Breaking the Eggs

2012 International Storytelling Conference

2012-01-19T00:08:00.000-08:00

April 7, in Istanbul, in case you were wondering. Link.

Pop quiz: what's this conference preview missing?

The Year Ahead

2012-01-09T22:56:00.000-08:00

With 2012 still young, I thought I'd set my sights on the year ahead.

As usual, I've got some traditional folktales that I'm working on. And I'm one of many local storyellers learning part of the Kalevala for a day-long telling of this Finnish epic, hosted by our muse Cathryn Fairlee. I'm looking forward to getting to hear such an old story from the oral tradition told live, and if that weren't enough, this year Going Deep, the Long Traditional Story Retreat, is coming to my neighborhood! (I don't think that I can attend the retreat, but oh boy will I be there for the stories.)

I'm looking at possible telling far afield, but I don't think a Fringe Festival is in the cards for me this year. Instead, I might try a mini-tour in combination with a family vacation.

And I'm pledging to spend more time this year producing and curating content, rather than just consuming it. So, look for more blog posts here, as well as continuing efforts at my Tumblr sites: Story Lab X and Storytelling Looks Like This.

-----

An audience member once asked me if I created my own material, and I confessed that much of my repertoire was ancient. But every once in a while, inspiration pokes its little head out of the compost heap, and sprouts.

Here are three seeds. I wonder if any of them will grow?

1. A character voice: A few nights ago while driving home, I tuned in a syndicated radio program whose host had a unique voice, very atypical for radio. So unusual, I started to speak aloud to myself, and play with sound production, in an effort to recreate the sound of his voice. I couldn't quite match the vocal quality I was trying to isolate, but the exercise reminded me of the variety of characterization possible... and created a challenge. The voice I'm aiming for could be quite comic. However, if I do it wrong, it could come across as mean-spirited mockery.

(I don't do extreme character voices in my performances. But that voice I heard really intrigued me.)

2. The second seed is a visual image. Not an image from a story, but an image of a storyteller. Only, a storyteller not dressed in what you expect a storyteller to dress like.

Do you dress up on stage? Do you have a storytelling outfit? Or even a costume?

I have a storyteller costume, though I don't use it all the time (I'll use it in my Fringe show). When I don't wear the costume, I do think about what I'm going to wear when I tell. Certain clothes allow me to slide into my storytelling persona more easily.

But I'm really intrigued about the kind of stories that might come from a storyteller in this outfit.

It's a chicken and egg question. I don't have an outfit like this. Do the stories come first, then the outfit? Or if I get the outfit, will the stories come?

3. A song: this one has crawled straight into my heart, and evokes so many stories for me.

Happy 2012, everyone!

Gratitude, 2011

2011-12-31T23:01:00.000-08:00

Gratitude for my clients, who asked me to tell stories.

Gratitude for the audience, who gave me their attention and listened to the stories.

Gratitude for my colleagues, who encouraged, listened, shared, told, coached, confessed, questioned, nudged, and cheered.

Here's to a new year filled with stories.

Origin Stories

2011-07-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

There were stretches of my childhood when I was really interested in comic books-- but not obsessed. I never had to read any particular title, and my ragtag hand-me-down collection mostly had science fiction and war comics. I didn't follow any one superhero.

But there were anthologies of comics at the local branch of our public library that I would read again and again-- these were the ones that told the origins of the superheroes: the stories of how they became who they were. I read about Peter Parker getting bitten by a radioactive spider, and Bruce Wayne seeing his parents killed by a mugger, and Bruce Banner being exposed to gamma radiation. I'm sure I read many more stories about Spiderman and Batman and the Hulk, stories with fantastic adventures and incredible supervillains, but I recall few images or scenes from them.

But these characters' respective "creation myths" --I can still recall them decades later.

I've been thinking about this lately, because a few weeks ago someone asked me how I became a storyteller, and I told them my origin story:

When I was a freshman in college, I took a children's literature class. And one day the professor told us we would be starting a unit on oral literature, and we had a guest storyteller (an upperclassman) who was there to tell us a story. So he began to tell us a traditional ghost story. Now I was a theatre major at the time, and I could see that this person at the front of the room didn't have any stage presence. Wasn't using a memorized script. What could I possibly learn from this guy? I thought.
But there, in a classroom, under bright fluorescent lighting, in the middle of the day, as he told us the story, the class grew hushed. We were all caught up in the experience. And when the ending came, that storyteller scared the living daylights out of us.
There's something to this storytelling, I thought. And so, a few years later in my college career, when Rives Collins started offering a storytelling class, I knew I would be taking it.

I asked on Twitter, and I'll ask again now: do you have an origin story? What called you into storytelling?

Farewell, Little Darlings: More Meaning, Less Words

2011-06-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

Two years ago I performed a story inspired by Jack and the Beanstalk-- a monologue from the Giant. I enjoyed creating that piece, but have not had an opportunity to tell it since that time. I will have some opportunities soon.

As I have been bringing the story back into the forefront of my consciousness, I realize that I need to operate. The performance captured on video, that's a beta version of the story. A preview of things to come. It's only now, two years later, that I'm carving out the time and energy to shape the finishing details of the story.

I called in an outside ear. I hired storyteller and story coach Nancy Donoval to do a dramaturgical intervention. I asked her a few specific questions I had about how the story comes across, what worked for her as an audience member, what didn't. (Yes, she's just one person, but I first met Nancy when she was a theatre director and I was an actor and I trust her critical eye/ear).

I took pages of notes from our conversation, and promptly laid them aside to let the feedback sink in. (No, really, I was thinking about her comments. I wasn't just putting off the necessary and uncomfortable work of editing).

Coincidentally, a few days later, storyteller Sue Black of Illinois shared her process of winnowing down a favorite story of hers to fit a venue's particular requirements. She took the challenge of bringing a "finished story" (13 minutes, 38 seconds) to where it could fit under ten minutes. "Shave three minutes?" I thought. "Ouch!"

She got it down to 8 minutes 50 seconds.

And then she challenged me to do the same.

Not just me... but all of us storytellers. Challenged us to a simple exercise. Take a story and pare it down:

Consider everything. Get rid of your ‘little darlings’. Throw away what you think is just too cute and everyone ‘must’ hear or their lives won’t be complete.

Delete, delete, delete and still maintain the essence of the story.

You’ll grow with the experience.

Your story will be better.

And your listeners will be glad you did.

Sue went beyond just sharing the news and issuing the challenge: she has posted the before and after texts of each version of the story.

Take a look:
Sue Black's A Storytelling Challenge - More Meaning with Fewer Words
Sue's "Before"
Sue's "After"

See what you think. Did Sue's trimming improve the story?

I can see how the trimmed version is cleaner. Neater. Oh, but having read the earlier version, there are a couple of details I miss. A couple of Sue's 'little darlings.'

I'll admit: I have 'little darling' issues of my own. In college I wrote a one-act play (staged twice, at two different universities) that was a satirical allegory filled with jokes, puns, and arbitrary character choices. Clocking in at one hour and five minutes, it was thirty minutes too long, although at the time I would have denied it. A teacher of mine that I held in high esteem wanted to know when I was going to stop hiding what I wanted to say behind joke after joke and just say it. I never rewrote the play because for years I couldn't bring myself to take out the parts that amused me so much when I first included them.

And now, as I turn my editor's eye and ear to my Giant's story, with the aim of tightening it up, and shortening how long it takes to tell, I ask myself, "what does the story need?"

And I can see that some of the very 'little darlings' that inspired the story to begin with are going to have to go.

There are also a few questions that Nancy raised about the story. Questions left unanswered. Some of them, I want left that way. But some of them, I don't want the audience to be thinking about-- so I need to add information to the story.

What's your experience with trimming the fat? And getting rid of your 'little darlings?'

Photo credit: Scissors, by Brian Kennish

UPDATED - Twitter for Storytellers: Try It on Saturdays

2011-06-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

#StorytellerSaturday is out. #StorySat is in.

(Since Twitter only allows you 140 characters in each tweet, we found that shortening the hashtag by 11 characters made it much easier to use)

NOTE: the hashtag is not case-sensitive. Doesn't mAtTeR wHiCH letTERS you capiTALIZe.

Twitter for Storytellers: Try It on Saturdays

2011-05-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

NOTE: this post was updated June 25, 2011

I was using one of those services that analyzes your followers on Twitter. As it was parsing the activity of the 458 names of people who follow me (and are thus nominally interested in what I have to say), I read the instructions that suggested that I look closely at the bottom of the list. If I found Twitter accounts that hadn't posted anything, or hadn't posted since the day they signed up, and that did not have many followers, these could be trouble: automated spam bots.

I looked at my list, and lo and behold, there were dozens of accounts that hadn't posted anything, or hadn't posted since the day they signed up, and who didn't have many followers.

Funny thing, though. They weren't spam bots. They were storytellers. (I recognized their names from conferences, festivals, the Storytell list, and Facebook.)

I get it. The value of Twitter is not immediately obvious, especially to a pre-mobile phone and pre-digital generation. So this post is a call to reluctant storytellers to try out Twitter again, with baby steps.

Storytelling magazine has been running a primer on how to use Twitter, provided by Slash Coleman. He's got a version of it on his blog, here.

And even if Slash's crash course on @ and # still doesn't make much sense, I'm going to suggest that you try out Twitter again just one day a week. It can be any day, but, if you can manage it, try it on Saturday.

Here's why: Storyteller Paula Reed Nancarrow (@prnancarrow, on Twitter) of Minnesota has come up with a hashtag #storytellerSaturday for storytellers and storytelling fans. That is, every Saturday, there will be a (growing) number of people posting links and comments on storytelling in an effort to connect with other storytellers. They will add "#storytellerSaturday" to their message simply to label it so that storytellers can find it.

UPDATE: to save room (Twitter has a 140 character limit), #storytellerSaturday has been deprecated in favor of #storySat

(#storySat is an obvious analogy to other Twitter traditions, including #followfriday and #teacherTuesday)

There is an active hashtag #storytelling-- unfortunately, there's a lot of noise, as competing interest groups use it, mostly corporate/business storytelling types, but also brand marketers, and those who want to talk about transmedia stories, journalism, and screenwriting-- and not just in English. I've seen the hashtag used in French, Spanish, and Portuguese tweets. And what's with all the tweets in Dutch? Isn't there a word for storytelling in the Dutch language?

So dip your foot into the Twitter waters. Saturday. Go to Twitter.com. You don't have to have an account. If you have account, log in.
In either case, use the search box (or from search.twitter.com) and enter: #StorySat
and see what and who comes up.

Want to join in the conversation? Feel free to reply to any of the tweets (if you've got an account).
Follow the people you find there. Or, post your own 140 character message (you'll need to add the phrase #storySat to your post, so you really only will have 120 characters to get your message across).

You may want to check in several times during the day. There are only a handful of people using the hashtag right now, so it won't be a fast, dynamic scroll of information.

You could also check in on Sunday, and get a complete list of tagged tweets posted the day before.

Baby steps.

----
And if you are on Twitter, and know what you're doing? Start using #storySat

How many storytellers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

2011-03-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

How many storytellers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Two: one to screw it almost all the way in and the other to give it a surprising twist at the end.

Posted recently to the Storytell Discussion list by Florida storyteller Pat Nease (reprinted here with her permission).

Photo by Kim'n'Cris Knight

The Problem of Keeping Dry

2011-03-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

A Nasruddin story, for World Storytelling Day

Counting Down to World Storytelling Day

2011-03-18T21:22:00.001-07:00

For many storytellers around the world, the equinox in March means World Storytelling Day, an international tradition going back two decades in some countries.

It's been interesting reading about how various storytellers around the world have been preparing and thinking about this event.

Get Storied founder Michael Margolis, well, he gets things done. I've known aboust W.S.D. planning since September of last year-- I think he just learned about it, but inside of a week he registered some domain names, threw up a website, and invited his network to join in a crowdsourced virtual storytelling event. It's been exciting to see how many of his network are finding out about this global tradition. Anyone can listen to or add to his virtual collection of stories online at www.worldstorytellingday.org

I'm eager to see how the storytelling video fest works out.

I want to participate, but the open call is for personal stories. I don't usually tell personal stories... I actually have one that fits the theme of water... but in thinking about putting it on video, and posting it, I've been practicing the story, and I made a discovery.... I'm terrible at telling my own personal stories.

Gonna rethink this.

A marathon runner and a storyteller walk into a bar

2011-02-27T21:18:00.000-08:00

A marathon runner and a storyteller walk into a bar. The bartender says, What do you guys want? The marathoner says, I have a story to tell and he has a story to tell, pointing to the storyteller. Which do you want to hear? The bartender says, I'll listen to the marathoner's story. The storyteller pouts and asks the bartender why he chose the marathoner. The bartender says, Because I know in about 2 hours and roughly 10 minutes, HE'S going to get tired of talking.

Reprinted by permission of the author, storyteller Gregory Leifel of Illinois.

Noted Recently (February 24, 2011)

2011-02-24T23:19:00.000-08:00

Recently noted in the storytelling blogosphere:

Priscilla Howe is blogging from her biannual storytelling tour of Belgium.

Nominated for Best Spoken Word Recording for Children, Bill Harley drops by the Grammy Awards.

Jay O'Callahan writes about a "challenging performance space." Worth a read, although don't miss the buried gem: Buzz Aldrin was in the audience. (Wondering why that matters? Ah, you haven't heard "Forged in the Stars" yet. Do it here.)

The Art of Oral Storytelling, Mapped

2011-02-11T22:52:00.000-08:00

In case you're a visual thinker, or use mind maps, check out Pearltrees. It's a visual way to organize your Web surfing. I've started a pearltree on storytelling (wait for it to load, and then mouseover and/or click around):

The Art of Oral Storytelling

If you like what you see, especially if you're a visual thinker, sign up, and join in. I'd love other minds curating this collection.

Interview with a Rock and Roll Storyteller

2010-12-18T22:27:00.000-08:00

Following up on my earlier review of "Dizzy Miss Lizzy's Roadside Revue presents Finn McCool," I'm sharing an interview with one of the company's founders, Debra Buonaccorsi. First, here's a description of how D.M.L.R.R. describes itself:

Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Roadside Revue is theatre and vaudeville. It’s rock and roll, bluegrass and Americana. It’s the spirit of Woody Guthrie and the dustbowl wrapped up in a gyspy punk. The spirit of the vagabond and the rebel. They are the voice of human kind’s savage soul. It’s pure storytelling with bare hands and authentic voices. Storytelling cranked up good and loud through a Telecaster and a Marshall amp.

DMLRR was founded in Washington DC by veteran actor/musicians Debra Buonaccorsi and Steve McWilliams. Led by their common love for theatre, rock and roll, and the traditions of American music and storytelling, they sought to bridge the gap between a night at the theatre and a rock concert.

Pictured: Debra Buonaccorsi (foreground) and Steve McWilliams (R) in "Dizzy Miss Lizzy's Roadside Revue presents Finn McCool" at the Capital Fringe Festival, July 22, 2010. Photo copyright 2010 by Paul Gillis Photography; used by permission.

How did you first hear about Fionn mac Cumhaill? And what was the inspiration to bring his origin story to life with a rock and roll show?

It was an idea that Steve and I had been tossing around for a while- we'd never nailed it down to one particular Irish legend. I was into all things Irish in high school- literature, music, culture, Bono etc… and my sister, upon returning from a trip to Ireland, brought me a book called Gods and Fighting Men, which was a book of Irish Mythology compiled by Lady Gregory (a good friend of William Butler Yeats). The stories were odd and funny, as mythology usually is, but they stuck with me. When my good friend Laura Keena, the actress who played the Druidess Bodhmal in the show, brought Finn McCool up as a possible subject for a DMLRR show, I was instantly inspired. Laura’s parents have this amazing wood carving that they brought back from their honeymoon in Ireland, of the Finn McCool legend. It has the faces of Finn and Finneces carved out, there’s a salmon in there somewhere. So, the Laura and I set off to googling Finn McCool, and called Steve. Being of Irish descent and having spent time in Ireland, Steve was familiar with Finn and loved the idea.

Rock and roll is an essential part of the DMLRR aesthetic. There is something so “everyman” about rock music. It’s unpretentious, unadorned, high energy, it’s visceral and cuts to the chase. That’s why we feel it suits us and our storytelling. The extra added bonus of Irish legend and rock music is that there was so much inspiration in Irish music and Irish rock music. The Irish have been telling great stories through music for centuries- so we thought it was a perfect marriage.

Did you consciously view this show as storytelling, as opposed to a rock opera, or a musical, or a live concept album?

We hate to think of ourselves as musical theatre. We do have the concept album in mind when we’re writing. We’d like all of our music to be able to stand alone as a concept album, without a script, in the tradition of The Who’s Tommy or Pink Floyd’s The Wall. We do think of ourselves as storytellers. It gives us license to have fun and play and interact with the audience; it frees us from the confines of “theatre.”

Were you worried about the audiences knowledge of this story (or lack thereof)?

Maybe we should have been more worried. There was a mention in a review about “barely decipherable Irish names.” That’s never stopped people from understanding Chekhov, and those are barely decipherable Russian names. Most of the negative comments about the show have been about the confusing story and names. I thought it was pretty simple stuff. We’re thinking in the re-write that we would add a story song to get all of the necessary exposition and background out. We’re also thinking of using multi-media “cave painting” -esque drawings to assist in that area.

What does the rock and roll revue format give you artistically that traditional musical theatre doesn't?

Both Steve and I have spent a lot of time in the musical theatre world and we both have grown dissatisfied with its limitations and conventions and we question the cultural relevance of musical theatre as an art form. We started out trying to tap into the traditions of vaudeville and burlesque—“low” forms of entertainment and we’re both rock and rollers—also considered a “low” form—in fact, I recently heard rock and rock described as a “derivative” form of music. Which I had to laugh at: what isn’t derivative? We’re all walking derivatives. Anyway, as I said earlier, the rock and roll revue format gives us freedom to have fun and be loose. There’s so much energy and immediacy in a rock show. Someone once said after seeing one of our shows, that we weren’t acting like we were having fun: we WERE having fun. Steve and I call Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Roadside Revue our playground. We simply invite others to come and play with us on our playground. You can play with us, or if you don’t like our games, you can take your ball and go home.

If you live in or near the Washington DC area, you can see the show again in 2011: DMLRR has recently completed a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to self-produce "Finn McCool" in March at the Woolly Mammoth.

Shout Out: Dizzy Miss Lizzy's Roadside Revue - Finn McCool

2010-11-23T21:51:00.000-08:00

As an out-of-towner at the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington DC this past July, I had minimal information to go on in selecting which of the 137 productions to see. I did what research I could, visiting performer's websites, paying attention to local reviews... but with limited time and money, I mainly chose based on content: what was the show about? When I discovered, on the Fringe web site, that there would be a "post-apocalyptic, raucous, rock and roll, retelling of the Irish legend: Finn Mc Cool" by a group called Dizzy Miss Lizzy's Roadside Revue, I made time in my schedule.

Now, as a storyteller, I'd certainly heard of Fionn mac Cumhaill (my Celtic storytelling colleagues would never forgive me if I didn't use the Gaelic spelling). Over the years, I had heard a tale here or there of this Irish warrior-king of the Fianna, but I'd never read or heard Finn's origin story (And, truth be told, hearing one too many versions of the tall tale where Finn meets Cuchulainn did not inspire me to seek it out). So now here, I hoped, in DC, I'd get to hear it... gathered in the darkness with strangers to hear a story.

Only we weren't gathered in the dark. We were in a portable tent (a good omen for storytelling) set up as a temporary venue constructed for the duration of the Fringe, with a massive soundsystem (so it could double as the party spot) and a roof to keep the summer thundershowers off the outdoor thrust stage (seating on three sides). Though not air-conditioned (and in DC in July, that fact made it into every review of each show that played there), the venue was conveniently located next to the Fringe bar.

The stacks of amps, full drum kit, microphones, and numerous electric guitars on the stage made me realize this was not going to be your average storytelling set. The programs and postcards for the show set up the frame that the legend of Finn McCool would be presented as a rock and roll revue with six bands on the bill (With just 8 performers in the show, the "bands" were created with costume changes and sometimes switching up instruments).

And so, in music and song, we were treated to Finn's origin story: how his father, leader of the Fianna warriors, was killed by Goll Mac Morna; how his mother gave him up to be raised in secret by the druidess Bodhmall and the warrior woman Liath Luachra; and how Finn obtains the Salmon of Wisdom during his service to the poet and teacher Finneces, which enables him to claim his place as leader of the Fianna and defeat Goll.

Plot points were kept to a minimum to let the music do the heavy lifting of the show: and it worked. The music ranged from ballads (both acoustic and power) to art rock to stadium rock to blues... the troupe used a wide musical palette to vary the emotions through the arc of the story, and the audience cheered every time they recognized a trope (e.g. guitar solos, power duets, drinking song choruses). I was also impressed by the quality of the performers (though the show had a thrown-together, held-together-with-duct-tape thrift-store aesthetic, everyone in it, from the costumer to the composer to the performers had bona fide professional theatre chops). The singers--most with musical theatre backgrounds and many recognized by local critics and peers with theater awards--really delivered, as the variety of songs explored a vast emotional range.

Pictured: Audience and Felicia Curry, Matthew Schleigh (as Finn), and Debra Buonaccorsi. Photo copyright 2010 by Paul Gillis Photography; used by permission

This show called to mind ancient traditions of epic storytelling, where the community gathered to listen to stories of heroes, and achieve an altered state of consciousness. At the Fringe, our consciousness was being altered not only by our willingngess to engage with the drama, but the soaring melodies and the volume of the music, but by the venue's heat, humidity, and proximity to the performers (no one was farther than 15 feet from the stage). The availability of alcohol helped, too.

Furthermore, the posturing and tropes of rock and roll passed for modern day versions of the ritual required for the sharing of such epics. So, while in an oral culture, everyone in the audience would know the story (e.g. the Ramayana) , this performance gave the audience a story in a style everyone knew, though many weren't familiar with the characters or plot.

The creators of the show made sure that before and after each song, characters explained who they were, what they wanted, and where they were going. The extra exposition here was necessary for an audience unfamiliar with this epic. Some reviewers complained that the exposition muddied the dramatic arc, but I found it was not only necessary to get the story out, but actually a clever way to continue to build the trance state you want in an epic storytelling session (My own theory: by giving the logical brain narrative, we're compelled to engage more--to find out what happens next-- which allows us to continue in the performance environment towards a trance state).

Me? I’m predisposed to enjoying epic narration (my list of most enjoyable theatrical experiences include narration heavy shows like lookingglass theatre’s Argonautika and Metamorphoses, and Mabou Mines’ Peter and Wendy… and to which, I’m adding this production), so my enthusiasm for this show might differ from the typical DC theatregoer, but all in all... I found it a thoroughly delightful way to engage with an ancient myth, and in terms of artistic craft, an inventive and masterfully crafted performance experience.

If you're not in the DC area (and won't get a chance to see future productions of Finn McCool), you can get a mere taste of it: Check out this Flickr slide show with Paul Gillis' photos (link) while you play music from the show via DMLRR's page on Myspace. (The versions there are clean, but nowhere near as thrilling as hearing them performed live by sweaty rock and rollers a stone's throw from you!)

Coming up soon: an interview with one of the show's creators, Debra Buonaccorsi

Gemma Hannah's Online Storytelling Challenge

2010-09-15T00:14:00.000-07:00

Storyteller Gemma Hannah of London has put out a call for storytellers: storytellers who are willing to collaborate-- via video-- on a multi-teller version of Anansi and the Box of Stories. Watch her version (see below), then post a video of your telling (on Vimeo). Once she has a variety of versions, she'll produce an edited version featuring storytellers from around the world.

More details at storyweb.co.

Can't quite picture how this will work? Check out John Liu's film "The Art of Storytelling": link

Storyteller Jay O'Callahan on Imagination, Listening, and Appreciation

2010-09-10T23:07:00.001-07:00

The 99% has posted a talk by storyteller Jay O'Callahan, in which he shares some of his process for developing stories. Included is an excerpt from "Forged in the Stars," a story commissioned by NASA on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

The audience for this talk aren't storytellers, so O'Callahan's simplifies his process greatly (you would too, if you only had 20 minutes to explain what you do), but notice how the story he tells to illustrate his point is a story about storytelling. In his telling, he's not telling the story of the moon landing, he's telling the story of Neil Armstrong telling the story of the moon landing.

In Conversation with Ellouise Schoettler

2010-08-27T21:25:00.001-07:00

I can't quite remember the timeline of how I met Ellouise Schoettler. I'm sure it was via email first (perhaps on STORYTELL). She introduced herself in person at the Bay Area Storytelling Festival. I ran into her again in Fresno, California, at the Rogue Festival. And then I found her blog, and her online videos. I've learned a lot from Ellouise: we worked together in a MasterMind group, and this year, we each had shows at the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington DC (where I finally got to hear her tell in person... and she had one of the most focused, robust social media strategies for promoting her show of any of the 130+ artists in the Festival). While I was there, she asked me to come be interviewed on her cable television show, "Stories in Focus," and I was delighted to talk with her on camera about my work as a storyteller and storytelling blogger.

Considering we didn't plan our conversation at all, I thought we managed to sound reasonably coherent. Ellouise wanted to keep the conversation lively, so all I knew going in was that I could tell a story (about 10-12 minutes long) and that I should think of a tip to share at the end of the show.

Shout Out: Storyteller Mark Goldman's Advice from the Experts

2010-08-08T04:54:00.000-07:00

Storyteller Mark Goldman may be relatively new to the storytelling community, but one thing he's been doing recently is asking professional storytellers for advice to share with everyone. Thanks to Mark's iPod (with a built-in video camera) and YouTube, you can see the results in one-minute video bites. And Mark's recent trip to the National Storytelling Network's 2010 Conference means he's got a bumper crop of new videos.

Check out Mark's "Experts" page: http://www.storytellermark.com/Experts.asp

Shout Out: the 2010 National Storytelling Conference

2010-08-02T22:21:00.000-07:00

I'll have more to say about the four days I spent in Los Angeles at the 2010 National Storytelling Conference, but I wanted to publicly thank all the Conference organizers, from those who found the hotel venue to those who read proposals to those who auditioned performers.
I especially want to thank NSN staffers Karin Hensley and Kit Rogers who do a million things behind the registration desk and behind the scenes cheerfully and efficiently, --and a special shout out for the sound crew (Steven Henegar, you're my hero).

Thanks to Mike Speller, Lisa Rowland, and Nancy Donoval for being willing to jump into Ruth Halpern's and my late night fringe show and improvise without knowing what would happen.

Thanks to all those who were willing to stay up late discussing storytelling... thanks Dixie, Eric, Jeff, Nancy, Joel. (I hope I've thoroughly convinced you that personal memoir is an OVERRATED AND OVEREXPOSED PERFORMANCE GENRE AND WE'RE SO OVER IT)

So many workshops, performances... it was impossible to fit them all in, so if we only had time for a hug, a hello, a "how's the conference going for you," a brief hallway chat: I just want to say how glad I am to have made the connection, no matter how brief, if only to prove that you're not just an imaginary "friend" I connect with via a 75 x 75 pixel photo on my computer screen.

It was great fun to meet new folks, meet online friends in person, and catch up with old pals.

Hey, if anything I said or did during the preconference / fringe / showcase / panel / back of the room discussion / late night at the pool bar / early mornings by Starbucks / passing in the hallway raised a question for you... let me know. Email me. I'm delighted to continue the conversation.

Photo credit: Dianne de las Casas

2010 Capital Fringe Festival Wrap Up: Lessons Learned

2010-07-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

I returned recently from ten days in Washington DC telling stories at the 5th annual Capital Fringe Festival. I'll have more to say both about my run of shows and the other performances I encountered, but here's a quick summary of some of my experiences.

Solo performers support solo performers.
A hundred and thirty shows to choose from? Doesn't matter how good your postcard is. You need buzz, targeted marketing, and personal connections. And, in DC in the summer, an air-conditioned venue.
And a good title.
Be nice to the venue manager. Among other things, she's in charge of the air conditioning.
Whether there are 12 people in the audience or 50 people, you still have to deliver.
Media outlets don't have storytelling critics. So if they send a theatre critic to review your show, they may not understand what you're doing.
Don't forget your vocal warmup.
Or your pants.
It is possible to do a show without air conditioning (in Washington DC in the summer), but it's not pleasant.
It is possible to do a show without a vocal warmup, but it's not pleasant.
It is possible to do a show without pants.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

2010-06-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

Simple idea, brilliant execution: take a fable that most people are likely to know, and ask them to tell it. Splice the tellings together.

Designer John Liu did just that with his Nikon camera:

Art of Storytelling *new from John Lui on Vimeo.

Which Would You Rather Hear?

2010-06-11T06:03:00.000-07:00

Great story or great storyteller: which do you prefer?

(hat tip to Sean, who reminded me that this question was first put into my noggin by Priscilla Howe, who asked the question on her Storytelling Notes blog early in 2009: link)

What Transports You?

2010-05-27T22:37:00.000-07:00

(Apologies for the lack of recent posts. I've had lots of ideas, but as it takes me about 90 minutes to 2 hours to write a blog post, it's been difficult to carve out time. So I thought up an experiment: with video, I could blurt out my thoughts for a few minutes, and shazam!, instant blog post. (While my internal editor is harsh when it comes to the printed word --a 15 minute burst of creativity turns into a couple of hours of wordsmithing and copy editing-- but when it comes to improvisation, my editor is okay with "what you see is what you get" )

So, when do stories transport you?

----------

Read more about the story listener's state of transportation in "The Enchanted Imagination: Storytelling's Power to Entrance Listeners," by Brian W. Sturm, American Library Association, September 27, 2006. Link.

The Storyteller's Fire (David Novak)

2010-05-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

Stumbled across this audience warm-up: an old outdoor education standby for focusing the attention of a large group of campers, adapted here by storyteller David Novak for storytelling.

File this in the "why didn't I think of this before?" drawer.