It’s been a big year for Storytelling
Australia Victoria.
World Storytelling Day: For the first time we celebrated World
Storytelling Day. This was organized and hosted by Teena Hartnett and several
of us are now keen to see it as an annual celebration. WSD
brought us closer to our Dutch and Canadian cousins, as we rode their wave of
enthusiasm. Thank you to Melanie Plag (Netherlands) for encouraging us to
submit videos that were fun to make and enjoyed around the world. HERE The 2015 theme is “Wishes”.
Stories by the Fire: Once again,
we ran an open floor event at the Newport Folk Festival. We thank all those (you know who you are) who rocked up with cake, sausage
rolls, ginger biscuits and stories. We have been hosting open storytelling for
this Festival since 2009, an event inside an event where storytellers with all
levels of interest and experience gather and share tales. Graciously hosted by Teena Hartnett.
Words on the Wind: Our key event, a series of six storytelling shows and a
workshop, made possible by Melbourne City Council grants and in partnership
with the Library at The Dock. Curated by
Anne E Stewart and assisted by Jackie Kerin, the project enabled storytellers
to research and develop new material and present the results in a small
theatre. The WoW workshop, facilitated by Clare Coburn, was the only one this
year and served as a reminder of how valuable these learning opportunities are. We thank Anne who worked long hours on this project.
Here there and everywhere: Members
and friends popped up at Festivals (Bendigo, The Village, Port Fairy, The
National, Cygnet, Words in Winter, Williamstown), in schools, childcare
centers, inside an inflatable fish, at conferences, in cafes, bars, libraries,
parks, in streets and Town Halls … in Wonthaggi, Castlemaine, Trentham, Daylesford,
Bacchus Marsh, Emerald and Eltham … this list goes on ...
Website: Building on the work of Anne E Stewart, Kate Lawrence is continuing to create a welcoming space for storytellers of all kinds to connect. Our site is
growing in response to the energy that you have sent our way. It’s a work in
progress as resources and events are slowly being added. HERE
Facebook: remains a preferred way to connect
and maintain relationships. And this blog/newsletter hopefully fills in the
space for folk who are not keen on Fb.
Thank you: SAV has worked to address the
organisational housekeeping issues that go with incorporation and name change
and I thank Teena Hartnett, Ronda Gault, Louisa John-Krol, Suzanne Sandow, Cindy-Lee Harper, Gael
Cresp, Jan “Yarn” Wositzsky”, Anne E Stewart and Kate Lawrence for their time, patience, guidance
and support.
2015 PROJECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES:
Ideas in action: To feed your curiosity
about the oral tradition
- Workshop: Myth and Reality: the magic and realism of the ‘Mabinogion HERE
- The Mahabharata Project HERE
- The Victorian Fairy Tale Ring HERE
Ideas in development:
- World Storytelling Day
- Monthly Story Exchange
- Workshops June and July (personal storytelling)
JOINING STORYTELLING AUSTRALIA VICTORIA
It’s now easy to join or renew your
membership. Membership gives you a discount to SAV events and enables you to
join the committee and play an active role in planning. You can also be listed
on the website. HERE
JOINING THE COMMITTEE
If you are a member and would like to join
the committee we would welcome you. We meet monthly by teleconference and we
are also exploring metropolitan and regional gatherings. Enquiries: storytellingvic@live.com.au
As we celebrate the passing of 2014 and the
beginning of a New Year, on behalf of Storytelling Australia Victoria, I wish
you peace wherever you may be.
Jackie K (president and blog editor)
