By: Eric Wolf,
on 3/8/2015
Would you like to be a part of a storytelling conference call that supports you in your use of storytelling? If so, then enter your name and email address and you will receive personal invitations to participate in The Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Conference call – most Tuesdays at 8pm Eastern. Name: Email: Share [...]
By: Eric Wolf,
on 10/26/2011
Press Play to hear Leeny Del Seamonds on using character voices in your storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf. Odds Bodkin’s character-voice and music-filled storytelling style has been mesmerizing listeners, young and old, for twenty-four years. The New York Times dubbed him “a consummate storyteller” while TIMEOUT New York writes, “Master Storyteller [...]
By: Eric Wolf,
on 5/17/2011
Press Play to hear Diane Wolkstein and Connecting with Audiences, Other Cultures and Ourselves on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf. Bio… Diane Wolkstein is one of the world’s most preminent storytellers and the award-winning author of more than 30 books, CDs, and DVDs. From amusing children’s tales to epic adventures for adults, Wolkstein has performed [...]
By: Eric Wolf,
on 2/28/2011
Press Play to hear Storyteller Tim Ereneta talks about how he brought Storytelling to the Fringe on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf. Here’s the best thing about a storytelling performance in a Fringe Festival: I don’t have to wait to be discovered. I don’t have to worry about offending my host with my material. [...]
By: Eric Wolf,
on 1/25/2011
Press Play to hear Antonio Rocha speak on accessing the language of the body using storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
Antonio Writes…
Dear listeners, my journey into storytelling has been a magical one. First, with my mime training with Tony Montanaro and a bit with Marcel Marceau, taught me a lot about how body language communicates so eloquently. Not by translating a sentence into movement but rather the intention and essence of a narrative. Less is more. Then, I got a BA in theatre arts from The University of Southern Maine, there I learned some more about theatre . So, I started to tell orally but never forgetting the physical eloquence learned from mime. That mixed with my own creativity assured a very particular language. Such approach has given me the opportunity not only to go to the far corners of the world but to far corners of my own soul. The storytelling community is a great home to be. Thanks for listening…..and watching.
Antonio Rocha’s Biography
Antonio Rocha, a native of Brazil, began his career in the performing arts in 1985.
In 1988 he received a Partners of the Americas grant to come to the USA to perform and deepen his mime skills with Master Tony Montanaro. Since then he has earned a Summa Cum Laude Theater BA from USM (University of Southern Maine) and studied with Master Marcel Marceau. Mr. Rocha’s unique solo shows of stories and mime have been performed from Singapore to Hawaii and many places in between including ten countries on five continents. Some of the venues include The Singapore Festival of the Arts, Aruba Intl Dance Festival, The National Storytelling Festival, The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, The National Geographic, The Tales of Graz in Austria, Dunya Festival in Holland as well as many other Storytelling Festivals and educational institutions around The USA. Mr. Rocha is a member of the Maine Arts Commission, The New England Foundation for the Arts and the National Storytelling Association.
Feel free to learn more about Antonio Rocha on his website – http://www.storyinmotion.com
By: Eric Wolf,
on 11/30/2010
Press Play to hear Octavia Sexton talk about Jack Story and how his Traditional Tale belongs to everyone. on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
Octavia Sexton writes…
I think most people probably know that a Jack Tale is a trickster story and Jack. They’ve been around for over 800 years – originating in the British Isles. The stories came to North America via European settlers. The stories told in the Appalachian Mountains began to change through the years to reflect the environment and cultural traditions that emerged among the mountain people.
I grew up in a storytelling tradition and stories were a part of life. I heard a variety of stories not only through kinfolk but also at school. I went to a one-room school and the only thing to do at recess was sing songs, tell stories and play games that did not require ‘stuff.’ We didn’t have any ‘stuff’ to play with because we were all just a bunch of poor country kids. I think I established myself very early as a storyteller. I remember being 5 years old and standing on a big rock in the yard of one of my uncles’ houses and telling tales to my cousins, aunts and uncles who gathered on the big front porch. We had all kinds of stories, but I never knew what a Jack Tale was until I went to college.
After eighth grade, Mommy asked me if I wanted to get married or go on to high school. I went on to high school! Five months after graduating high school, I was married, pregnant and working for minimum wage in a factory. We lived in a two-room house, got water from a spring and used an outhouse. Poverty is like a great black hole that keeps sucking you in deeper – almost impossible to get out. Hoping to break the grip of poverty for my family, I went to college full time. While in college the professors discovered I was a storyteller. I was asked if I knew any Jack Tales and I said no. Then I found out what they were and I realized I had heard Jack Tales all my life but the character wasn’t always called Jack. He could be named after anybody or just be called ‘a feller.’ Anyway, it was college that put me on the track to becoming a professional storyteller. I took a storytelling class in college and right off knew I couldn’t tell one like the professor said we should. I kept my mouth shut through that class and that is hard for me to do. Then on the last day, each student had to stand up and tell a story. I thought to myself, “Oh Lord, now everybody will know I can’t tell stories the right way.” I got up there and just told one like Grandpa because I couldn’t do it any different. When I finished everybody was real quiet and staring at me. Then the professor said I was the best storyteller he had ever heard. Talk about getting the ‘big head’ – you couldn’t shut my mouth after that. I started telling in other classes, at faculty meetings and just everywhere.
I think Jack Tales are great stories for anyone to tell and create because he is just like you and me wherever we are. You don’t have to be in Appalachia to tell a Jack Tale any more than we had to stay in Englan
By: Eric Wolf,
on 10/19/2010
Press Play to hear Rafe Martin speaks about Zen and the Art of Spiritual Storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
Rafe Martin speaks…
Many years ago (staring in the early 1970’s and on) I began walking two traditional roads – that of formal Zen practice and that of storytelling. My first public storytelling events actually took place at the Rochester Zen Center in 1973. For many years the two roads went running in happy parallel, sometimes visible to each other from across the ravine, sometimes hidden by bushes, boulders, trees and vines. In the later part of the 80’s the two roads began to join up and intertwine, weaving in and out, braiding and re-forming from story elements old and older, ancient and new. The worlds of oral storytelling and writing books began to interconnect for me, too. I wrote picture books and collections, original and ones inspired by traditional tales and communities. I began speaking every year for about a dozen years at Zuni Pueblo, one of the most traditional Native communities in North America where I saw myth come alive, be ordinary and very real at the same time. What a gift!
I wrote a novel, too, that sprang out of the world of the Brother’s Grimm – tales that my mother had loved and read aloud to me, when I was young. Ordinary, daily, personal life, and the ancient world of story began to support and teach each other. All along I kept up with daily Zen sitting and Zen retreats (called sesshin – meaning “to touch the mind”), as well as with working with excellent teachers in that branch of Buddhist tradition. About a year and a half-ago I received ordination in Zen tradition and the two roads of story – both personal and traditional – and the road of personal evolution/ spiritual work I knew from Zen practice, became one.
So, when Eric asked to do an interview on these related subjects right after the recent 38th National Storytelling Festival where I was a featured teller of course I said, “Yes.”
Enjoy!
Bio:
Storyteller Rafe Martin is the author of over twenty books ranging from almost wordless picture books through collections and novels. His work has been featured in Time, Newsweek, and USA Today. He has also been a featured teller at such prestigious events and institutions as the National Storytelling Festival, the International Storytelling Center, the American Museum of Natural History, NASA, the American Library Association International Convention, the Joseph Campbell Festival of Myth and Story, the Sierra Storytelling Festival to name just a very few.
He is the recipient of numerous awards including multiple Parent’s Choice Gold Awards, Storytelling World awards, ALA Notable Book Awards, as well as the prestigious Empire State Award, given for the body of his work. He is also a fully ordained lay Zen practitioner, with many years of formal practice and study. His latest book is Endless Path: Awakening in the Buddhist Imagination – Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and Daily life. He lives in Rochester, NY. See http://www.rafemartin.com for details.
By: Eric Wolf,
on 8/25/2010
Press Play to hear Ruth Stotter speak on working with props in storytelling performances on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
Ruth Stotter Writes....
I love the idea that as a storyteller, you travel light. A "bag" of stories takes up no room and is easy to carry around. But I also love interspersing stories with props - both as a folklorist carrying on old traditions and as a way of adding a visual component. Puppets, masks, and origami are among my favorites. You asked why I am currently so intrigued with string stories and I will try to answer. It never ceases to amaze me that with a simple loop of string you can make hundreds of figures, and that these string designs can be used to tell stories.I think they were the first picture books. Tellers in traditional cultures twisted and turned the string to make illustrations to accompany their oral texts.
When I went to Easter Island, where they still hold an annual string story competition, I found that they were using a rough hewn string from a plant and told stories in the old Rapa Nui language, not the modern Rapa Nui, nor Spanish, which is the official language. In Fiji I met a man who easily copied my string figures. I found it difficult to learn his, as I am used to book illustrations. Besides stories, of course, the loop of string is used for stunts and magic tricks.
Organizing the String Gathering in San Francisco in 2004 I was happy to meet other members of the International String Figure Association. This organization sends members a monthly string figure-design as well as various newsletters and books. Several of the people who attended the Gathering brought power point presentations of their experiences collecting string figures from Yupik Eskimoes, Navajos, and various Oceanic Rim countries.
I was pleased to be invited to write the section "String Figures" for Storytelling: An Encyclopedia of Storytelling and Folklore, edited by Josepha Sherman. That led to my writing A Loop of String.
So, you see, my friends, all of my interests - origami, puppets, magic, folklore and storytelling - coalesce in this seemingly simple folk craft! I guess the bottom line (literally in this letter ) is that as a storyteller I find it challenging and irresistible to adapt and adopt string figures as part of my storytelling performance.
Bio: Ruth Stotter's kaleidoscope activities in storytelling include telling stories at a local Rennaisance Faire for six summers, producing and hosting "The Oral Tradition" radio program on KUSF-SF for six years, directing the Dominican University storytelling program for 14 years*, teaching and performing in Portugal, France, England, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, India and Africa. She is the author of About Story, More About Story, The Golden Axe, Smiles: 101 Stunts and You're On!. She has chaired and presented papers at meetings of the American Folklore Society and for several years served on the ASF Aesop Committee, which selects the best children's books based on folklore. Her honors include the Reading the World Award from the University of San Franc
By: Eric Wolf,
on 8/6/2010
Press Play to hear Laird Schaub speak about The Application of Story to Group Facilitation and Community Living on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf
Laird Schaub Writes...
"As a consultant, I'm often asked to work with groups that consider themselves stuck. In helping them understand how they got there and the choices they have to move through it, I always start with the stories-the way in which each person makes sense of their reality as a member of the group. Invariably, the stories don't all match. Sometimes the realities are mutually exclusive. Still, I believe them all and do my best to help everyone in the group understand how each person's actions make sense from that person's perspective. Once I've established a bridge of understanding among the various players, it's then possible to build a new story, where each person's reality is now a little bigger and can hold aspects of other's realities as well.
The key to this is to not ask a person to change their core beliefs, change their personality, or change the way they work with information. I just ask them to change their story, and then to adjust their behaviors accordingly. I ask them to make shifts that are in their interest; ones that will help them be better understood and be less triggering for others. I ask them to make changes that will help them build relationship.
Often, people in the group will be in pain. Being stuck doesn't feel good, and if you cannot see past your own story it often appears that others have taken actions that are purposefully hurtful or disrespectful. Ouch! In this sense, pain is a symptom of a problem, and very useful in helping to diagnose where the stories are not in alignment. Because you want to be treating causes and not just symptoms, it's important here to resist the impulse to alleviate the pain as your priority. It's a better strategy to view the pain as an important source of information and explore it for the purpose of surfacing the clues you'll need to build a story where everyone can feel held and respected."
Brief Bio:
Laird has lived 36 years at Sandhill Farm, an income-sharing rural community in Missouri which he helped found. He homesteads there, has raised two kids, and has developed a flair for preserving food and celebration cooking. He is also the main administrator of the Fellowship for Intentional Community, a network organization he helped create in 1986, and that serves as a clearinghouse of information about North American communities of all stripes.
In addition to being an author and public speaker about various aspects of community, he's also a meeting junkie and has parlayed his passion for good process into a consulting business on group dynamics. He's worked with about 75 different groups around the US, many of them multiple times. His specialty is up-tempo meetings that engage the full range of human input, teaching groups to work creatively with conflict, and at the same time being ruthless about about capturing as mu
By: Eric Wolf,
on 7/2/2010
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
By: Eric Wolf,
on 6/22/2010
Press Play to hear Brother Wolf speak with Tejumola Ologboni on Walking the Talk with Street Storytelling.
A little more on the Artist…
Teju of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a master storyteller and folklorist of international renown. He draws listeners into stories with gestures and movements, and sometimes with music made on traditional Africa instruments. Some of his stories are filled with magic and mystical characters, like “the Possum and the Hare;” others are fact like the story of Joshua, a runaway captive who escaped to Wisconsin, and whose case went all the way to the Supreme Court, when a bounty hunter tried to capture and return him to being enslaved. Serious or humorous, political or festive, Teju’s stories reflect on longstanding and contemporary cultural perspectives to capture and return him to being enslaved. Serious or humorous, political of festive, Teju’s stories reflect on longstanding and contemporary cultural perspectives to give listeners greater understanding of the profound influence of African heritage on our traditions and identities. Come listen to this culture keeper and be enlightened and inspired.
He is also an author, teacher, consultant, poet, writer, actor, dancer, percussionist, and “verbal illusionist.”
“Storytelling is the most ancient of ancient arts.” -Tejumola Ologboni
Whether in your schools, concerts, festivals, libraries or community centers, bring Teju the Storyteller to your stage for a memorial cultural experience.
Tejumola F. Ologboni
P.O. Box 16706
Milwaukee, WI 53216
(414) 344-6656
You can learn more about Teju at http://www.yourfavoritestorytellers.org/teju.html
By: Eric Wolf,
on 5/6/2010
Press Play to hear Brother Wolf takes questions from his audience on the Art of Storytelling Show on being a professional storyteller. This is 3 of 3 shows commemorating the 100th Anniversary episode of the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show. This Episode is podcast in 128 bit rate – this higher bit rate costs more to cast online – if you enjoyed listening to the higher quality show – perhaps you would consider purchasing your next download through the website….
This picture is called a Wordie – it is picture of the words people used when they wrote their thoughts on the 2010 National Storytelling Network Oracle Award..
What People are saying about the Art of Storytelling Show…
I would like to thank the following people for contributing there time and energy to the 102ndt Anniversary Episode….
Harvey Halbrun – Show ID – http://hdhstory.net/
Steve Otto Show Introduction http://www.i-tell.net/
Ellyce Cavanough Introduction of Brother Wolf – http://www.freespiritnaturecamp.com/
Fran Stallings – Oracle Award Committee - http://www.franstallings.com/
Michael D. McCarty – Invitation to attend the National Storytelling Conference in LA in July/August in 2010 – http://www.storynet.org
Jean Luster – Art of Storytelling Ipod Testimonial – The Cleveland Association of Black Storytellers
Buck P Creacy - http://www.buckpcreacy.com/
Heather Forest – Defining Storytelling www.storyarts.org
Journey Sandeers – How do one become a professional storylteler? http://www.jostory.com/
Dale Jarvis – International Symbosym – International Perspective – When storytelling and when is it a tradition? http://www.sc-cc.com
Margret Endinburg – How do I go about telling stories for pay? http://www.kuumbastorytellers.org/MargaretEdinburgh.html
Rob Mcabe – How do I get Grant Money? –
1 Comments on Art of Storytelling 102nd Anniversary Episode., last added: 5/6/2010
By: Eric Wolf,
on 3/31/2010
Press Play to hear Brother Wolf takes questions from his audience on the Art of Storytelling Show on the future, current health and past history of the podcast. This is 1 of 3 shows commemorating the 100th Anniversary episode of the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show.
Each of the people asking questions on this show have there own work and I can hardly expect anyone to get all the way through this episode with out having to listen two or three times…
Audience Members who Participated in this Show…
Judith Black – Show ID http://www.tellingstoriestochildren.com
Robert Kikuchi-yngojo – Show Introduction – http://www.ethnohtec.org
Bill Lepp – Guest Bio – http://www.buck-dog.com
Anne Shimojima storyteller – Wonder and Amazement – http://www.storytelling.org/shimojima/
Lisa Eister – How did the Art of Storytelling Start? – http://www.scstorytellingnetwork.org/guilds.html
Fiona-Jane Brown, aka Story Esquine What do you think of having children tell true life stories? http://www.grampianstorytellers.org.uk
Jeff Gere of the Talk Story Festival – How has this process effected you? – http://www.jeffgere.com
Mylinda Buttterworth – Can you tell us more about Eco Tales? http://www.storymasters.org
Donna Washington – Thanks for Contributing. – http://www.donnawashington.com
Tim Errneta – What is your listenership like? – http://storytelling.blogspot.com/
Judith Alexander – How long are you going to be keeping up this podcast? – http://www.seattlestorytelling.org
Thanks to all the people who participated in the making of this episode.
Never apologize before performing – if you have to apologize due it at the end of your performance where people can except your apology as a part of there approval of your good performance. I have been a little delayed in my production of this episode. Scratch this delay up too a desire to make the show decent and a fear of success that seems to be over taking me at this point. More on the that in a few days.
By: Eric Wolf,
on 1/13/2010
Press Play to hear Jimmy Neil Smith about the future of the International Storytelling on the Art of Storytelling Center with Brother Wolf.
 Photo Curtsey of Fresh Air. |
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Jimmy Neil Smith writes...
In the early 1990s, I attended a conference of the Tennessee Arts Commission in nearby Johnson City. During the session, potter Bill Strickland spoke about the arts-based Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and Bidwell Training Center in inner-city Pittsburgh—an institution, founded by Strickland, that teaches low-income, inner-city youths an employment skill.
Strickland spoke eloquently about his institution and its program. His address was stirring and powerful. Then, as a closing, Strickland said, “I challenge each of you to go home and build an institution that confirms and makes real what you know.”
Strickland’s challenge inspired me.
Less than a year later, the National Storytelling Association announced the development of what would become the International Storytelling Center—the organization’s first permanent home in 30 years and a “launching pad” for a series of national and international programs, products, and services.
It was Strickland’s challenge that would give birth to the institution that has become the International Storytelling Center. The Center campus—now composed of the elegant Mary B. Martin Storytelling Hall, Historic Center Inn, and the Storytelling Community Park—opened in June of 2002.
Through the work of ISC, we are seeking to confirm and make real what we know about storytelling—the ancient tradition that is as old as humankind yet as modern as this morning’s headlines. Now, in 2010, ISC is launching an expanded vision—a journey to a New Horizon—a better life, a better world, through the power of storytelling.
To achieve this vision, ISC is:
• Building international awareness, appreciation, and audiences for storytelling
• Teaching individuals, organizations, and communities across the globe how to tap into the power of storytelling to build a better life and a better world
• Enhancing the Center’s role in Jonesborough as the worldwide beacon for
By: Eric Wolf,
on 12/16/2009
Press Play to hear Michal Malinowski speaking on the Storytelling Museum of Poland on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
A storyteller - shaman from Altay in Siberia at the festival of Intangible Heritage organized by the Storytelling Museum.
Michal Malinowski writes...
The Storyteller Museum is a unique institution devoted to the collection, preservation and promotion of oral heritage from all over the world. Our mission is to save the vanishing examples of intangible treasures, acquaint new generations with the oral tradition of a variety of cultures and revive the custom of storytelling. Nonetheless, our attention is also devoted not only to tribal storytelling but also to contemporary trends in oral expression. The Museum has been the leading place in Poland to developed the storytelling revival movement. We have organized Storytelling Festivals and workshops in our location and other places in the country
The Storyteller Museum has an innovative approach to collecting and exhibiting different cultural artifacts by applying the latest achievements of digital technology. Our interests pertain not only to narrative texts but also to other indirect elements, such as gesture, movement, dance, sound, music, costume and body coverings. We have been engaged in work on various exhibitions, elaborating unexplored topics, such as African Griots: Local Knowledge -Global Polish Oral Tradition, A Panorama of European Oral Tradition, The Storyteller Museum supports all initiatives of transcribing oral traditions into tangible platforms. For such an end it has initiated a special program called Indigenous Writers, aiming to give the opportunity to tribal people to enunciate their oral art, so that it can be preserved in various forms, such as books, audio-visual recordings and museum digital displays. We are currently working on the book "Folktales from Burkina Faso"
Michal Malinowski - biography
Folklorist, writer, storyteller, computer graphic artist, born in 1966 in Warszaw, graduated from Academy of Fine Arts in Lausanne - Switzerland diploma in painting and computer graphics, started his carier as multimedia artist designing animation movies in Switzerland and Japan. Simultaneously discovered his passion for writting which he has realised as animation script writter and free lance journalist for various magazines in Europe and Asia. In 1997 traveled to Papua New Guinea where discovered traditional storytellers and decided to create the new type of museum based on interactive technology presenting oral traditions and intangible heritage. In 1999 quit Japan in the goal to extend his knowledge in cultural studies and went for one year to Folklore and Mythology Department at Harvard University. After retourned to Poland and opened in 2002 the Storyteller Museum in the house he built himself.
He has contributed to the beginning of Polish storytelling revival mouvment , organizing since 2002 various storytelling events ( storytelling evenings, workshops and Festivals in the Museum venue and all over Poland). He performed his storytelling programs life on stage, libraries, schools or since December 2007 regularly on the III Chanel of the Polish National Radio. Recently performed in the storytelling festival
By: Eric Wolf,
on 12/7/2009
Press Play to hear Gail Herman speaks on building a student storytelling festival on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
Written by Gail N. Herman, Ph.D. © 2009
I have loved working with students on storytelling in the schools for over 30 years. One of the events that students love is to share their stories with younger audiences. The older students feel like they are giving a gift to them. Students enjoy entertaining and “helping the little ones.” However, after some in-depth exploration, training and practice telling to an audience, some students want to share their stories with wider audiences of all ages. Below are types of festivals I have found to be very successful.
Here is a list of ideas for starting a storytelling festival in your school or your community.
Ways to get it started. (You pick which one you want to start with.)
• Find a few teachers and/or parents and offer to tell a story in the teachers’ classrooms. Start suggesting the idea that students can also retell or tell stories to share with younger students. This is the short “festival” version. This year Broad Ford School second grades did this after my performance on tall tales. They all told their original tall stories (alone or in duos and trios) about Johnny Appleseed. The teachers made it part of their curriculum with the help of their enrichment teacher.
• Or write a press release in the school paper(s) or community newspaper about a new enrichment opportunity to be held in the community. “Tellers wanted, grades ___ to ____ to share their retelling of a folktale, tall tale, legend, or an original story of their own.” Over and over I have found “If you build it, they will come.”
• Find an auditorium or a venue with a stage and/or 10 classrooms or spaces. The spaces are for student story sharing circles in small groups of 10 stories with parents/friends as audience; the auditorium with a microphone is for a main stage sharing by a portion of the group (picked at random or by the sharing circles). I have directed and held over 25 festivals in three states (CT, WV, and MD) in schools, in church fellowship halls, state parks, and at colleges. Smaller “festivals” for, let’s say three classes of grade two, can just be held on the school stage/ “cafetorium.”
• If possible find businesses and/or an organization that will support the event. Gifts for each student teller are so appreciated. Finding gas money (or a grant for an honorarium) for you is also great! Our local American Association for University Women, Garrett County Branch in Maryland has been very supportive. We also have a used book sale there.
• When the session is in school, the audience comes free, unless it is a fundraiser for the school, usually at night. When it is on a Saturday or a Friday after school and in another location, you can charge admission and a fee to participate. This can be for such things such as pizza (or refreshments), certificates of exaggeration, gifts, or for purposes of donating to a charity. I have found the later to be a very attractive reason for students, parents, and teachers to desire participation. Give the proceeds, or part, to the char
By: Eric Wolf,
on 10/20/2009
Press Play to hear Esyllt Harker speak on stories out of Welsh History and land of Wales. on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
On the teller...
Esyllt Harker is a versatile singer and storyteller, performing in English and/or Welsh. Her material draws primarily on her strong Welsh roots - myth, legend and history mix with gleaned fragments found in the features and memories of the land. She is noted for her easy interweaving of the Welsh and English languages, making for effortless understanding. She also moves smoothly between spoken and sung material, bringing a new - but age old - inflection to her telling. She has performed frequently at Beyond the Border International Storytelling Festival, and was part of the second Rough Guide to Wales tour in 2002. She tells in theatres, festivals, museums, schools, parks, shopping precincts, living-rooms, castles, on clifftops..........
Mae Esyllt yn cynnig ei gwaith yn y Gymraeg ac yn Saesneg.
To learn more about her Website check out the Welsh Storytellers at http://www.bodyandvoice.co.uk/
By: Eric Wolf,
on 9/16/2009
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
By: Eric Wolf,
on 7/28/2009
Press Play to hear Kevin Strauss speak about applying storytelling to environmental science on the Art of Storytelling with Children.
Written by Kevin Strauss…
Introduction:
“Environmental Storytelling” has become a popular subset of the storytelling world, but until recently, there was little agreement about what it was or how to do it. In this Blog follow-up to my interview on the Storytelling With Children Podcast, I will provide a definition for “environmental storytelling,” describe what makes a good nature or environmental story, and give some resources for environmental stories.
What Is Environmental Storytelling?
Environmental storytelling is the act of using live narrative performance to teach an audience about the natural world, how it works, and how to care for it.
What is an Environmental Story?
An environmental story is a story that either teaches listeners about some aspect of the natural world (why bears have short tails or why rocks don’t move) or teaches an ecological lesson like (Everything is Connected, Everything Goes Somewhere, There’s No Such Thing As A “Free Lunch”). Many “Why” stories fall into this category, including: Why Bear Has A Short Tail (Norway), Why Robin’s Have Red Breasts (Ireland), and Why The Sky Is Up So High (Nigeria). Stories that talk about greed, selfishness, or wastefulness also often fall into this category.
What Makes For A Good Environmental Story?
Where Can I Find Good Environmental Stories?
Books:
Hamilton, Martha and Mitch Weiss. How & Why Stories. Little Rock: August House (1999).
A good source of “pourquoi” or “why” stories from around the world.
Miller, Candace ed. Tales from the Bird Kingdom. Lima: Pourquoi Press (1996).
Miller, Candace ed. Tales from the Creature Kingdom. Lima: Pourquoi Press (1997).
These are two of the best sources for a large number of animal stories from around the world. Each book contains 160 summaries of stories. The best way to order these books is to contact the press directly via email at “[email protected]” or at Pourquoi Press, 439 S. Cole St., Lima, OH 45805-3366.
Strauss, Kevin. Tales with Tails: Storytelling The Wonders of the Natural World. Westport: Libraries Unlimited (2006).
This book has been called the “textbooks for environmental storytelling.” It contains 64 non-Native American environmental stories, sciences information about the animals and plants in the stories and information about how to tell a story or make a story “more environmental.”
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Websites:
www.environmentalstorytelling.com contains 100 environmental story summaries with references; stories are organized by animal type and environmental education concept
www.naturestory.com is my website, containing articles on storytelling and text versions of several nature stories
www.franstallings.com is the storytelling website of “Earth Teller” Fran Stallings. Fran tells environmental “fact tales” and true nature stories guaranteed to enlighten and inspire
About the Author:
Award-winning Author and Storyteller Kevin Strauss has been using stories to entertain, educate and inspire children and adults for more than a decade. Based in Rochester, Minnesota, Kevin travels across the Midwest to perform environmental stories at schools, libraries, and community events.
Kevin is the author of three books, including Tales with Tails: storytelling the wonders of the natural world (Libraries Unlimited, 2006), winner of the prestigious national 2008 Storytelling World Award. His other books include the full-color children’s books Loon and Moon, and The Song of the Wolf. He is also the storytelling star on two CDs and two upcoming DVDs.
You can reach him through his website at www.naturestory.com.
By: Eric Wolf,
on 7/9/2009
Press Play to hear Carol Mon speak on applying fairytales to business on the Art of Storytelling with Children.
Carol Mon writes…
Why tell stories to our children? Because it helps prepare them for life. An added benefit though, is we re-learn the important lessons within each tale. This reminds me of Robert Fulghum’s book “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” Definitely true if someone read or told you stories during your formative years.
Folk and fairy tales are full of values and morals that we learn through repetition. Generally, as children we don’t stop to think what moral is being taught we are just enjoying the story for entertainment. The characters in the story model good or bad behavior and we see the consequences of their actions. Without receiving a lecture from parents we learn appropriate behavior.
As an adult storyteller I am often re-learning and telling favorite childhood stories. A funny thing happened; I started seeing all kinds of lessons in the stories that could be applied to the business world. My favorite example is Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” The Emperor is like so many executives I have met, they intimidate those who work for them. Information does not flow freely and eventually the executive finds himself parading around in only his underwear.
I work with all kinds of business people now and try to get them to understand stories are not just for kids. We need to remember these stories, learn from them and apply them to our current situation. Business people see the tales as frivolous and a waste of time, they want to learn from “real” business situations experienced by colleagues so that they can learn from them. So, you tell them the story of the Emperor and change his title to Executive Vice President. The tailors become consultants selling services, the courtiers are direct reports. The consultants fool the EVP and although the employees see it they fear the EVP’s reaction if they speak out against the consultants. Eventually the consultants leave town and the EVP finds a huge bill with nothing to show for it.
Did the story really have to change to be accepted? Unfortunately the answer is probably yes and not just because of prejudice (stories are for children’s entertainment). Something we have in kindergarten that is destroyed in many of as we go through school is an imagination. Business people lack the imagination to see how the lesson in The Emperor’s New Clothes can be applied to them.
An Introduction to for Carol Mon:
Once, a long time ago there was an accountant named Carol Mon who spent several happy years
working as an employee benefits specialist and payroll manager. When her company merged with another, it was time for her to leave the comfort of Connecticut Mutual, and find her passion in the world.Her journey took her to WMRD, a small AM radio station in Middletown, CT. Wanting more, she moved on to ESPN, a sports network in Bristol CT. Still something was missing. So Carol packed her desk and continued her journey to become…a storyteller. Finally, she had found the passion she was searching for and felt at home in more ways then one.
Drawing on years of informally telling tales of travel, payroll problems, and media mishaps Carol honed her storytelling skills. She now journeys to such venues as Pfizer Corporation, the United States Coast Guard Academy and the National Association of Insurance Women to help people unlock the secrets of creating and telling compelling stories to strengthen communication skills. And she just loves making a difference in this unique way.
Carol is a member of the Connecticut Storytelling Center, Toastmasters International, the National Speakers Association, and is the Assistant Festival Director for the Connecticut Storytelling Festival. She is also the author of a booklet “Ten Telling Tips for Talkers – Storytelling Tips Everyone Should Know”.
For more information on Carol Mon go to
http://www.carolmon.com
By: Eric Wolf,
on 6/28/2009
Press Play to hear Baba Jamal Koram speak the responsibility of being a storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Children.
Baba Jamal Koram is a storyteller in the African American Griotic TraditionsÔ he is a dedicated practitioner and teacher of the spoken word traditions and is a respected leader in the world of storytelling. Baba Jamal is a groundbreaking storyteller, educator, folk drummer and organizer. He is a past president of the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc. and is a 2001 recipient of its prestigious Zora Neale Hurston award. Called a storyteller’s storyteller, and a Griot’s Griot he continues to travel across the nation sharing his stories and his presence with thousands of school children and their families. Baba Jamal holds the B.A., M.S. and Ed.S. degrees, and is married and the proud father of children, grand children, and godchildren.
This master storyteller uses his stories to inspire, encourage, and to uplift the positive growth of our children and in our communities.
He has said:
“My South Carolina great grandmother Mary would say to her grandchildren, “Bring me a cool glass of water, and I’ll tell you a story. Then she would proceed to tell them one of those traditional African American Gullah stories, about Bruh Rabbit or one of the many folkloric characters. . . I follow in her storytelling footsteps. . .Call me if you have a cool glass of spring water.”
For More information on Baba Jamal Koram check out his website: http://www.babajamalkoram.com/
By: Eric Wolf,
on 5/24/2009
Press Play to hear Kim Weitkamp speak about reaching troubled youth through storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Children.
Kim Weitkamp writes…
For 15 years I saw first hand the amazing power of story. The right story deposited at the right time is like a time release capsule. I cannot count how many times one of the teens that I was working with would come back to me, after I told them a story, and they’d say, “Hey, you know that story you told me the other day? Well, I’ve been thinking about it…”
When I would hold group discussions, a story would bring together opposing sides. When I was digging into a person’s heart, trying gently to unearth the pain that was causing them to act out in anger, a story would be the trowel. When I looked into the angry hurting eyes of teen, a story would prove to them that I understood and that I had been there too.
I loved working with at risk youth and found great satisfaction in using story to bring healing. It was a worthy calling. But, after 15 years, it wore me out physically and emotionally, so I retired. From youth work, not storytelling. You cannot retire from what you are, you can only retire from what you do. So what I was had to release itself in another form.
I pulled out journals that I had kept over the years and started going over stories that I had written for no other purpose than to make me smile. I started sharing those stories with people outside my family and friends circle. After a few years of puttering around state festivals, schools and libraries, I branched out and before I knew it I was telling full time. But inside of me there was a struggle going on.
For years, I had used my stories to help teens who were suicidal, self-mutilators, violent offenders, lost, lonely and at their breaking point. I had used my stories for a worthy cause, but now I was telling for the sheer pleasure of it. I was using my stories to entertain and to make people laugh. I was at odds with myself. How could I go from one extreme to another? Was I selling out? Was there a purpose to what I was doing? I was constantly asking myself these questions.
One evening I was telling in a tent that was draped in white lights. The night was cool and still and the audience was perfect. I was in the middle of one of my favorite stories, right at a part where I pause for effect, when I had the most beautiful experience. As my gaze swept across the crowd I could see each face individually, expectant and ready. It was like slow motion, a hard thing to explain really, but they were there…with me… in the story, not in the tent. They were waiting to turn the corner with me and see what I saw and laugh at what I laughed at and smell what I smelled and taste what I tasted. They were there with me, in my story, walking with me.
It was at that moment I knew that what I was doing was just as worthy as my previous work. No matter how long I have them, no matter how large or small the group, no matter how funny, sad, silly, or heartbreaking my story is…it’s a miracle.
Each time I tell I have the privilege of taking my listener away from this world. For a few minutes I provide a much needed break from the rent payment, from the knee pain, from unemployment, from the wayward child, from the death of a loved one. It is a form of medicine, therapy, whatever you want to call it I don’t care. I only know that it is good. And to be a storyteller is a worthy calling.
After that experience I went to Jonesborough for the first time and in the glass shop on Main Street I found an art print that brought tears to my eyes. The artist had drawn a picture of a woman and beside it had written: “In the midst of the song she heard every heartbeat and knew she was a part of something bigger.” Nough said.
Bio of Kim Weitkamp…
Written by Diane Pelegro
Kim Weitkamp used applied storytelling for over 15 years within her work with youth. She has been a guest speaker, keynote and storyteller at camps, retreats, conferences, libraries, schools, leadership summits and festivals throughout the country. After overseeing various non-profit programs in four states she retired from youth work three years ago.
At that time Kim decided to take her love of humor and storytelling to the stage, and she has been warmly received. Her impressive performance list as a newcomer includes Timpfest in Orem, Utah, the Exchange Stage in Jonesborough TN, the historic Lyric Theater in Virginia, the Northeast Storytelling Festival, the Storytelling Festival of the Carolinas, The Smoky Mountains Festival in Pigeon Forge TN, The Colonial Williamsburg Storytelling Festival and many others. She holds residencies at the Montgomery County Museum, the JuneBug Center for Storied Arts and the Lewis Miller Art Center.
She currently serves as President of the Virginia Storytelling Alliance and is the Virginia State rep for the National Youth Storytelling Showcase. She is also a commissioned performer for the Virginia Commission of the Arts. Kim has written and performed vignettes and stories for the PARfm Radio Network morning show which has a 3 state listening audience. She has penned numerous children’s stories but is most noted for her original and humorous Pitscreek Series, which has resulted in two CD projects.
Kim is the founder of the Wrinkles Project, a nationwide program that helps raise awareness of the treasure we have within our ’seasoned citizens’ and the stories that they have to share. Kim’s first CD, “This Ain’t Bull It’s Fertilizer” was her freshman release. Her new self titled CD, shows her growth as an artist and writer. The stories are solid and well written and her telling style is casual and warm. The collection is a beautiful example of storytelling at its best. Recently Kim has added the dynamic of singing original songs to her performances. They cozy right up to the story and add depth and additional appeal to her telling.
Kim’s genuine care for the audience, love of story, and natural talent has alloted her a solid position within the arena of spoken word artistry.
To Learn more about Kim’s work check out her website at http://www.justkissthefrog.com/
By: Eric Wolf,
on 4/23/2009
Press Play to hear Jay O’Callahan speak about learning about Stories by telling to my Children on the Art of Storytelling with Children.
Jay O’Callahan writes…
I’m at work right now on a story commissioned by NASA, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration to celebrate its 50th anniversary. As I create the NASA story I’m aware I’m using all of the knowledge I gained telling stories to my own children. As I told stories to my children I began using repetition, rhythm, changing my voice, using a gesture here and there and inventing situations that involved struggle or risk, When my son Ted was about nine months old I’d make up little songs and rhythms to make him smile. Just making my voice go up high and then suddenly come down delighted him.
One night Ted was sitting in a soapy bath and I read him some of James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake. He laughed at the sounds.
When Ted got older I read books to him like The Gingerbread Man and discovered that he loved the repetition running through the story.
Run, run fast as you can
You can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man.
I began reading one of Richard Scary’s book in which there was a character called Pierre the Paris Policeman. The line was, “Pierre the Paris Policeman was directing traffic one day.” I would sing that line with a French accent and lift up my hand to stop an imaginary car. The voice and accent brought the character alive. That was an important discovery. And if I read it in any other way it wasn’t Pierre and Ted would say, “Say it right.”
After my daughter Laura Elizabeth was born I told both my children “hand stories.” I’d take one of their hands, look at the palm of the hand and let a line, a bump or a curve in the hand suggest an image and I’d begin the story. It might go like this. “Once upon a time Ted saw a pink cloud resting by a tree. The cloud looked sad so Ted went over to cheer it up.” I was dreaming aloud and characters and images would spring to mind. I imaged that’s always happened to storytellers. I liked telling the hand stories because they were quiet and personal and my children liked being the hero and heroine. Some of those hand stories eventually turned into the Artana stories which take place in a mysterious land where two children, Edward and Elizabeth are the hero and heroine.
As I was telling to my children I learned the importance of a listener, particularly a listener with the sense of wonder and delight. My children listened me into being a storyteller.
Now as I work on this complicated story about NASA I use the knowledge I gained from my children. I ask myself this question: What is wondrous about NASA? And I’m on the alert for compelling characters and the risks they take and the struggles of their lives. I try to incorporate rhythm and repetition; I use a voice to become a character and find that a gesture helps bring the character alive.
As I shape the story and as it grows, I’m using the listeners. The listeners draw out mysteries in the story that I would have missed without them. Here I am back to the beginning.
Biography
Jay O’Callahan grew up in a section of Brookline, Massachusetts which was called “Pill Hill” because so many doctors lived there. The 32-room house and landscaped grounds were a magical atmosphere for a child’s imagination to blossom. When Jay was fourteen, he started making up stories to tell to his little brother and sister to entertain them.
After graduating from Holy Cross College, a tour in the Navy took Jay to the Pacific. Returning to Massachusetts, he taught and eventually became Dean at the Wyndham School in Boston, which his parents had founded. “In the summers I’d go off to Vermont or Ireland to write. I also did a lot of acting in amateur theatre, and that’s where I met a beautiful woman (Linda McManus) who later became my wife. When we had our first child, I left teaching and became the caretaker of the YWCA in Marshfield, a big old barn on a salt-water marsh. That gave me time to write and to tell stories to my children. When I decided to call myself a storyteller, it was like getting on a rocket.” Within three years, Jay was telling stories in hundreds of schools and in addition he was commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra to create and perform Peer Gynt with the orchestra. His stories were broadcast on National Public Radio’s “The Spider’s Web,” which brought Jay national attention.
Jay was now publicly telling stories he had created for his children. His stories were filled with rhythms, songs and characters as diverse as Herman the Worm, Petrukian, a medieval blacksmith, and the Little Dragon. Orange Cheeks, inspired by a time Jay got in trouble as a little boy, was the first of his personal stories.
One of his most popular stories, Raspberries was born when Jay’s son Teddy was four. Teddy banged his shin outside their cottage and was weeping, “I broke my leg.” Jay told a story full of rhythms to cheer Teddy up.
Jay was also beginning to tell stories to adults. In 1980, while on vacation in Nova Scotia, he sat on and off for a month in the kitchen of an old man and a blind woman. Out of that kitchen came the story of The Herring Shed. “I realized then that part of my gift was to sit down with ordinary people where they were comfortable, listen, and later weave a story together so that others could enjoy it. The process still amazes me: one year I’m in a kitchen in Nova Scotia and a few years later, I’m performing The Herring Shed to a thousand people at Lincoln Center.” Time Magazine called The Herring Shed “genius.”After the Herring Shed came Jay’s Pill Hill stories for which is was awarded a National Endowment of the Arts Fellowship. The Pill Hill stories are loosely based on his boyhood.
Storytelling has brought Jay around the earth. “The storyteller of old got on a horse. I get on a plane, parachute into a community and I’m part of its life for a while before moving on to the next one.” Jay has told stories to students at Stonehendge, to adults in the heat of Niger, Africa, to theatergoers in Dublin and London and at storytelling festivals in Scotland, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. His stories have also been heard on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. Jay’s stories also include commissioned works like The Spirit of the Great Auk, Pouring the Sun, Edna Robinson and Father Joe.
When he isn’t on the road, Jay runs a writing workshop at his home. His other interests include reading everything from Walt Whitman to Herman Melville to Flannery O’Connor to Emily Dickinson. And he enjoys listening to jazz, classical music and opera. “I love Maria Callas. Her singing touches a joy that’s very deep.”
Jay has just finished a political novel called Harry’s Our Man, and is creating a story commissioned by NASA for its 50th anniversary.
By: Eric Wolf,
on 4/21/2009
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By: Eric Wolf,
on 4/21/2009
Press Play to hear Ed Stivender speak on the 5 Fool proof Rules for Successful Storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Children.
In reviews of his performances, Ed Stivender has been called “the Robin Williams of storytelling” and “a Catholic Garrison Keillor”. Now, Ed — Philadelphia native, Shakespearean actor, banjo player, teacher, theologian, Mummer, dreamer, juggler, and raconteur — has put together a program in which he shares the techniques that have made him one of the most honored and sought-after storytellers of our day.
Since 1977, when he left his day job as a high school teacher in Connecticut and turned to storytelling full-time, Ed has fabulated his way around the globe –appearing in schools, churches, coffeehouses and theaters, as well as at major storytelling festivals. He has been a featured performer at the National Storytelling Festival, the Cape Clear Island International Storytelling Festival in Ireland, Graz Festival, Austria and our own Philadelphia Folk Festival. Ed enjoyed narrating: “Paddington Bears Special Day” with the Harrisburg Symphony, “Ferdinan the Bull” with a violinist for the Philadelphia Orchestra, and “Peter and the Wolf” with the LaGrange Symphony.
In the Spring of 2005 Ed worked with a group called Historic Philadelphia Inc., which has had colonial re-enactors in the historic district, that expanded to include a project called “Once Upon A Nation”.
Ed worked with them as a consultant/writer/trainer, helping them develop short historical stories to be presented throughout Independence National Historic Park on thirteen storytelling benches. He trained the tellers during their three week training, “Benstitute”, and did some paperwork summarizing and suggesting. Ed also wrote a theme song for them.
The National Storytelling Association inducted Ed into its Circle of Excellence in 1996.
Ed has strutted in the Comic division of the annual Philadelphia Mummers Parade since 1982. In 1994, he received the Mummers’ Most Original Character Award for his one-man Vatican-American String Band, and in 1996, he was Captain of the first-prize-winning Kingsessing Morris Men and in 2006 he won first prize for Most Original Character.
Ed is the subject of a chapter in the book Storytellers by Corki Miller and Mary Ellen. Snodgrass, a story in Chicken Soup for the Romantic Heart and is the author or two books of tales: Raised Catholic, Can You Tell? and Still Catholic After All These Fears. He has also released a video and several recordings of his performances.
To Book Ed Contact:
NANCY CLANCY
26616 Willowmere Drive E-35
Millsboro, DE 19966
[email protected]
302.947.9515
For More information on Ed Stivender
Business Cards
Press Play to hear Diane Wolkstein and Connecting with Audiences, Other Cultures and Ourselves on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf. Bio… Diane Wolkstein is one of the world’s most preminent storytellers and the award-winning author of more than 30 books, CDs, and DVDs. From amusing children’s tales to epic adventures for adults, Wolkstein has performed [...]