INVITATION: Udaipur Tales Storytelling Festival

Dear storytellers and lovers of a good tale, 

Rananjay Singh Bhandari has contacted Storytelling Australia Victoria with an invitation to you all to learn about the Udaipur Festival. 

Durgah Devi Palanisamy and I had a lengthy chat with Rananjay and as a result he has sent us some information to share and also recorded a video message for you.

Please read and watch the video. And if you wish to follow up, Rananjay's contact details are included.

Warm wishes to you all,
Jackie Kerin



I am Rananjay Singh Bhandari, the Creative Director at Udaipur Tales. Udaipur Tales is a storytelling platform, based in India, that has a passion for the oral tradition of storytelling. 

In Feb 2017, we organised the 1st Udaipur Tales Storytelling Festival in the city of Udaipur, Rajasthan, where storytellers from India and abroad came to the city of lakes to take the audience on a journey of tales from the present and the past.  

We are currently looking for storytellers for the 2nd Udaipur Tales International Storytelling Festival which will take place in Udaipur between 30th November - 2nd December. I would be very interested to know more about the work you do and would also like to discuss the possibilities of future collaborations. 

Please visit our Facebook Page for information, videos and photographs of the storytellers and events featured at out inaugural festival.

Please contact me for any further information you need about Udaipur Tales and our work.

Rananjay Singh Bhnadari
(Creative Director)
Udaipur Tales Pvt Ltd.
+91 9871591116 udaipurtalesstudio@gmail.com  

WORKSHOP: July 15

The AKA (Australian Kamishibai Association) 

Kamishibai Workshop for Tellers, Writers, and Illustrators. 

Already caught the Kamishibai bug? Want to up your skills a notch (or two) in telling, writing and/or illustrating kamishibai stories? This is our first workshop for adults.

 

SPOTS AVAILABLE for 10 people

TO SAVE A SPOT: please text us a message: 0412 210 098 or if you are on Face book you can message us via that platform.

TO CANCEL A SPOT: please send us a message so we can let others in.

FEE of $10 goes to room rent and the AKA workshop kit materials. 

YOU MAY BRING

• Kamishibai stories you're working on
• Snacks and drinks

VENUE: The City Library Group Study Room  253-265 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. 

 *wheelchair accessible

Join us as we share: 

• our individual styles of approaching kamishibai
• workshop Dani's "Sally the Sea Turtle" story
• see how picture book stories can translate to kamishibai format 

Don't worry if you don't have a kamishibai stage. We'll take time to talk about stages: the various sizes (pros and cons), how to make your own or buy one on line.

This workshop is organized by the AKA moderators - Jackie Kerin, Anna Manuel, Dani Bücheler-Scott, and Tetsuta Watanabe. 

The AKA is a member of Storytelling Australia Victoria. We thank SAV for their support.

We have a Facebook Group where we connect and share ideas.

And a Page where you can follow our events.

Stories Stories Stories: by the fire and in the garden

What a weekend of stories it has been.

Much has been shared on Facebook but for those of you who couldn't be with us and who don't subscribe to that platform, here are some photographs of both events to enjoy.

Stories by the Fire on June 30th

On Saturday evening storytellers gathered as part of the Newport Folk Festival. In the Old Scout Hall, with the fire blazing and soup and chai simmering, the stories found wings.

The old Newport Scout Hall

Edith , the youngest storyteller

The evening was supported by a team from Storytelling Australia Vic who not only hosted (thanks Matt McArthur), lugged lights and baked gluten free cake (thanks Kate Lawrence), tweaked soup, baked cake, buttered bread and remained unflappable in the kitchen (thanks Cameron Sharp), and crossed town in with soup and sweets (thanks Mariam Issa and Devi Palanisamy). And thank you No Worries Curries for donating the chai.

James Howard channeling Henry Lawson

Jackie and Cam dishing up the soup

Stories in the RAW Garden on July 1st

The cold didn't dampen the spirits of the RAW regulars. Normally hosted by Durgah Devi Palanisamy, Dee was unavailable and Daniela Bücheler-Scott stepped into Dee's shoes. Storytellers never shy away from celebrating a birthday. Happy birthday Dani!

Daniela Bücheler-Scott

Mariam Issa in conversation with young storyteller

Children are always welcomed into the circle at RAW.

RAW Garden Storytelling is held February - November on the first Sunday on the month. Check the calendar on the HOME page of our website for details. HERE

RAW Garden Storytelling Sunday 1st July

Its the middle of winter and the garden is looking bare. Rug up: hats, gloves and a warm coat. The stories continue whatever the weather.

Daniela Bücheler-Scott (photo: www.anthonycheung.photography)

This month Daniela Bücheler-Scott is holding the story space for us. Dani is the recipient of the Storytelling Australia Victoria scholarship to the NSW International Storytelling Conference. She will be full of news to share about this biennial gathering.

Dani has a particular passion for storytelling for children and especially kamishibai storytelling. On her return from NSW she launched into the Williamstown Literary Festival as a participant in a display, a workshop and all-ages friendly group show.

The kamishibai storytellers are growing their numbers and Dani is a co-administrator of the newly launched AKA (Australian Kamishibai Association) Page.

RAW Garden Storytelling is a partnership event with Mariam Issa and the RAW Garden. The Garden celebrates the uniqueness and aspirations of multi cultural women.

We have a mix of special guests, story games and there is always a space for friends to tell a tale. Make sure you let the Dani  know if you are carrying a story that wants to be shared.

THEMES: Sometimes we have themes but we are not strict about this and will let know if we have something in particular we would like to explore.

We value listeners and storytellers equally and take pride in welcoming newcomers to RAW.

COST: FREE
Bookings are not necessary.
Enter by the drive way gate.

WHERE: 325 South Road Brighton East
TIME: 12.00 - 3.00

Nibbles provided 

Stories by the Fire: 30th June

For more years than we can count on one hand, Storytelling Australia Victoria has been hosting this evening of Stories by the Fire as part of the Newport Folk Festival. 

This year our MC is Matt McArthur. Matt is a versatile storyteller but is particularly known for his science stories (Laborastory); he is also a Moth storyteller, a regular at Fabled Nights and contributor to World Storytelling Day, urn boiler, cup washer ... you name it!

Matt has been spending a considerable amount of time in the Antarctic and clearly enjoys the fashions! You can subscribe to his podcast Iced Coffee and enjoy stories of the history and human activity in Antarctica.

Stories by the Fire is a casual open event; we set up a chalk board and invite storytellers to put their names up and share a tale of around 10 minutes or less. We will have a bell! We welcome all genres, ask that you tell not read , and we request that kind hearts prevail. Racist and homophobic stories hurt people.

Storytelling Australia Victoria takes pride in welcoming new comers to the hearth.

So mark it in your diary, and while you're at it, keep an eye on the festival program. The Newport Folk Festival is a grass roots celebration fueled by the passion of the local folkies.

This is an inter-generational event but not suitable for the very young 12+.

Soup, cake and chai are served by the Storytelling Australia Victoria team on the night.

WHEN: June 30
WHERE: Newport Scout Hall Market Street opposite The Substation
TIME: 6.00 pm
BOOKINGS: HERE

Return of the Sentimental Bloke: 1st July

C.J. Dennis' character 'The Sentimental Bloke' has delighted audiences for over 100 years. Dave and Alan Davies bring all the humour and drama of 'the Bloke' to life with four poems, recited in character. The poems are linked with narration that gives the background of the poems, and music from the period. With Nicola Johnson on fiddle.


Dave is a member of Storytelling Victoria and regular at Fabled Nights in Newport. He brings Australian Bush verse to the evenings as well as tall stories, Shakespeare, and occasionally something from the Russian classics.

As part of the Newport Folk Festival.
WHEN: Sunday July 1
WHERE: Newport Scout Hall (Market Street Newport opposite the Substation)
TIME: 2.00 pm
TICKETS: Try Booking

AKA (Australian Kamishibai Association)

Kamishibai (paper theater) is a Japanese way of telling stories. Once popular in the 1930s - 1940s, it was swept aside with the introduction of television.

But kamishibai is back and new stories are being published and there are festivals and gatherings of kamishibai storytellers popping up around the world.

Bernard Caleo

Bernard Caleo (comic book maker, actor, storyteller) and me (Jackie Kerin,  Storytelling Australia Victoria) formed a Facebook Group a few years ago, and calling it the AKA (Australian Kamishiba Association), we hoped to gather kamishibai enthusiasts from around Australia to share ideas and grow skills.

Daniela with her kamishibai stage and stories

We now have members from Victoria, NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia as well as a few overseas guests.

Tetsuta Watanabe's 1940s Japanese tale of 'Mr Carrot' was a favourite

With growing confidence, we decided to go public and so pitched ourselves to the Williamstown Literary Festival 2018 offering: a display, two shows, introductory session and workshop for children.

Anna telling a story to an enchanted crowd

The plan was hatched when Anna Manuel said, 'Let's do it!' Anna shouldered a huge amount of the planning and arrangements with the festival organisers: curated the showcase of Kamishibai Stories for Kids and facilitated the workshop. Together with her partner Anthony, she also designed our flyers and banner.

L-R: Alex Kharnam, Daniela Bücheler-Scott, Jackie Kerin, Matt McArthur,Tetsuta Watanabe, Anna Manuel

And I would like to express gratitude, on behalf of the team, to those members of Storytelling Victoria who so kindly gave up their time and helped us with the display table. We were overwhelmed by your willingness to down tools and lend us hand.

And please, if you would like to be part of the fun, don't hesitate to join our group and follow our Page.

Find us on our AKA PAGE HERE