Doetre Hentschel: Thank you to the Australian storytellers 2014

Liebe Erzähler_innen von Australien – Dear storytellers of Australia,

Thank you very much for the three wonderful months in which I could meet Jackie Kerin, Lilli Pang, Jo Henwood, Anne E. Stewart and a lot of other tellers. Your stories are a great present which I'm now able to share with tellers and the lovely audience here.

I hope you'll let me know when you find your way to Europe! I'm looking forward to meet you again, to show you around and to bring you in contact with tellers and audience in Europe.

And 'Hello' to the Newport Fiddle and Folk Club Folkclub! I think of them - especially on Fridays ;-)

All the best to all of you!

Doerte (doerte_hentschel@freenet.de)

Celebrating World Storytelling Day: Monsters and Dragons 2014

World Storytelling Day is a global celebration of the art of oral storytelling. It is celebrated every year on the first day of the autumn equinox in the southern hemisphere and the spring equinox in the north. The theme this year was Monsters and Dragons.

Our inaugural event started with an invitation from the Dutch Storytelling Foundation inspired by the Swedes and the Canadians.

 The Dutch Storytellers initiated a video project where Storytellers from around the world were invited to record stories to be shared globally as part of the celebrations. Stories were contributed from tellers from: Mexico, Singapore, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Austria … The Victorian storytellers that jumped on board were JB Rowley, Peter Fernon, Jackie Kerin and Roslyn Quin. You can see them  HERE

As momentum for this wonderful event swells, the Victorian Storytellers wish to  grow their involvement and that is the theme for 2015: ‘Wishes’!

Thank you to The Boyd Community Hub and (especially Natalie) who made us so welcome.

 

Learn more about World Storytelling Day

 The line up of tellers top to bottom: Hakan Mapolar, Kate Lawrence Jackie Kerin, Anne E Stewart, Niki na Meadhra.

And the beautiful woman being embraced by Niki is Teen Hartnett. Huge thanks to Teena for the planning, mcing and negotiating with The Boyd as well as the spectacular telling of The Hobbyas.

Port Fairy Folk Music Festival has words 2014

The Port Fairy Folk Music Festival is primarily about the music but there is always space for words.  Jim Haynes has been running a program that celebrates words "spoken, written, recited, sung and shouted" for over 20 years.

Jim has a deep love of "Australiana"and has connections to the Bush Poets and Country music scene. He is the author of 15 books on Australia's social history and verse heritage.

This year he invited me (from Storytelling Vic) and Bush Poet Bill Kearns (from NSW) to contribute to the debates, workshop, concert, book launch and the Pat Glover memorial Storytelling Award.

Jim and I are chalk and cheese and that's the fun of it. The teasing and mocking was endless and good spirited and that's why I love Festivals!

Big thanks to Vic storyteller Julie Perrin for popping into the Pat Glover and sharing a story while the judges conferred.

You can read more about my adventures, and see the magnificent beards on display at the Pat Glover HERE

And here is Jim captured on camera talking about his role at Port Fairy. Thanks Jim for keeping the storytelling alive at PF.
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Port Fairy Folk Music Festival HERE

Jackie K

Gael Cresp: Sharing Apple Stories 2014

When Storytelling Australia (Tasmania) got started Gael Cresp heard that they were looking for apple stories so she wrote down a version of a Greek myth she'd crafted. It is now on her web site. 

Go to http://www.gaelcresp.com/stories.html and look for "Atalanta".

Tasmania has recently formed a new storytelling group following a workshop at the Cygnet Folk Festival. 

You can follow their activities HERE

Kate Lawrence: Victorian storytellers are building up to a busy 2014

How long have you called yourself a Storyteller?

About 2 years

What has been you involvement in Storytelling Australia (Vic)?

I have hosted the Stories by the Fire event at Newport Folk festival for SAV, attended an AGM and a couple of other events.

What do you love the most about storytelling?

I love it when you can hear a pin drop because everyone is deep in an imaginary world of images from the story and it feels like I am a leader of an expedition through the story.  We are there, in that world.

What is your favourite story?

At the moment I think it is a story I tell at Summer Solstice called A Snowlballs Rent.  It is set in the Scottish Highlands and it is about justice, and triumph and nature.

What is the most memorable moment you have experienced either as a listener or a teller?

Recently I had a very memorable day where I told three or four stories about bullying to 70 grade threes and it was magical.  It  was pin drop moment and afterwards the kids were very generous in their praise.  I went from this session riding high, to a session at the school where my children attend and I know very well.  That was my mistake – I thought I had it sussed, these kids knew about story, they knew how to listen, I could get away with an old story some of them might have heard.  It was hot day, the teacher didn’t listen and then started talking to a child at the back, then a tap was turned on behind me and first one child then several more started walking to the tap, and then one child walked right across the front of me and said ‘I’ve heard this story before’, and continued to get a drink.   It felt like my heart was on a plate in front of the children, and they kicked dust on it.  It was a good lesson for me in treating every audience with beginners mind.

Describe a busy week?

I am not just a storyteller, I also do group process work and personal development stuff so a busy week will have me doing a whole host of things, preparing stories and remembering them to tell, planning work, designing group process, coaching clients and studying, reading, emailing... And looking after three kids, an elderly mother and best of all walking the dog in the forest where I live.

What are you planning at the moment?

I am doing a little bit less storytelling this year but I my extended family, some of whom I don’t know, are having a once in ten year gathering and I have offered to tell a family story.  So now I have to find, craft and practice what really will be an historical story, for this event.  I am dreading and looking forward to it in equal measure.

Learn more about Kate: HERE

Roslyn Quin: Victorian Storytellers are building up to a busy 2014

How long have you called yourself a storyteller?

I have been tentatively calling myself a storyteller since 2012, but only got comfortable with it mid last year. I didn't know what I was before that... Mostly I just referred to myself as a folklore obsessed chatterbox!

What has been your involvement in Storytelling Australia (VIC)?

I joined Storytelling Australia in early 2012. I was doing research for my 2012 Melbourne Fringe show 'The Red Bird and Death', and joined immediately. I was thrilled to meet other storytellers, who were all very welcoming and enthusiastic to meet a newbie. I attend everything I can - I'm a bit of a fan girl for other storytellers!

What do you love most about storytelling?

I once had a lady come up to me and tell me about a story that I had told, that her favourite part was about blood all over the floor and the heroine's shoes sticking to the floor and how graphic she'd found that image... The lovely thing was that I never mentioned the shoes sticking to the floor. That was something her mind had painted for her. Storytelling, I think, is something that happens in the space between the teller and the listener.

What is your favourite story?

I don't think it will surprise anyone to learn and I love stories about death. I think I'm getting a reputation for being the dark one in the Melbourne storytelling scene. Godfather Death, The Soldier and Death...they're all my favourites. Monsters are also a favourite topic and feature heavily in my original tales too.

I enjoy how humanity externalises things it doesn't understand, fears, things its uncomfortable with and looks at it through story as a familiar unfamiliar 'other'. 

What is the most memorable moment you have experienced either as a listener or a teller?

Actually, the most memorable experience I have had is when some co-workers from my day job came to see my Melbourne fringe show of storytelling. One particular guy was very, very doubtful about the whole 'storytelling thing' and I'm sure he only came along as it was in a bar, he had an iPhone, and his girlfriend made him.... By the end of the show he was my biggest fan, asking to try on my storytelling jacket, playing with the puppets and reliving the stories to me. That, and the first story I ever told to a stranger. It was to a market stall-holder - I traded a tale for one of his embroidered patches. 

Describe a busy week.

Aside from the usual full time job, teaching and studying martial arts, and stage kittying and MCing at cabaret and burlesque shows, I am also performing at the Fed Square Fresh Air Festival this weekend, performing at Ladders to the Moon, maintaining my social life, and fitting in a date while trying to keep my house relatively neat. I think there're some appointments in there too... This is why I have my calendar synced between all my devices!

What are you planning at the moment? 

At the moment I am working on some short film projects and perhaps some YouTube stuff, helping out with Ladders to the Moon, a show idea for mid/late 2014 (shhh! Secret!), and preparing for some interactive character performances at events such as the 2014 Goblin Ball... This year I am the Fire Goddess - so it will be fun to run a whole kingdom for a single night again! 

Visit Roslyn at her website HERE