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Message from the President - July 2011
I have two big announcements this month. Most of you have probably
not been to the OST office. It is currently on Caitlyn Paxson's
kitchen table. If she needs something from our records, she may have
it in her little filing cabinet, or it might be in my basement, or perhaps
the locker in Pat Holloway's apartment building, or perhaps somewhere
else. If she wants to print something, she has to get the printer out
of the oven, carry the microwave out to the porch... Well, you get the
idea.
But all this is will end. After years of talking about it, and months
of looking, Ottawa StoryTellers is about to get our very own office.
It will be on the premises owned by St. Brigid's Cultural Centre,
where most of the 2010 festival was held. It's not luxurious or expensive,
but it will allow us to centralize our scattered files, establish a
presence in the market-area artistic community, and give back Caitlyn's
kitchen table. Watch for the announcement of an open house.
The second big news is that Ottawa Storytellers will be hosting the
annual conference of Storytellers of Canada / Conteurs du Canada in
the summer of 2013. The last time Ottawa hosted this conference was
ten years ago, when I first moved here, and I was hooked. I've now been
to several of these conferences, and they are wonderful. It will be
your chance to meet and interact with many of the best storytellers
in Canada. You will be able to attend top-notch professional development
workshops. And volunteer. You can learn about and perhaps join our national
organization. You can attend excellent storytelling concerts. And volunteer.
You can participate in cross-Canada story swaps. Did I mention the social
events? Did I mention that you can volunteer?
There are no details yet. We are just now putting together a steering
committee, and the dates of the conference are yet to be determined.
Watch for details.
Phil
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Note from the newsletter editor
There is magic in the things that we do. Magic to the uninitiated,
it is hard work to those who are admired. This magic might be encapsulated
in a beautiful garden, or a seamlessly enthralling story. Each takes
effort, time, and a willingness to listen to one's self and to others.
Of course I mention the garden because it is summer, and I truly appreciate
the amazing gardens that bloom around us, evidence of the time on hands
and knees preparing the soil, watering, and weeding. It is that last
bit that I find so magical. Where does the gardener find the spirit
to spend the hours it takes to not only pull up the unwanted growth,
but to also recognise the weed from the perennial? The metaphor holds
true for a good telling. The time it takes to prepare the voice, the
stance, the confidence to deliver the story can only come from repetition
in front of live audiences (hence, the need for the Swap, the Tea Party,
and Once Upon A Slam). But when a teller crafts their own story, which
images are the weeds, and which are the flowers we will admire? And
so listening to Marta Singh after she has tended to her garden of a
story, with all the seeds that she had to choose from, and appreciating
the flowers in full bloom, this too is magic.
Dean Verger
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