SC-CC Conference in Newfoundland
by Kim Kilpatrick

I loved my time in Newfoundland. Every storytelling conference is unique and showcases the community in which it takes place. Newfoundland was no exception. I especially enjoyed Alice Lannon (not sure of spelling) a wonderful, lively, woman in her eighties who charmed us with real Newfoundland folk tales. I loved the fact that storytellers from other lands joined us including tellers from England, Wales, Scotland, Denmark, Israel, South Africa, and the United States. It was fascinating to talk with them, take their workshops, hear them at story swaps, and get to know what storytelling is like in their home countries. I especially enjoyed the workshop with Jim May about personal story and myth, and the ballad singing workshop with Anita Best who will be performing at our upcoming festival. It was wonderful to meet and reacquaint myself with amazing storytellers from all across Canada. I learned a great deal and continue to be grateful to be a part of such a warm, friendly, and interesting community. I encourage anyone to join SC-CC and to go to a conference whenever possible.
(for another review of the conference see Mary Wiggins' letter on page 7)

Storyteller invited into the classroom
from Sherly Elaine Brazeau

The JK/SK teacher I have been working with for going on 7 years now has asked me next year to teach the senior kindergarten children (SK's) the fundamentals of storytelling as they are expected to tell stories themselves in Grade 1 - Progress - being faithful and just showing up and supporting the teacher in whichever way she has needed has built up a trust in my gifts as a storyteller - yea - early literacy and storytelling yea. I will be there on Mondays to help her. ... this is my volunteer opportunity in my community to the children in my neighbourhood as well as to the teachers at my neighbourhood school - a number of whom are from poor and immigrant children.

Kurt Vonnegut may be known for some very strange novels. He has also lectured about story as can be read in this link: At the blackboard

OST board retreat

In September the Ottawa Storytellers board headed out into the wilds of Quebec, past Wakefield, to the home of Bob Woods. They brought along their easles, and markers, their ideas, and hopes, and their appetites. After all what good retreat forgets about the food?

Telling and a Danish

Well, tongue in cheek here. Laura Kamis Wrang is a Danish teller I met up with at the Storytelling Conference in Newfoundland. I asked her a few questions for CKCU-FM, and she gave me a few answers ... click here to listen to the interview

Telling under the stars

Moby Dick resurfaced west of Balderson, Ontario, during the Perseied showers. The venue was a farm. After a meal of chicken, salad, freshly boiled corn, and many selections of dessert, the folks gathered around a huge firepit. In the growing darkness the only thing we could see were each other's faces in the flickering light.

After the well received telling, we gathered up blankets, marched upa hill (with the aid of flashlights) and lay down on our backs to look up at the sky. The hill was dark, the farm house lights had been doused. And we watched the falling stars.

Knocking their socks off

Alright, maybe it wasn't the audience that needed to put on their socks. But footwear certainly was more than a title. Alan Shain combined his experience with storytelling, comedy, and drama to create a one-person play. The play involved a number of people, including a set designer/builder and a director.

After the play, the set had to be stored away for future shows. When one thinks of most shows, we often forget that not everything just nicely packs up and can be forgotten. This then set Alan to looking for inexpensive storage space, preferably in someone's dry, clean, and affordable garage.

Partnering with Shenkman

Through the efforts of Caitlyn Paxson, the Ottawa Storytellers partnered up with the OYP Theatre School at the Shenkman Centre in Orleans. Last year OST performed in the Shenkman's Black Box. After the season, OST decided that room did not fit the programming. The director of OYP had seen the shows, and asked if there might not be some way of cooperating. They wanted someone to run workshops in storytelling in their school, and they had a more intimate space that would be just right for storytelling. Listen to the interview

Applied storytelling, an article

Brother Wolf has named one aspect of what is called community storytelling, but I'm sure that other people would have more and different things to say. Defining "community" in the context of the Ottawa StoryTellers might be a very interesting exercise and could be helpful in clarifying where OST wants to go with the community side of our umbrella. To read the article follow this link: Article

Brockville Storytelling Festival

The Brockville Storytelling Festival is over. But it had wonderful publicity, even here in Ottawa where Deborah Dunleavy was interviewed by Michael Bardwash on CBC's In Town and Out. It was a lovely interview about storytelling, the headliners, and ended with Deborah pulling out her guitar and singing an original blues song. She has a wonderful voice. The festival also was written up in their local newspaper after getting a grant. To read that article click on this: EMC St Lawrence

Story Slam (a competition)

Ruthanne sings with a choir in Italy, attends poetry events, is the past Tea Party (not the American kind) organiser, reads crystal balls, and how somehow blends it altogether into something called a Story Slam. The Slam involves the audience (who cheer), the judges (who are booed), and tellers who must tell an original story based on a set theme, all within five minutes. I asked Ruthanne about the Story Slam over a scone at the Tea Party ... click to listen.

Partnership and ArtsBeat

As reported in the last newsletter, the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals (OCFF) and the Ottawa Storytellers have partnered up to place two artists in one school. Well, the OCFF are placing many musicians in many schools, but this particular partnership has a storyteller and a musician working with a grade 6 class for a week, culminating in two shows: one for the school, and one at the OCFF conference happening here in Ottawa in October.

The musician is Alicia Borosonik. The teller is Dean Verger.

Ottawa Folk Festival and lightning

The Ottawa Storytellers were invited to run a swap at this August's Ottawa Folk Festival. The location was in the food court under a big tent. Other groups had also been invited to run sessions. The Saturday weather was fine, and the other sessions ran beautifully. On the Sunday, as the tellers were readying to sit in the circle and share stories the word came down that the storms were coming up the river, that lightning was seen (and thunder heard). The electrian closed up the tent since there were wires running along the ground, and we were ushered into the safety of the centre.

Mentorship

Lynda Joyce and David MacDonald had taken the Introduction to Storytelling course. Lynda had followed this up with a telling at the Swap. Then Lynda and David decided to tell at the Tea Party. They were initially nervous. What were they going to do? As part of the OST mentorship program they partnered up with Ruth Stewart-Verger, going over to her home to drink tea, eat cookies, talk about telling, and to rehearse their stories.

Their telling in August went smoothly, and the audience gave them much deserved applause.

No-show

One thinks in terms of the groom not showing up at the wedding, or the performer not showing up at the gig, but what happens when the venue packs up and leaves town? Well, as part of the Canada Day celebrations Queen Julianna park on Carling Avenue had been slated for a weekend of activity. But the attendance on the first days was poor. The vendors began pulling up their stalls, and then the organisers pulled the plug on the rest. When the storyteller arrived on the last day, there were a few safety fences, a garbage can, and a rented flatbed stage. Everything else had vanished.

Hallowe'en

Billings Estate Museum and Ottawa Storytellers have a wonderful relationship. Pat Holloway has been busy writing the next script for the October Hallowe'en show. I spoke with him about it. To hear the interview just click here.