor sharp and with a point. His brand of entertainment appeals to a very diverse audience. A typical day for Michael might include a program for 4th graders in the afternoon and a concert for a mixed audience that evening.

Michael's recordings top the Americana Music Association charts year after year. His original songs and stories have been described as "Appalachian grit and wit" but, as his writing shows, Michael's awareness is much broader than the bounds of his boyhood home or even the Southern Experience. Having toured throughout the British Isles and much of Europe, as well as most of the US, the songs he writes and the stories he creates reflect an insight into people's experiences that catch the ear like an old friend's voice.

Michael's natural knack for storytelling, in print, song and spoken word has earned him praise from not only t

Press Play to hear Doug Elliot talk about using storytelling to support nature based education on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Doug Elliot Writes...
How do you find a story in nature (or anywhere else for that matter)? I often start with an incident, an encounter, a problem or a question-something happens to you, you meet someone, see something, or you wonder about something. The narrative I tell is my journey of investigation, trying to figure it out.

The incident is your hook, not only to your listeners when you're storytelling, but also to yourself as an explorer and an investigator. Then I let my curiosity be my guide. I start asking questions. Any journalist will tell you your ability to get a good story is often directly related to your ability to ask good questions. The first and probably the ultimate resource is yourself. How do/did I relate to that incident, encounter, problem or question? How did I feel?

The next step might be an initial resolution concerning your opening incident or a preliminary answer to the question you have set up.

Simply seeing or experiencing something and figuring out what it is can be an interesting vignette, but it's rarely enough to make a good story. This initial vignette (incident, encounter, problem or question) becomes what Joseph Campbell refers to as the "call to adventure." Your challenge becomes how to find and tap those "ripples on the surface of life" that Campbell writes about "which reveal hidden springs as deep as the soul itself."

After you've explored your feelings and reactions and probed your own background, you find others who might have something to say about what you're investigating. This subsequent investigation-your reading, research, and your conversations with other people-becomes the adventure, the backbone or plot line of the narrative. Some of the various bits of information you gather or anecdotes and tales you hear can possibly stand on their own, but ideally the stories and information will be used as sub-plots to develop your entire piece. Then, instead of delivering a natural history lecture, you end up with a classic mythic hero's journey, where the hero (you, most likely) answers the "call to adventure." Wherever the investigation takes you becomes the journey. These facts, tales, and lore become stepping stones on a quest in search of truth and meaning. Rather than delivering a bunch of facts about a critter, phenomenon, or situation, you tell a story.

Bio

Doug Elliott has performed and presented programs at festivals, museums, botanical gardens, nature centers and schools from Canada to the Caribbean. He has been a featured storyteller at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough TN. He has lectured and performed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and conducted workshops for the Smithsonian Institution. He has led ranger training sessions for the National Park Service and guided people in the wilderness from down-east Maine to the Florida Everglades.

He was named harmonica champion at Fiddler's Grove Festival in Union Grove NC. He is the author of four books, many articles in regional and national magazines and has recorded a number of award-winning albums of stories and songs.

Elliott's passion for the natural world developed in early childhood roaming the woods and waters around his home. His dad used to say, "That boy knows what's under every rock between here and town.”

He still roams the woods today. He has traveled from the Canadian North to the Central American jungles studying plant and animal life and seeking out the traditional wisdom of people with intimate connections to the natural world. And he still looks under rocks. These days he uncovers more than just a few strange critters; he brings to light the human connection to this vibrant world of which we are a part.

More at http://www.dougelliott.com/about.html

Tune in to hear Connie Regan-Blake on the Art of Storytelling with Children Podcast at 8pm ET on Wednesday. Join the Email Alert list to get the invitation.

Connie writes…
It was October 7, 1973, in Jonesborough, Tennessee – an afternoon that changed my life . . . and the course of storytelling in the United States. The setting was the first National Storytelling Festival.

I had been hired two years earlier by the Public Library in Chattanooga, TN, as a full time storyteller - another life changing event for me. So when I heard about a festival devoted to storytelling, I was thrilled - and knew I had to go. My cousin, Barbara Freeman, who was also a teller, was up for the adventure so we jumped in her little yellow truck and headed off on an adventure.

There I met and heard Ray Hicks, who was to become the patriarch of Southern Traditional Storytelling. He was perched on a flatbed truck, telling Jack Tales to a group of 35 of us, sitting on folding chairs in front of the County Courthouse, hanging onto his every word. When they asked if anyone in the audience wanted to tell, I jumped at the chance and have been involved ever since.

That day, I also met Jimmy Neil Smith, who had the brilliant idea to have a storytelling festival. His vision included an organization to promote the art of storytelling and two years later “NAPPS” came to life – the National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling. With the town’s support for seed money, a Board of Directors and lots of volunteers, the word began spreading.

And now, over three decades later, storytelling is thriving. That first intimate gathering inspired many to go home and start their own events. Now hundreds of storytelling festivals take place in almost every state in America and around the world from New Zealand to Austria. Today Jonesborough is home to the International Storytelling Center. The National Festival continues to be the premiere storytelling event in the country with an audience that has grown from the original 35 listeners to over 10,000 people who make the journey every year to listen to and tell stories. For many, it is a transformative experience; reawakening the comfort, joy, and pathos that is storytelling. Elizabeth Ellis sums it up best – “The festival is more fun than you can stand!”

For my own professional path, storytelling has taken me across the world. As a partner with Barbara Freeman, we were known as The Folktellers for 20 years and trail-blazed the art of tandem telling. During the past decade I have continued telling stories as a solo performer and workshop leader, as well as collaborating on a unique blend of storytelling and chamber music with the Kandinsky Trio.

Every autumn since 1973, I continue to be drawn to Jonesborough, and welcomed onstage with the distinct honor of being either a featured teller or an emcee. Now, after almost 40 years as a fulltime, professional storyteller, my life’s work continues to be a privilege and a blessing. And I always remember, as the storyteller I have the best seat on the house!

Bio

Connie Regan-Blake is one of America’s most celebrated storytellers. She has captivated the hearts and imaginations of people around the globe with her powerful performances and workshops. Entertaining audiences in 47 states and 16 countries, she brings the wisdom, humor and drama of stories to main stage concert halls, libraries and into the corporate world.

Both as a solo artist and a member of the acclaimed Folktellers duo, Connie has been featured on seven award-winning recordings – five audio and two videos produced by PBS. New Age Magazine, School Library Journal, and Southern Living have praised her work. She has been a guest on NPR’s All Things Considered, ABC Good Morning America and CNN.

When Connie takes the stage she generates a brightness and warmth, drawing in listeners with her engaging humor and Southern charm. Her stories range from hilarious traditional Appalachian Mountain tales to poignant true-life drama. A consummate professional, Connie’s rare talent can transform a convention hall into a wondrous landscape and turn a packed theater into an intimate circle of friends.

Connie has performed at the nation’s top folk music and storytelling festivals in Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, as well as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. Her groundbreaking collaboration with the Kandinsky Trio - an innovative blend of storytelling and chamber music - has been hailed as a “new art form.”

As a founding board member of the National Storytelling Association (formerly NAPPS), and a frequent host and featured performer at the National Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, Connie helped ignite and shape the American storytelling revival.

Connie resides with her husband, two dogs and a frisky cat in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. For more info, see www.storywindow.com

Tune in to hear Connie Regan-Blake on the Art of Storytelling with Children Podcast at 8pm ET on Wednesday. Join the Email Alert list to get the invitation.

Connie writes…
It was October 7, 1973, in Jonesborough, Tennessee – an afternoon that changed my life . . . and the course of storytelling in the United States. The setting was the first National Storytelling Festival.

I had been hired two years earlier by the Public Library in Chattanooga, TN, as a full time storyteller - another life changing event for me. So when I heard about a festival devoted to storytelling, I was thrilled - and knew I had to go. My cousin, Barbara Freeman, who was also a teller, was up for the adventure so we jumped in her little yellow truck and headed off on an adventure.

There I met and heard Ray Hicks, who was to become the patriarch of Southern Traditional Storytelling. He was perched on a flatbed truck, telling Jack Tales to a group of 35 of us, sitting on folding chairs in front of the County Courthouse, hanging onto his every word. When they asked if anyone in the audience wanted to tell, I jumped at the chance and have been involved ever since.

That day, I also met Jimmy Neil Smith, who had the brilliant idea to have a storytelling festival. His vision included an organization to promote the art of storytelling and two years later “NAPPS” came to life – the National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling. With the town’s support for seed money, a Board of Directors and lots of volunteers, the word began spreading.

And now, over three decades later, storytelling is thriving. That first intimate gathering inspired many to go home and start their own events. Now hundreds of storytelling festivals take place in almost every state in America and around the world from New Zealand to Austria. Today Jonesborough is home to the International Storytelling Center. The National Festival continues to be the premiere storytelling event in the country with an audience that has grown from the original 35 listeners to over 10,000 people who make the journey every year to listen to and tell stories. For many, it is a transformative experience; reawakening the comfort, joy, and pathos that is storytelling. Elizabeth Ellis sums it up best – “The festival is more fun than you can stand!”

For my own professional path, storytelling has taken me across the world. As a partner with Barbara Freeman, we were known as The Folktellers for 20 years and trail-blazed the art of tandem telling. During the past decade I have continued telling stories as a solo performer and workshop leader, as well as collaborating on a unique blend of storytelling and chamber music with the Kandinsky Trio.

Every autumn since 1973, I continue to be drawn to Jonesborough, and welcomed onstage with the distinct honor of being either a featured teller or an emcee. Now, after almost 40 years as a fulltime, professional storyteller, my life’s work continues to be a privilege and a blessing. And I always remember, as the storyteller I have the best seat on the house!

Bio

Connie Regan-Blake is one of America’s most celebrated storytellers. She has captivated the hearts and imaginations of people around the globe with her powerful performances and workshops. Entertaining audiences in 47 states and 16 countries, she brings the wisdom, humor and drama of stories to main stage concert halls, libraries and into the corporate world.

Both as a solo artist and a member of the acclaimed Folktellers duo, Connie has been featured on seven award-winning recordings – five audio and two videos produced by PBS. New Age Magazine, School Library Journal, and Southern Living have praised her work. She has been a guest on NPR’s All Things Considered, ABC Good Morning America and CNN.

When Connie takes the stage she generates a brightness and warmth, drawing in listeners with her engaging humor and Southern charm. Her stories range from hilarious traditional Appalachian Mountain tales to poignant true-life drama. A consummate professional, Connie’s rare talent can transform a convention hall into a wondrous landscape and turn a packed theater into an intimate circle of friends.

Connie has performed at the nation’s top folk music and storytelling festivals in Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, as well as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. Her groundbreaking collaboration with the Kandinsky Trio - an innovative blend of storytelling and chamber music - has been hailed as a “new art form.”

As a founding board member of the National Storytelling Association (formerly NAPPS), and a frequent host and featured performer at the National Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, Connie helped ignite and shape the American storytelling revival.

Connie resides with her husband, two dogs and a frisky cat in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. For more info, see www.storywindow.com