Bettina Nissen: Theme: Community - Creativity - Change 2012

• Bettina Nissen, a well-loved and respected member of the Australian Storytelling community, lived with us here in Victoria for almost a decade. In that time she mentored new storytellers and visited many schools, childcare centres and libraries and performed and mcd many storytelling events. Bettina returned to her home in Queensland a while ago but we still think of her as ‘one of us’!
  
  
  Folk tales don’t beat about the bush. They have always told us about the hard times – poverty, heartbreak and injustice – and celebrate the creativity of communities to address these inequities with wry humour. Deception Bay’s Bettina Nissen will treat you to a story (they’re not just for kids) and explore the idea of folk tales in a contemporary context.
  
  

Australian Storytelling (Vic) welcomes Kerry-Anne Gaia. 2012

Kerry-Anne Gaia is an entertainer/storyteller for those who like a little magic and fairy dust.

When Kerry-Anne Gaia was born her father said she was a ‘fairy-child’ and gave her the name Kerry after the Ring of Kerry – the beautiful coastal trail that weaves through some of Irelands oldest historical sites. Anne was the name given to her by her mother and means ‘graceful’. Gaia is Italian and means ‘joy’.  Kerry-Anne says, ‘This is a true story. I am the fairy who brings joy’.

Kerry-Anne has a life-long love of stories, ‘I’ve been a storyteller all my life.’ She particularly likes traditional folk tales, some of her favourites being those from the Grimm’s anthologies. Her favourite literary story is The Wizard of OZ (Lyman Frank Baum) ‘… so clever and enchanting’.

The character of ‘Fairy Love Heart’ developed over a period of time. ‘I was nick-named ‘Fairy Anne’ and then later, as I collected love-hearts, I was ‘Love Heart’ and then came ‘Love Fairy’. So I decided to call my business ‘Love Fairies’ as I do love them and what they represent.

Kerry-Anne’s focus is entertainment with a positive message.

She specializes in children’s parties and corporate events.

Her events are designed for children 1 – 12 and as well as stories, include songs and face painting.

‘I do have other characters but that is another story...Scary Witch for Halloween spooky stories …’

You can read more about Kerry-Anne www.lovefairies.com.au

Events: 

Weribee Zoo Saturday  24 November  

Melbourne Zoo Saturday 8 December Friends of the Zoo annual picnic.

Waverley Gardens shopping Centre Wednesday 5 December 11am - 12pm Fairy love Heart Story Time and Songs finish with face painting out side Target.

Petes Ridge Festival  Kids on the Hill in the Rainbow Children's Garden 

Jackie Kerin. Mentone Public Library 8 December 2012

Mentone Public Library proudly presents … a new book about to take flight. Meet author and story-teller… Jackie Kerin

All my stories begin as spoken or told stories. For me, the story is connected to the book, like blossom to fruit.

Jackie will talk about how her tale of the first lyrebird, filmed and recorded in display, began as a spoken word piece and evolved into a book for reading. She also wrestles with the desire to share, through story, her passion and concern for the fragility and precious nature of the natural environment without being didactic.

Lyrebird! A True Story. 'Well heavens to betsy! You're no ordinary chook!'

When: 11.00 am Saturday, 8 December

Where: Mentone Public Library Rear of the Community Assistance and Information Bureau,

36 Florence Street, Mentone.

Entry: gold coin donation.

Bookings: essential as places are limited.  

‪Ms. Sue Blackford   Secretary     9583 5648 

‪Ms. Julia Reichstein   Publicity      Jmrei1978@hotmail.com

Complimentary Tea, Coffee, Biscuits and Good Company. Signed copies available.

Mentone Public Library: Where Print Becomes Personable

ESTABLISHED 1925

INCORPORATED 2009

A Non-profit Organisation

  

Lyrebird! A True Story by Jackie Kerin (illustrated by Peter Gouldthorpe and published by Museum Victoria)

Julie Perrin: Co-Creative Communities 2012

Finding co creatives…

When I told a friend I was going to a gathering at ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) called “Co-Creative Communities – Storytelling futures for community arts and media” she said, “Be careful what you wish for, they won’t mean the same thing by storytelling that you do!”  There are ways in which she was perfectly right, but there were other discoveries of good people doing beautiful work that I was really happy to meet.

Let me give you a glimpse of who was there, this is a happenstance guide, not a thorough report, and it starts with who I sat next to. First I met Phil Heuzenroeder from Wildatheart a community arts project in North Melbourne www.wildatheart.org.au/ Phil was an astute and observant companion through the sessions.  I also bumped into my colleague Mark Silver there, he has done sustained projects in teaching secondary school students to gather stories from older people and document them on video – PADSIP – Positive Ageing and Digital storytelling.

From the main stage (which is really just a pocket of space under the cinema screen) Mimi Pickering spoke. She works in community radio in the Appalachian mountains in the USA http://appalshop.org/ and told a story that resonated through the day. She said the station realized their biggest audience was in a nearby prison. When the phone company hiked up the call costs into the prison, the station started an evening program where people could ring in with messages for their relatives inside. Mimi said it changed the way the listening community on the outside began to think of those on the inside.

Sam Gregory from Witness was also impressive, ‘Cameras for everywhere’ using video for human rights http://www.witness.org/cameras-everywhere He was spare in words and strong on content.

More locally, Cath Dwyer from ABC Open https://open.abc.net.au/ has 45 producers in regional Australia facilitating storytelling via text, video, audio and photography. It made me glad to see such a thoughtful, insightful person at the head of this big story gathering enterprise. Cath remarked that ABC Open is a moderated, safe space for a certain kind of Australian story, and a distribution network. You can find out about classes, they have a monthly 500-word story invitation. This month the theme is “Someone who formed you” December is “Family Rituals”.

That’s all for now, more soon!

Other impressive presentations at ACMI were the sharp edged Carl Kuddell of Change Media http://www.changemedia.net.au/ (SA based) on working outside the comfort zone, “unless there’s a moment when I am embarrassed, it is not a good workshop”. He showed a video of indigenous responses to the dominant cultural ‘frame’ that was full of hilarious and serious takes of people interacting with an empty picture frame. I got to speak with Change Media’s Creative Director, Jennifer Lyons-Reid and she had a fine attentive intelligence that I really warmed to. My friend Richard Leigh from Campfire films 

http://campfire.org.au/ was also really impressed by Carl's work, he was certainly a standout.

Indu Balachandran from Sydney’s Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE) was memorable, as was a glimpse of one of the programs they’d made on African parenting. Lachlan Macdowall from Victorian College of the Arts, Community Cultural Development had some useful observations about Evaluation in the Arts.

There were organisations with names like Feral Arts and Big hArt  – Scott Rankin began with virtually the only words spoken during the day about oral exchange. He evoked beautifully the membranes in the ear and the throat, and the exhalation of breath, the vibrations of sound which arise out of our craving for meaning. It seems he set off the oral storytellers at that point, both myself and the delightful Fadzai of StillWaters Storytelling Collective http://stillwaterswomen.org/ were hands up with comments.

I offered a quote from Ursula Le Guin about breath and story, it was picked up in the closing comments. Even though oral storytelling seems to sit at the edge of a lot of the new media, I think we can call people back into their bodies and the face-to-face power of story. Meanwhile I met an extraordinary array of “co creators” at this event – story making in its many many forms.

Julie Perrin

blog.tellingwords.com.au

November 12, 2012

Matteo and the 'Titanic Dog'.

Vic Storytellers have many strings to their bows. Skilled with language and with remarkable abilities for connecting with children, our services are are often called upon to support other non- traditional storytelling projects. 

Matteo has lent his voice to this delightful animation conceived and scripted by Hazel Edwards, Titanic Dog.

2012 marks the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic which went down around midnight on April 14, 1912. This is a dog’s viewpoint, as there are legends about a Newfoundland saving passengers.

Enjoy the trailer 
More information about Hazel Edwards and Titanic Dog click: here

Matteo is a listed Victorian teller, click: here

Matteo: November 2012

November marks a change in the storyteller's calendar. The schools are hunkering down for the sprint to the end of year concerts and graduation ceremonies, summer festival planning is in full swing and requests for Christmas stories and end of year parties rise.

Storytelling Vic's Matteo has a busy November planned.

Mornington Regional Gallery

Tuesday 13 November Wow!
Time 10am-11am
$4/child, carer free
Venue: MPRG, bookings essential call 5975 4395 

A very popular program for 0-5 year olds, with storyteller Matteo and the Gallery’s Education Coordinator. Sing, dance, clap and stomp your feet with Matteo! Do an exciting activity with the Education Coordinator afterwards.

Click:  Mornington Regional Gallery for program of exhibitions and events and how to get there.

Matteo has been entertaining and educating children at the MRG for several years now. A trained artist himself, he has a special gift for working with young people in gallery settings.

Sunshine Library. 'National Year Of Reading Finale Party!'

Saturday the 17th of November     
and celebrating 100 years of library services in Sunshine! ... a sausage sizzle, face painting, balloonologist, roving entertainment, giveaways, competitions, a book shaped cake and more.  

Click: For more information and how to get there.

Matteo is a listed teller with Storytelling Australia (Vic) 
Contact: Matteo

Final Enchanted Evening: 25 November 2012.

You are all warmly invited to gather in the Bishop's Parlour at Abbotsford Convent for our seventh magical night of traditional tales, told by storytellers Niki Pidd and special guest storyteller, Clare Coburn, with music by Joanne Saunders  

Every month we create a new programme that responds to the season and this one will respond to the end of year, and a sense of celebration as we begin the festive season.

Do book early, as this is an intimate gathering in elegant surroundings and seating is limited. 

Our first six evenings have booked out quickly. If you miss out on a seat this time, perhaps you would like to come when we return with Enchanted Evening in March 2013. They will be happening on the fourth Sunday of every month next year. We will announce our guest storytellers as we go and we have a fabulous line up, all year long. Many of your favourite tellers from this year have already said they would like to join us again in 2013, as well as some wonderful new talented storytellers that we'd like to introduce to you.

Sunday, November 25th between 7-9pm.

Book Now!  http://www.trybooking.com/BPYR

  or  http://www.trybooking.com/28357