What an extraordinary weekend
of story nourishment!
The weaving stories
Together – Sydney International Storytelling Conference- Through the Prism of
Story was held on the last weekend of May and it brought people together
from all over the world to share stories and storytelling skills.
Storytellers from Korea, Singapore, the US, Hawaii and Australia (with strong connections to Scotland)
On a much
more personal note (and slightly less distance to travel than some
participants), I got to connect with two of my favourite Storytelling Vic
friends, Jackie Kerin and Kate Lawrence while I am based here in Sydney for the
next year.
Through the Prism of Story was my first Australian Storytelling Guild (NSW)
conference, and wow, wow, WOW! I am not sure where to start, as it was so
fantastical. I guess besides seeing the Victorian tellers that were able to
attend, it was great to meet, Harani, Dee and Kiren Storyteller who were part
of the Mahabharata community, formed when Jackie co-started the Mahabharata
project with her friends Kala Paramanathan and Gerry Nelson.
The Mahabharata contingent
A big highlight for me was
meeting Donna Washington from the United States. She is a storyteller I admire and follow with
interest not only because I think she is an exceptionally talented storyteller,
but I am interested in her views of being culturally sensitive when telling
stories. She has put a great deal of thought into the ethics and strategy of
crafting stories, and it is clear that stories permeate her whole life. You can
be chatting about something that has not much to do with storytelling, and she
will use a story to make a point or to provide additional information. I am
also in awe of her talent of using facial expressions.
Donna Washington in performance
Of course David Novak was a
huge draw card to the conference, and gave the keynote address as well as a
masterclass. I was able to watch him perform a wonderful Jack and the Beanstalk
story, which had us all captivated. What I found interesting was the way he
moved seamlessly into the story from just chatting to us informally about the
history of the story and the history of the prop he was using (string). It was
wonderful to watch.
David Novak: keynote
The workshops that were
offered were diverse and wonderful to participate in, and I really enjoyed
being given the opportunity to stretch my storytelling skills in the workshops
and build new skills.
It was lovely to have an
opportunity to meet some of the NSW storytellers now that I am based here in
Sydney for the next year, and to connect into a community of storytellers
while I am away from my beloved Storytelling Vic.
Larry Brandy workshop
Larry Brandy workshop
Other Vic tellers that attended
and presented at the conference were Gil Di Stefano, Susan Hall, Kim Billington
and Gael Cresp.
Kate facilitated a workshop: True Tales Told Well and Kim offered Story Medicine and the Healing Journey –
with adults and children.
Kim Billington - poster sesssion
Kate and I both told at the Friday night slam when our names were pulled out of the hat and Jackie had a spot in the Saturday evening concert.
Lana Woolf - slamming
Children's Storytelling competition
You can check out the full
program HERE.
We’re dreaming about having
an event in Victoria in the year between the Sydney conference, which is every
two years. How that will manifest … time will tell.
From Lana Woolf
*Thanks Lana for sharing this.
We welcome and encourage storytellers to send us news of events. And
if you would like to check out Lana’s latest enterprise have a look HERE
