Fabled Nights in Newport August 17

Fabled Nights in Newport is an open-hearted space for people who want to learn to craft true tales, traditional stories, tall tales and yarns; heart to heart and without notes. We welcome beginners and experienced folks. So come and strut your stuff, share what you know, try out a new story or tell a tale for the first time.

There's room for around 10 storytellers and we ask that stories be no longer than 10 minutes, give or take. We ask that stories be said not read.

We reserve 2 - 15 minute places for people who want to try out longer stories.

Let kind hearts and commonsense prevail: racist and homophobic stories hurt people so please don't bring them to Fabled Nights.

WHEN: Friday 17 August. 7.30pm - 10.00pm
WHERE: Newport Community HUB 13 Mason Street, Newport
COST: $5.00 or $3.00 (Storytelling Vic and Newport Fiddle and Folk Club members). No Booking required.

*WHEEL CHAIR ACCESS
* FABLED NIGHTS is an intergenerational event. Children welcome at parent/carers discretion

Fabled Nights in Newport is a partnership event with Hobsons Bay Libraries and is supported by the Newport Fiddle and Folk Club.

PARKING: There is free parking at the rear of the building. Coming from Mason Street, turn left at Durkin Street then left into the car park. Entry to the HUB is from the park.

Digital image by Rex Smeal

RAW Garden Storytelling: September 2nd

RAW Garden Storytelling is a partnership event with Mariam Issa and the RAW Garden and Storytelling Vic. The Garden celebrates the uniqueness and aspirations of multicultural women through gardening, storytelling, crafts and cooking.

Durgah Devi Palanisamy (Dee) from Storytelling Vic is our host. Dee will have a mix of special guests and story games and there is always a space for friends to tell a tale.

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

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

WHERE: 325 South Road, Brighton East
WHEN: September 2nd 12.00pm - 3.00pm
COST: Free Bookings are not necessary. Enter by the drive way gate.

*photographs supplied by Tatiana Scott 

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST: Peace of Heart 22nd September

Hello Storytellers,

I live in Macedon and have long coveted the lovely 100-seat Mountview Theatre just up the road from me, as a great venue for stories. Recently the Mount Players Theatre kindly agreed to allow Storytelling Australia Victoria (SAV) to host a storytelling evening at the theatre on 22 September.

This is a call for expressions of interest from storytellers to participate. The idea for the evening is that half the tellers will be local to the Macedon Ranges and the other half will be from SAV membership.

The 22 September is not only the equinox, but it is also the International Day of Peace and so we have chosen this as the theme. Tellers are invited to:

• Tell us a story about peace.
• Tell us a story about a struggle for peace - the challenges, fears, and wars that rage when peace is gone.
• Tell us a story that looks peace in the eye - a story that asks the tough questions. Is this peace resting on justice? Does this peace negate another story? Does this peace lie?
• Tell us a story about where peace can be found—in the world, your country, state, community or family.
• Tell us a story with glimpses of peace, its beauty and love, as it swings by in our lives.
• Or tell us a story about the place it all begins—your heart. 

Selection of the storytellers will be based on the different genres of stories and the various styles of storytelling within our membership. You will need to be a current member of Storytelling Australia Victoria. Kindly ensure that your membership is active.  Membership HERE.

The story should be between 5 and 10 minutes long, (with 10 minutes being the strict maximum) and any genre of story - true and personal, folk or traditional, made up or historical.

If you are selected as a storyteller on the evening, you will need to be a member of SAV. However once you are a member of SAV, we can offer to pay you $50 as a token of appreciation for your efforts - we know this in no way represents adequate compensation for your time and talents.  SAV membership is $20, so after joining you would end up with $30, and a years membership of SAV. 

This promises to be a wonderful night of storytelling. We are really keen to showcase the rich and diverse storytellers within the SAV community and the Macedon Ranges.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any queries and I will send you the EoI, full storytelling brief and promotion request. 

E: kate@storywise.com.au before Friday, 17th August 2018.
*Members, who wish to participate in Peace of Heart but are unable to send information via Internet, can call me (Kate) (on 0402 080 445).

Warm regards,

Kate Lawrence
Vice President
Storytelling Australia Victoria
 

Gael Cresp: Stories for Grown-ups Wonthaggi Library

August 8th was the final session in my current series of story sessions for grown ups held in Wonthaggi Library.

Gael Cresp (from the archives - library unknown)

I had an astonishing turnout: not only the majority of my usual listeners, there were several groups of people who just turned up out of the blue. All in all, there were 23 people (extra chairs had to be fetched more than once!) including one older man and three men in their twenties.

The topic I'd chosen was 'Politeness'.

The first story was 'The Lion's Whisker' an Ethiopian tale about a woman taming her step son.

Second, I told the 'Legend of Knockgarten' an Irish story about a man with a hump who had his hump removed by the faeries and a man who was rude and had his hump doubled.

Various versions of both of these can be found via a quick internet search.

The final story was 'The Toy Princess' by Mary de Morgan.
This story is about a country where everyone  'became so polite that they hardly ever spoke to each other. And they never said more than was quite necessary, as "Just so," "Yes, indeed," 'Thank you," and "If you please".'

No one spoke about feelings, likes or dislikes or anything of that nature.

When the King married, the new Queen died of a broken heart, but not before she'd given birth to little Ursula.

The crux of this story is that Taboret, the fairy god mother replaced the child with a doll who suited the kingdom most wonderfully well and took Ursula to a fisherman's cottage where she grew up with his sons and daughter.

Well you can guess the outcome - the eldest son and Ursula fell in love and when Taboret discovered it she endeavored to re-place the doll with the living princess.

She could not believe it when the entire kingdom voted to keep the doll, much to Ursula's relief as this left her free to marry her beau and live a normal life.

My version of this story came from 'The Hamish Hamilton Book of Princesses' first published in 1963. (This book came to me via the good offices of Susan Pepper when she was having a clean out - for this I thank her very much as I find much inspiration in its pages.)

What occurred to me last night as I did one final read though - just as I got to the end where they choose the toy who ALWAYS says the predictable thing -  is that the whole story could be seen as an analogy for the voters of the US and their choice of  their current president.
I didn't share this thought with my listeners but offer it to you all to ponder as it reinforces my belief that the old stories have so much to offer us as we attempt to make sense of our world.

Search and you shall find your stories....

Gael Cresp
w: HERE

Thank you Gael for this generous post on storytelling for adults in the Wonthaggi Library. Ed

TRENTHAM - WORDS IN WINTER: Peter Fernon 18 August

Click on poster to enlarge

Susan Pepper

Sometimes a story is so huge, it is impossible to tell and all you can do is experience the wonder

When I started storytelling I did a workshop with the American storyteller Harriet Mason who sadly died soon after she arrived home. One thing that she said stayed with me during my storytelling career – ‘if you can’t say what your story is about in one, or maybe 2, words, then you don’t know the story’. I found that discerning the one word or theme that encapsulates a story to be a useful thing to do when preparing it for telling. I was often surprised by the themes hidden within seemingly simple stories.

Recently I have been reflecting on the nature of stories in the light the epic rescue of the 13 soccer players in Thailand. Like many others, I have been absorbed in the story and overwhelmed by its hugeness. I have been considering it as ‘story’ rather than ‘news’, if I can make that distinction. From the perspective of a storyteller, this is a story overflowing witharchetypes - 

• Lost boys, and adventure

• Heroes risking their lives

• Desperate mothers and fathers

• Frog(men) – now renamed as seals

• Hundreds of helpers

• Storytellers (media)

• Witnesses - from all over the world

• Water, and rain, and more water

• Air, lots of air

• Fast running currents

• Jungle

• Warriors (soldiers)

• Dark – total blackness, and light

• Guides; experts

• Letters and messages

• A mini submarine

• Death, life, induced sleep

• Priests, religious rituals, prayers, meditation

• Doctors, helicopters, nurses, ambulances

• Food

• Promises and vows

• A princess (according to Thai legend the mountain range was the body of a reclining princess)

• And the King of Thailand*.

The range of emotions we have witnessed, or imagined,includes everything from deep fear, dread and grief to ecstatic jubilation. 

So where do you start to work out what the story is about?The value of life, the inevitability of death, love, rebirth, survival, being lost, risk-taking, heroism, international collaboration. All of the above, and more. I think the themes highlighted depends on which group of heroes you focus on, and there is a surfeit of heroes to choose from. It will be interesting to see what Hollywood makes of it. 

For me, I’m still overwhelmed by the wonder of it all. One word to encapsulate it all? I can’t find it,  not yet anyway. 

Susan Pepper
Sometime storyteller

* Not an exhaustive list!

Roslyn Quin: You’re never too old for a story!

We’re all great at recognising the benefits of story time for our children, but we neglect to notice how much good it could do for us too! So get cosy with us and beat the mid-week, mid-winter blues with a Winter Solstice storytime and free hot chocolate.

Roslyn Quin is a long-time member of Storytelling Australia Victoria and our gal in Eltham Libary. Loved for her thoughtful and respectful children's storytimes, Roslyn has something on offer for the grow-ups.

WHEN: Wednesday July 18
TIME: 4.30 pm - 5.30pm
WHERE: Warrandyte Library, 168 Yarra St, Warrandyte
 COST: Free