Bloomington Storytellers Guild

"Stories are important"

2011-11-20T07:48:00.000-08:00

"...stories are important.

People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it's the other way around.

Stories exist independently of their players. If you know that, the knowledge is power.

Stories, great flapping ribbons of shaped space-time, have been blowing and uncoiling around the universe since the beginning of time. And they have evolved. the weakest have died and the strongest have survived and they have grown fat on the retelling...stories, twisting and blowing through the darkness.

And their very existence overlays a faint but insistent pattern on the chaos that is history. Stories etch grooves deep enough for people to follow in the same way that water follows certain paths down a mountain-side. And every time fresh actors tread the path of the story, the groove runs deeper.

This is called the theory of narrative causality and it means that a story, once started, takes a shape. It picks up all the vibrations of all the other workings of that story that have ever been.

This is why history keeps on repeating all the time."

Terry Pratchett, 1991

The Festival of Ghost Stories

2011-11-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

As the leaves flew off the trees on the last Friday in October, storytellers and audience gathered in Bryan Park for the annual Festival of Ghost Stories.

Temperatures dropped rapidly as night fell, but the audience was enthusiastic for chilling stories.

We heard from some new voices this year and some new stories from familiar tellers.

Cats (Community Access Television) of the Monroe County Public Library did film the event and as I understand it you can call and request a copy of the program (349-3111).

It was quickly too dark to take many pictures of the tellers, and the audience were just shadows huddled on the hillside.

You'll find a review at http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=83793&search=festival. Thanks, Jessica Williams, for taking the time to write about us!

And many thanks to this year's coordinator, Stephanie!

Hope to see all of you next year for another evening of spooky and supernatural tales!

Annual Festival of Ghost Stories

2011-10-21T16:49:00.000-07:00

Are you ready? The Annual Festival of Ghost Stories

Friday, October 28

7:00 to 8:30 pm

Outdoors at Bryan Park

This concert of scary and supernatural tales is performed by members of the Bloomington Storytellers Guild and sponsored by:

The Monroe County Public Library (also the rain site)

and

Bloomington Parks and Recreation.

Wear warm clothes! Bring a chair or blanket to sit on!

NO young children, please!

Festival of Ghost Stories coming up

2011-10-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

The time approaches for the annual Festival of Ghost Stories.

Do you have a scary story to tell?

Something eerie and unusual?

Auditions are coming up on Monday October 17th at the Monroe County Public Library (one of our co-sponsors for the event).
Email the Guild for more information!

Your audience is waiting....

Are you missing emails?

2011-09-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes our coordinator can't read your handwriting.

Sometimes our coordinator can't read her own handwriting.

Sometimes she even loses the little scrap of paper with your email address on it.

If you want to stay connected to the Guild and you are NOT getting emails, please please please email the BSG at btownstorytellers@gmail.com.

And forgive the rapidly aging coordinator for losing your email the first time.

And we're off!

2011-09-27T05:49:00.000-07:00

Another storytelling season has begun!

New folks welcomed, our next meeting planned, a focus found for the year, requests for tellers coming in, and our annual Festival of Ghost Stories coming up -

The time will race by!

Let the Season begin!

2011-09-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

The Guild is planning its menu for the coming storytelling season.

Up first:
The appetizer!

Our first meeting of the fall,

Thursday, Sept. 22

5:30-7:00 p.m.

Monroe County Public Library Room 1-A

Come join us if you are interesting in learning about the Guild!

The Spoken Word Stage at 4th Street

2011-09-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

There were crowds Sunday afternoon on 4th Street

for the Annual Festival of The Arts & Crafts.

There were four blocks of booths

featuring the work of fantastic artists.

And in the middle of one street there was a stage.

Well, sort of a stage. A microphone and speakers.

A set-up for a series of spoken word performances.

The Bloomington Storytelling Guild was one.

Patty started us off with an Irish tale.

There was a nice shade for the audience, although more stood than sat.

Many folks browsing the fair stopped for a minute to listen.
We loved the overcast sky that gave everyone a respite from the recent heat and sun.

Mary even led a cheer for the thought of rain later on, while her story took place in an African drought.

Josh had a snoring story from Sierra Leone in which one character managed to sleep - but no one else did!

There was a tandem tale from Ginny and Dana - in which there was "No News".

Stephanie gave the audience a little voodoo, and wrapped everything up with a drop of honey.

After the formal tellings, the stories continued as they often do.

See you at the Fair

2011-08-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

This coming weekend is the annual Fourth Street Festival.New this year: The Spoken Word Stage at 4th and Dunn.

Come hear a few Guild members telling stories on Sunday at 12:20!

(images from 2010 Festival)

In Print

2011-08-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

The new issue of "Bloom" is out -There's a lot to read in this anniversary issue!

Be sure to check out page 61:
Thanks to Stephanie and Mary for giving readers a glimpse of our group and thanks to the tellers who gathered to be photographed one evening after work.
Enjoy your copy of Bloom, and if you are reading our blog and want to join us in our various activities, please
email the Guild at:
btownstorytellers@gmail.com

Song as Story

2011-08-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

A song ain’t nothin’ in the world but a story just wrote with music to it. —Hank Williams, Sr.

The True (not magical) Secret

2011-08-04T07:41:00.000-07:00

"What is this mysterious art?

Is there really a magical secret to learning and telling a story that only a few can discover?

I think not.

In my experience with several hundred storytelling students, I've found that nearly everyone can tell an acceptable story." "As for being an outstanding storyteller, that is a different matter, for storytelling is like other arts: in order to be truly great, you almost have to be born with that inner talent. How do you know whether or not you have it? Only by working on some stories and telling them to an audience.

But, to repeat, almost everyone who takes the time to learn can become a competent storyteller."

from: Handbook for Storytellers, by Caroline Feller Bauer.

Get them to JUMP

2011-07-28T08:23:00.000-07:00

"Use different inflections of voice to add moments of fear or excitement to your story. In general, tell a story with intensity and direct contact.

At a certain point in the story where you know that the victim or person in the story might let out a scream - break your intensity with a sudden shout or scream.

With proper timing everyone listening will literally lift about two inches off their seats."
--from "Campfire Stories" by William Forgey, M.D.

Demonstrated by Stephanie at the library's "Summer Scaries" program.

The Storyteller in Motion

2011-07-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

"...there do seem to be certain places in a story where simple gestures can effectively enhance an action being described or can clarify a meaning..."

(Ramon R. Ross in "Storyteller")

The audience listening to Patty agrees that gestures definitely enhance the tale!

The Blue Hole

2011-07-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

"An interesting group of Hoosier place legends deals with bottomless lakes, a ubiquitous motif in American folklore. What may be unusual, however, is that several of the Hoosier bottomless lakes are named Blue Hole, a descriptive name suggesting a deep pool of blue water...

Often accompanying the bottomless lake motif in lakes named Blue Hole...are accounts of hidden treasure, enormous fish, giant montsters, lost buggies or wagons, wrecked automobiles, and especially derailed trains in the lake..."

From "Hoosier Folk Legends" by Ronald L. Baker

About the difference between folktale and legend

2011-07-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

"The folktale (Märchen ) is with good reason distinguished from the legend, though by turns they play into one another. Looser, less fettered than legend, the folktale lacks that local habitation which hampers legend, but makes it more home-like.

The folktale flies, the legend walks, knocks at your door; the one can draw freely out of the fullness of poetry, the other has almost the authority of history...."

Jacob Grimm, in Teutonic Mythology.

If you go for a walk with a librarian...

2011-07-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

If you go for a walk by the lake with a librarian,

you will be reminded of a story.

and if you are reminded of a story,

you will have to tell that story.

And if you tell that story,

everyone will have a good time!

The Summer Story Picnic

2011-06-29T06:19:00.000-07:00

While certain wanderers roamed through Lower Cascades wondering where we were, our shelter house in Upper Cascades was all set up and waiting.

Soon our table was full of good food and fine stories about stories.

And we raised a fork in honor of those of you who missed this festive event!

Upcoming Summer Picnic and Story Swap

2011-05-22T05:30:00.000-07:00

Celebrate the beginning of Summer with the Storytellers Guild! We'll be meeting at Upper Cascades Park on Sunday, June 26, from 5-7 pm. We'll be sharing picnic fare and stories. Families and friends welcome!
We'll gather in "The Lion's Den" shelter - you can't miss it as it is the only shelter in Upper Cascades.
Please send an email to the guild address if you are planning to attend.

To consider when telling stories of Indiana history

2011-04-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

"All the lives this place
has had, I have. I eat
my history day by day.
Bird, butterfly and flower
pass through the seasons of
my flesh. I dine and thrive
on offal and old stone,
and am combined within
the story of the ground.

By this earth's life, I have
its greed and innocence,
its violence, its peace.
Now let me feed my song
upon the life that is here
that is the life that is gone.
This blood has turned to dust
and liquefied again in stem
and vein ten thousand times.

Let what is in the flesh,
O Muse, be brought to mind."

From "Clearing" by Wendell Berry

"The Harvest of Language"

2011-04-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

"Language, for children as for the rest of us, is a chief pleasure giver. The riddle of human destiny, who we are and whither we go, may absorb our waking hours and cause us to sleep fitfully at night, but the story and the song help us, young and old, to live with the riddle. Those language happenings take us away from our musing and deliver us into another space and hour, while with the same breath they provide a commentary on the questions we ask: What is my self? Where is my self taking me?'

--Ramon R. Ross in Storyteller.

A Good Story

2011-04-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

"In the main a good story should appeal to those emotions that are felt to be both true and desirable in childhood: humor, love of adventure, desire for courage, compassion, a sense of good fellowship, joyfulness, and fresh untrammeled imagination. It is of such substance that good stories are made." -Ruth Sawyer, in "How to tell a story".

Dinner out

2011-04-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

The lights are lit... above a table of storytellers

Tales flow along with the wine...

how easily the time goes

when accompanied

with stories.

The Heirloom Story

2011-03-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

"Family stories are tales about people, places, and events related to the members of our immediate family or their ancestors. Family stories casually chatted about at the dinner table, or regaled again and again at family gatherings can parallel great epics or notable short stories. The memorable stories of our lives and of others in our family take on special importance because they are true, even if everyone tells different versions of the same event. These tales are family heirlooms held in the heart not the hand. They are a gift to each generation that preserves them by remembering them and passing them on. " This quote is from an excellent post on "Collecting Family Stories at: http://www.storyarts.org/classroom/roots/family.html

The told story

2011-03-09T13:03:00.000-08:00

"Storytelling is the oldest and surely one of the loveliest of the arts, and when the world was younger, lustier and, in not a few ways, better, than today, it was necessarily one of the most prized, so largely did all the peoples depend on it for their nightly entertainment....

The read story never did, never will come near the benefiting quality of the told story. Two of the essential good qualities of the latter, the former never can capture. The read story may be said to be a dead story, prone on the printed page, entombed between boards, while the told story is a very much alive story, glowing, appealing and dancing with energetic vitality -- the personality and inspiration that the good storyteller can always command into the tale he tells. While the read story may possess the value of the story alone, the told story carries, superimposed on it, the golden worth of a good storyteller's captivating art and enhancing personality -- trebling its wealth."

--from "About Storytelling" by Seumas MacManus.

We are all storytellers

2011-02-26T05:56:00.000-08:00

"We all have stories: stories that are handed down in our families, stories and jokes that we hear and retell with small changes, and stories about things that happen to us...

Some of us are professional storytellers, some of us are amateurs, some tell out of choice and some out of necessity,

but we are all storytellers, even if the only stories we tell are stories about why we were late to work this morning."

--Nancy Schimmel, in "Just Enough to Make a Story".

2011 Wintertelling

2011-02-13T05:29:00.000-08:00

What a fantastic variety of stories we heard at this year's Wintertelling!

You will be able to hear them too on CATS TV. Check the Channel 3 schedule for times and dates.

Our guests were welcomed by ladies from the library foundation, the sponsor of the program.

Before the stories began we had to figure out new microphones.

Various tellers warmed up in various ways.
Some with considerable energy.

Some sat in the back watching the audience gather and quietly letting their stories simmer in their minds.

And then it was time for tales...

and your photographer was so intrigued with the wonderful stories that she did not get ANY pictures at all of the telling!

Wintertelling

2011-01-31T14:01:00.000-08:00

Warm up on a winter's evening with traditional tales retold from the heart Friday

Feb. 11, 2011

Monroe Public Library Auditorium

303 E. Kirkwood Ave.

7:30 pm

Festival of Ghost Stories Coming up!

2010-10-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

Do you dare go out in the dark to listen to spooky tales?

An ink-black night with jack-o'-lanterns and fresh cider set the stage for an evening of live storytelling beneath the stars. A Halloween-time tradition for over 30 years, the Festival of Ghost Stories features haunting tales of ghosts and horror that will tingle the spine. Bring a lawn chair or blanket, dress warmly, and avoid the chill ... as seasoned storytellers spin their tales in the dark.

Friday

Oct 22 2010

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Location: Bryan Park

Open to adults, teens, and older school age children. Not appropriate for younger children. In case of inclement weather, the Festival of Ghost Stories will be held at the Monroe County Public Library. For weather-related updates, call the Community Events Hotline at (812) 349-3754.

The Festival of Ghost Stories is a community partnership events sponsored by Bloomington Parks and Recreation, Bloomington Storytellers Guild, and Monroe County Public Library.

Get ready!

2010-09-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

"Something horrible is coming this way...

creeping closer, day by day..."

I tell you, we'd all better have our ghost stories ready!

If you haven't talked with Stephanie about telling at the annual Festival of Ghost Stories, please get in touch with her!

We'll be auditioning on Thursday, October 14 in Room 1B of the Monroe County Main Library at 5:30pm. You can stay a while and hear all the “auditions” (very informal) or just drop in to tell your own tale.

(credit for the quote to Harve Zemach "The Judge")

Annual Fall Picnic

2010-09-12T12:51:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely evening for our gathering in Bryan Park - cool and pleasant.

Besides food and conversation we heard some stories about the Guild's past and a wonderful tale about a dinosaur cat. "Actually," the teller warned "it might be too scary."

It was just right!

Ingathering

2010-08-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

Gather together everyone!
It is time for our annual Ingathering Picnic and Story Swap!

Start the Storytelling Season on September 9th, 5:30, at Bryan Park.

Email the guild to RSVP and find out which shelter house - or check our Facebook Page!

The Story Speaks to Each One

2010-03-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when you tell stories to a whole classroom (or a whole cafeteria) full of children, you focus on a face here or there and you wonder what the experience is like for that child.
Here it is: These pictures are from weekly storytelling sessions with a whole classroom of children.

Isn't it interesting that each child saw only two people?
There is only the individual listener and the storyteller....

and linking them, the story.

Listeners Wanted!

2009-10-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

The time has come! Golden leaves announce that the season for ghost stories is here - It will, of course, be dark and cold at the annual Festival of Ghost Stories. Come prepared for the weather - and listen to the radio or check with the library to see if we have moved indoors. If it is clear, we'll be at Cascades Park, if it rains we'll be in the Monroe County Public Library.
It is this Friday, October 23, stories to begin around 7:30 p.m.

Festival of Ghost Stories Coming Up!

2009-09-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

We are partnering with City Parks and Recreation and for the second year in a row we will be a part of their “Festival of the Falls” in the Lower Cascades Park. The date for our annual Festival of Ghost Stories is Friday, October 23, 7:30-9:00pm.

Anyone who attended or told last year will be pleased to know that the City Parks and Rec. has arranged to have that road closed so that loud cars will not disturb the mood we strive to create.

If you are intersted in telling at the Festival, plan to audition your story on Weds., Oct. 14 4:00-6:00pm in the Children’s Program in at the Main library of the Monroe County Public Library. You are welcome to drop in during those two hours.

It would be ideal if you would email Stephanie Holman at sholman@mcpl.info with your intent to tell, the length of your story, and a brief summary/synopsis of the tale and also let me know what time you can make it to auditions. There are several on our email list that have not told for a long while and we want to invite you to tell again. We miss you and you know who you are! We would love to have some of our old friends back on stage with us as well as some new friends we have just discovered.

Twice -told, storytelling with a translator

2009-09-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

"Art Across the Americas" brought a group of young artists from Guatemala together with kids from Bloomington to work on a mural along the B-Line Trail. When the painting was done, they celebrated with a picnic - and storytelling. Sitting on the lawn beside a small pond, the stories were told with a background of water splashing and birds chirping.
It was interesting working with a translator - figuring out when to pause and how to keep a story flowing with such frequent breaks. The audience reaction was interesting too - first the English speaking half would respond, then after the translation, the Spanish speaking half would join in. The translator had not heard the story before, so there were times when she had to grope for an unfamiliar word. The audience was forgiving and enjoyed the novelty of the experience, as did we.

Farm day

2009-05-11T17:02:00.000-07:00

The old farm is a great place for storytelling, and we're delighted to be part of the traditional "Farm Day" when it opens to hundreds of children.

The old farmhouse, the barns, the fields beyond - all set the scene perfectly.

Early in the morning the storyteller takes a deep breath and mentally runs through stories about chicks and ducklings and piggies.

Here come the buses!

Here are the kids, pouring off the buses!

Now it's time for story after story after story, as each group takes a break to sit on the hay bales and connect the characters in the tales to the live creatures they've just seen and touched.

Spring Stories

2009-04-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

Have you heard the frogs out calling?

They seem to have inspired several tellers lately.

Preschoolers at Ellettsville were entertained by Miss Stephanie's lively puppet rendition of "Jump, Frog, Jump". Everyone was happy when the frog escaped from the basket.

First graders at Highland Park weren't sure about the Korean folktale of the "Little Green Frogs". They liked the sons doing just the opposite of their Mother's wishes, but they were concerned when the Mother died.

'The Wide-mothed Frog" in two different variations entertained both groups.

Do you have a favorite frog story?

Children's Storytelling Workshop

2009-02-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

Pamela will be introducing the world of gardening through stories to children ages 3 and up at Hilltop Garden and Nature Center.
This special event is sponsored by Bloomingfoods Community Outreach.

Saturday, Feb.28

call 812-855-8808 to register or for more information.

Wintertelling Tellers

2009-02-07T07:46:00.000-08:00

It was a lively - and thoughtful - evening of stories at the Monroe County Public Library Auditorium last night. Stories that explored themes of love and fortune and the strange ways of fate, with a little malice and a cup of tea tossed into the mix.

The audience was enthusiastic and well entertained by this collection of skillful storytellers.

Wintertelling

2009-01-28T12:12:00.000-08:00

Wintertelling 2009

is coming up:

Feb. 6

Monroe County Public Library

Auditorium

7:30 p.m.

Hope premieres her Lincoln piece!

2009-01-08T05:35:00.000-08:00

Of the People: Stories and Images of Abraham Lincoln

told by Hope Baugh
In collaboration with the Indiana Historical Society
Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center Frank and Katrina Basile Theater
450 W. Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Sunday, January 18th
4 -6 p.m.
Tickets $10/Advance, $12/Door
Call 317-232-1882 or www.storytellingarts.org/store/category/Tickets

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of our 16th president's birth, Hope Baugh will premiere her original piece Of the People: Stories and Images of Abraham Lincoln as part of the Sharing Hoosier History Through Stories Series presented by Storytelling Arts of Indiana and the Indiana Historical Society.

Hope drew inspiration from Lincoln's unique position as the first president to be widely portrayed via photographs and other visual images. This, she imagines, gave the American people a sense of "ownership" of their President that had not existed before. His humble childhood in a one-room cabin and lack of formal education made him seem truly "of the people" -- an image that lingers even today.

Hope Baugh currently works full-time as a department manager for a public library, and part-time as a freelance storyteller and teacher. This year, she will be teaching a graduate workshop in storytelling for Master of Library Science students at IUPUI, and will serve as an Encore Association judge for community theater in the 2008 - 09 season. She also maintains a blog, http://www.indytheatrehabit.com/, where she reviews several local theater and storytelling performances per week. While not teaching, blogging, judging or performing, Hope enjoys spending time in her garden.

Hope is a long time member of the Bloomington Storytellers Guild.

Listen on-line

2008-11-17T16:22:00.000-08:00

Here's a site to check out:

The Art of Storytelling with Children

http://www.storytellingwithchildren.com/

"A national online community of storytellers hosted by Eric Wolf"

Try listening to some of the audios - available as podcasts or just download to your computer.

Check out the list of guests he's interviewed - you'll recognize a lot of the names there.

Setting a goulish mood

2008-10-31T16:21:00.000-07:00

Oh the fiendish storyteller! To what lengths will she go to create atmosphere?

She will freeze eyeballs, that's what.And float them in Vampire Blood Punchwhich she will gleefully dip out for a ravenous audience.

She will feed them on horrible things, which she will describe in lavish detail.

A few of the audience are hesitant to try such delights
but the rest mob the storyteller. They are delighted to nibble on "graveyard worms" and "brittle bones".

Now they're in the mood for a scary story!

Festival of Ghost Stories

2008-10-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

The weather was perfect for the Festival of Ghost Stories this year. This has been a rare occurrence in the past 30 plus years of the Festival.

The setting sun gilded the tellers as they checked on sound levels.

Mary prepared to gross people out with "Dottie Got Her Liver."

Lisa's chant of "Hobyah! Hobyah!" sounded truely menacing. As the sun left the stage, the audience settled in for an evening of missing body parts, monsters, lost loves, mysterious spirits, treacherous waters, and a fey changeling. They shivered, they started, and they felt by turns melancholy and horrified. Then they all wandered home in the suitably spooky darkness.

Our thanks to the tellers, to the musician and to the MC, to the folks from Parks and Rec, and to the cop who stopped the noisy parade of pickups.

A Halloween Tradition...

2008-10-08T12:33:00.000-07:00

Watch for these posters around town...

2008-10-04T07:07:00.000-07:00

Ginny Richey and her niece and nephew assisting, tells stories regularly at the Preschool Story Time events at the Ellettsville Branch of the Monroe County Public Library.

During this program on "The Ocean" Ginny told a lively version of seaweed soup and had props to assist. She made it sound so good that the children just had to sample a bit!

The season

2008-09-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

You know it's coming...
the season for ghost stories.

The annual Festival of Ghost Stories is early this year - on the 17th of October -

but everything else is the same:
a gathering of storytellers, each with their spookiest tale, out in the dark of Cascades Park, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

If you come to listen, bring something to sit on and a warm blanket to wrap around yourself (and please, don't bring young children - these stories are for teens and adults, maybe your older elementary guys who can take some violence and horror).

If you are a member of the Guild and planning to tell, remember the audition meeting on Oct. 8th!

Fall meeting.

2008-09-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

Gather up your ripe stories and join us this Friday, Sept. 12th, for our first meeting of the year. Check your email for meeting details, or contact our coordinator.

Date set for September meeting

2008-08-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendar! Friday September 12th we will have our first Guild meeting of the year.* Place to be announced, check your email.

*Our year corresponds to the school year.

Spring Dinner 2008

2008-06-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

Friday evening storytellers gathered to celebrate another season of stories. We celebrated new jobs and birthdays. Of course there was storytelling...entertaining the listeners...
and a little business taken care of over a glass of wine and a scrumptious dessert.

Here's to another great year!

June 6th dinner

2008-05-15T07:06:00.000-07:00

Put the date on your calendar:

Friday, June 6, 2008

6:30 p.m.

The annual Guild gathering and dinner.

Email btownstorytellers@gmail.com for details!

Telling tales for Habitat

2008-04-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a group of storytellers at the " Habitat for Humanity Interfaith Build Intergenerational Interfaith Mixer" (and that's a tongue twister for sure!) It was a Saturday afternoon of stories, each one leading to another - spring and birds and rabbits - each tale amusing the children and each one with a little idea tucked inside for the older members of the audience to appreciate.

What storytellers love

2008-02-23T13:55:00.000-08:00

Next to finding the perfect story,

or knowing that you've told it really well...

What storytellers love is knowing that the audience really enjoyed it!

Thanks for the Thank You notes!

After the show

2008-02-10T10:35:00.000-08:00

After the telling, comes the talking.

We find out who was in the audience.

We congratulate each other.

We talk about how each story went.

We compare this telling with past ones.

We breathe a deep sigh that it's over.

We begin to think about what story we'll tell next.

Wintertelling 2008

2008-02-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

Here's the ensemble gathered before the show - missing Hope who had to drive in from Carmel and so came a little later than these folks. What a great evening of storytelling it was! We had short stories and long stories, funny stories and serious ones, traditional folktales and true-life adventures. We went from slave ships to WW II to modern Toyoko, from Africa to West Virginia to the Pacific Northwest.
It was all captured on video by CATS - so you may watch it on your cable TV. Check out their schedule here.

Before the performance

2008-02-09T14:43:00.001-08:00

What do storytellers do while waiting for the show to begin? Behind those closed doors...

Some meditate--

some caffeinate--

some chat...

some act out...

While the patient audience gathers and waits for the doors to open.

Wintertelling this Friday

2008-02-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

The stories will flow despite any ice or snow -

Wintertelling this Friday at the Monroe County Public Library Auditorium starting at 7:30 pm.

Remember the old saying: "If Wintertelling comes, can Spring be far behind?"

"Safe and sound" well delivered

2008-01-29T06:57:00.000-08:00

An enthusiastic audience turned out for Stephanie's World War II program:"Safe and Sound, Letter to Follow". Many veterans of that war and their families were there and their response to the presentation was heartfelt. She mentioned a date, and someone in the dark whispered "Midway", anticipating the tragedy that was coming. There were tears and laughter and a real sense of the time period.Afterwards, fellow storytellers surrounded Stephanie to tell her how much we appreciated the incredible amount of research and work that went into creating this piece.

A new story begins

2008-01-23T15:31:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the newest addition to the BtownStorytellers community:

Adeline Marie

Just beginning her listening days

and already joining her big brother in her mom's stories

And this is why Lisa will not be telling at this year's Wintertelling!

Wintertelling coming up

2008-01-15T07:17:00.000-08:00

Wintertelling: After Hours for Adults
Monroe County Public Library
303 E. Kirkwood Avenue
Bloomington,IN
Auditorium
Traditionally there are stories that could only be told in the winter. Join us for a concert of stories sure to entertain, enlighten, amuse, and warm the heart. This after-hours program is presented by members of the Bloomington Storytellers' Guild who have been featured performers on stage, radio, and television throughout Indiana. Stay for sweets, hot drinks, and a chance to talk with the tellers. For mature audiences.
Please register in advance at 812-349-FACT, but walk-ins also welcome! **Please enter through Kirkwood Doors for this special after hours event.
Friday, February 8, 7:30 PM

SAFE AND SOUND. LETTER TO FOLLOW.

2008-01-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

SAFE AND SOUND. LETTER TO FOLLOW.

Stories of Hoosiers at Home and War during WWII
Sunday, January 27, 2008
In collaboration with the Indiana Historical SocietyPresented by Tom Beattie and Tom & Pat Grabill
Indiana History Center Basile Theater450 W. Ohio St, Indianapolis 4 – 6 p.m.
Tickets $10/Advance, $12/DoorTo order tickets call 317-232-1882

Stephanie Holman came upon this two line telegraph while reading through the archives at the Indiana Historical Society. This wireless “Radiogram” sent home after the attack on Pearl Harbor still speaks to us as do all the letters sent home to Indiana. This storytelling performance presents a fascinating mix of humor and fear revealed in those writings. The letters from soldiers and their families describe both the realities of war on the battle front and the effects of war on home towns. Stories of military life dominate the narrative, from trials in training to close calls in battle, but they also show the soldiers yearning to stay in touch with home by their questions about crops and classmates and a sister’s promising romance.

Stepping into the Holidays

2008-01-04T18:31:00.001-08:00

It was a lovely pre-holiday gathering of the Guild on Dec. 16th. Conversation and cookies and a cup of cheer put us in the mood for tales. Did we plan a theme? No, but one clearly emerged - not one you might have expected for the season - shoes! Our tired feet longed for those comfortable kitten-heeled peep toe shoes in Pamela's story. Brandie combined some Christmas traditions in her tale of the stocking and the shoe. Thanks to all who turned out for our annual December meeting. See you all in January!

An invitation to view "The Storyteller and The Listener Online"

2007-12-15T19:17:00.000-08:00

DOYLESTOWN, Pa., USA -- As a boy growing up in central Pennsylvania. Robin Moore found Christmas and family storytelling so intertwined that he couldn't separate them. Moore offers tips for enrichening holiday traditions of any faith with family storytelling in today's issue of The Storyteller and the Listener Online.
Full graphics version: http://storyteller-and-listener.blog-city.com/robin_moore.htmText-only version: http://storyteller-and-listener-text-only.blog-city.com/robin_moore.htm
The Storyteller and the Listener Online, a noncommercial newsletter, publishes guest essays on the role of story and narrative in peacemaking, healing, bridge building and reconciliation in the community. Propose an essay at healing_stories@mac.com
Holly Stevens, editorThe Storyteller and the Listener Onlinehttp://storyteller-and-listener.blog-city.com/Email: healing_stories@mac.comOak Ridge, North Carolina, USA(336) 643-5947
This announcement is being shared with a storytelling listserv I belong to as well as a carefully selected handful of blog sites that seem to focus on family storytelling traditions during this time of year. I don't expect responses but will gladly reply to anyone who chooses to email me back. -- Holly Stevens

The Mitten

2007-12-11T10:23:00.000-08:00

How did Stephanie fit all those puppet characters into one old mitten? The preschoolers were amazed as first a mouse, then a frog and an owl and a rabbit and a fox and a wolf and a great big bear squeezed inside. They really did go in. We all saw their feet and tails disappear. Then the tiny ladybug came creeeping up....put just one teeeny tiny toe inside.... and.... KABOOM!

Puppets flew out into the audience in all directions! Kids squealed and scrambled to catch them, causing temporary chaos.

It was a hard act to follow, Stephanie.

Porquoi?

2007-12-07T16:40:00.000-08:00

Why is 'possum's tail bare? Ask Patty.

Or the 2nd and 4th graders who've been lucky enough to hear her tell the tale this week!

A Storytelling Gathering

2007-12-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

The Bloomington Storytelling Guild will have its annual holiday gathering on Sunday, December 16th. Check your email for details!

The Search For a Time and a Place to Paint

2007-11-21T17:02:00.001-08:00

Thursday, November 1st, 2007

Stephanie Holman presented her story about three women artists of the Brown County Artists Colony. She was commissioned by the Indiana Historical Center and Storytelling Arts of Indiana to create a program for their "Sharing Hoosier History Through Stories" series. This program was to promote the IHS publication "Skirting the Issue: Indiana's Historical Women Artists."
Stephanie premiered the story in 2004 and has traveled the state telling the 45-minute program at numerous museums and libraries. This presentation on November 1st at the Monroe County Public Library was her final presentation of the story. However, it was filmed by Community Access Television and will be shown regularly on Channel 3.

The Storytelling Fork

2007-11-18T12:29:00.000-08:00

As we gather with family and friends this Thursday, here's a game to get your whole family telling stories. Just click on the link for the "Pass the Talking Fork "game!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

In Print

2007-11-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Pamela Genfell Smith! Her "six postcards from my journey with the academy for biblical storytelling" is the lead article in the November/December issue of The Biblical Storyteller.

On the USchool Stage

2007-10-31T05:38:00.000-07:00

A Halloween treat for the U School community - Patty, Mary, and Ginny (the one behind the camera) telling seasonal stories.

32nd Annual Festival of Ghost Stories

2007-10-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

While Dana prepared to introduce our nine performers, many non-ghost stories were being shared backstage.

You'll be able to see some of the performance on BCAT, and to hear snipets on WFHB. We all enjoyed listening to each other's stories, and seeing how each had developed since our audition.

Patty started the evening out with a story of gruesome graveyard rats, but she ended it with lovely homemade gingerbread and macaroons for all the tellers.

And over the delicious pumpkin ice cream and warm Hallo-wine, we talked over the evening's stories.

What will we remember about this year's Festival?

Maybe the "pink fuzzy boots"? Maybe the eerie true WWII tale? Maybe it will be Lisa's shriek or Christina's growling dog? Perhaps we'll remember that Godfather Death left Josh with an empty hand? Maybe we'll always talk about the time Hope drove all the way around Indy twice to get to Blooomingon (and then walked in one minute before she went on stage - what a trooper!) or maybe it will just be the "alternative ending".

We hope our audience left with some good memories as well.

Festival moves INSIDE

2007-10-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Rain... with more to come...but we'll stay dry inside tonight. The Festival of Ghost Stories tonight will be INSIDE at the Monroe County Public Library, 303 E. Kirkwood Ave, Bloomington.

Enter through the Kirkwood Avenue doors-

Doors open at 7:15.

Eerie Tales at the Knox County Library

2007-10-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the annual Eerie Tales event at the Knox County Library in Vincennes. (Patty was there for the first one, 14 years ago.)
We were the "Professional raconteurs from the Bloomington Storytellers’ Guild" in their publicity. The crowd of 65-70 people gathered on tarps laid over the cold wet lawn in the library courtyard. A giant century-old Tulip Poplar towered over them. A swelling half moon slowly rose in the sky beyond the brick wall enclosing the courtyard. Both Ginny and Patty tried out some new stories as well as telling some old favorites. The audience listened closely, ignoring the trucks revving their engines at the corner and the train whistles that went on and on and on until Patty put them in her story.

Festival of Ghost Stories: Friday, Oct. 26.

2007-10-19T07:21:00.000-07:00

We'll gather at Lower Cascades Park at dusk. Stories begin at 7:30.

An ink-black night with jack-o'-lanterns and fresh cider set the stage for an evening of live storytelling beneath the stars. A Halloween-time tradition for more than 30 years, the Festival of Ghost Stories features haunting tales of ghosts and horror that will tingle the spine. Bring a lawn chair or blanket, dress warmly and avoid the chill as seasoned storytellers spin their tales in the dark hollow at Cascades Park.

Admission to the Festival of Ghost Stories is free for adults, teens and older school-age children. Not appropriate for younger children. In case of rain, the Festival of Ghost Stories will be held at the Monroe County Public Library. For weather-related updates, call the Community Events Hotline at (812) 349-3754.

A community partnership event sponsored by the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, Monroe County Public Library and the Bloomington Storytellers Guild.

Oct. 10 through 14th!

2007-10-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

From one exiting weekend to another - now it's time for the Hoosier Storytelling Festival.
Stephanie reports that if you were planning on seeing Carmen Deedy on Wednesday night (and Stephanie was planning on introducing her!) - expect to see Antonio Sacre instead.
We'll be looking for your comments and reports on the events you attended and, those of you who are performing, how your sessions went!

Time for the National Storytelling Festival!

2007-10-04T04:53:00.000-07:00

Some of us are heading to Jonesborough, Tennessee this weekend for the National Storytelling Festival. It's an event of mythic proportions, and hopefully we'll have some pictures and reports to share afterwards (Right, Stephanie??)

A message from Abbie

2007-09-26T05:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Bloomington friends!

It has been far too long since I've been in touch. As Ghost Stories season is upon us, I think of you more and more. I hope you're all having a good time in Bloomington.

I am having a blast being a librarian--and also being a storyteller. I finally joined the Portland Storytellers Guild in June, right before they went on hiatus for the summer; but now we're starting up again, and we're having some fun. I just got back from a "Stories by the Sea" festival in Newport, OR (paid for by my library district!), with Elizabeth Ellis as one of the three headliners! Woo-hoo! It was a very cozy festival, and Miz Elizabeth is a delight. I wonder if she ever gets tired of being the engine of conversation, since all anyone ever wants to do is listen to her talk...

I'm pretty much the only storyteller in the district, but there is a lot of interest; I just did a storytelling workshop at our all-staff conference that people crowded into, and I got some really positive feedback afterwards. ...

Your very own,
Abbie

Old Friends revisited

2007-09-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

It's fun to see that with new kids, old stories still work.For her Kindergarten classes, storyteller Mary D. helps Joe the Bear and Sam the Mouse get together. Again. And once again, they are going to eat ice cream at 3:00!

More about the Hoosier Storytelling Festival

2007-09-20T07:12:00.000-07:00

Are you planning to go to the Hoosier Storytelling Festival Oct. 10 - 14?

Look for several BSG members there! In fact at 1:00 on Saturday, you'll have two of our members telling:

Pamela Smith will be telling "Paul and Silas in Jail" at theNetwork of Biblical Storytellers tent;

while Hope Baugh will be telling "A Hoosier in Tokyo" on the Indiana Historical Society stage.

"...that is the way it is..."

2007-09-17T13:58:00.001-07:00

We are lonesome animals. We spend all of our life trying to be less lonesome. One of our ancient methods is to tell a story begging the listener to say-and to feel- ‘Yes, that is the way it is, or at least that is the way I feel it.’ You’re not as alone as you thought. —John Steinbeck

Spotted at storytime

2007-09-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

He's trying his best to look terrible, this old troll, as he terrorizes three Billy Goats Gruff...

but the preschoolers just laugh at him.

Hoosier Storytelling Festival coming....

2007-09-10T09:10:00.000-07:00

On October 12 -14, the Hoosier Storytelling Festival will be at Military Park and the Indiana History Center in Indianapolis. Storytellers will feature favorites such as Donald Davis, Carmen Deedy and Deborah Asante.

Bloomington Storyteller, Stephanie Holman will help out as an emcee on occasion. She will also tell a story for Friday night Scary Stories, but the thing she is most looking forward to is her chance to introduce Carmen Deedy on Wednesday night the 10th as her program is called "Love in the Library."

Searching for a story

2007-09-07T17:52:00.001-07:00

The annual Festival of Ghost Stories is coming up - time to find a spooky tale to tell. Lisa is looking at the resources in the Monroe County Public Library to find some ideas for a new story or two.

The Festival will be Friday, October 26th. Email the guild at btownstorytellers@gmail.com if you want more information about the Festival.

Stephanie to perform at MCPL

2007-08-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

“The Search for the Time and a Place to Paint”

As 2007 marks Brown County's celebration of 100 years as an art colony, enjoy this storytelling event that features three women artists. Storyteller Stephanie Holman weaves art and story into a memoir of Ada Walter Shulz, Alberta Rehm Shulz and Marie Goth. Through talent and perseverance, these women found the time to pursue their professions in beautiful “Peaceful Valley.” Their stories explore how their art and lives intersected in remarkable and sometimes scandalous ways. This program was developed in partnership with the Indiana Historical Society and Storytelling Arts of Indiana.

Monroe County Public Library, Auditorium, Thursday, November 1, 7;00-7:45pm
Call 812-349-3228 to register or register online at www.mcpl.info

A Special Storytelling Extravaganza

2007-08-25T12:35:00.000-07:00

The Monroe County Public Library has hosted a monthly "Storyhour Extravaganza" for preschool children for about 35 years.
Here a group of storytellers from the past and present of this program gather to celebrate PC's contributions to it and to wish her lots of telling opportunities in her retirement.

Bloomington Storytellers Guild

"Stories are important"

The Festival of Ghost Stories

Annual Festival of Ghost Stories

Festival of Ghost Stories coming up

Are you missing emails?

And we're off!

Let the Season begin!

The Spoken Word Stage at 4th Street

See you at the Fair

In Print

Song as Story

The True (not magical) Secret

Get them to JUMP

The Storyteller in Motion

The Blue Hole

About the difference between folktale and legend

If you go for a walk with a librarian...

The Summer Story Picnic

Upcoming Summer Picnic and Story Swap

To consider when telling stories of Indiana history

"The Harvest of Language"

A Good Story

Dinner out

The Heirloom Story

The told story

We are all storytellers

2011 Wintertelling

Wintertelling

Festival of Ghost Stories Coming up!

Get ready!

Annual Fall Picnic

Ingathering

The Story Speaks to Each One

Listeners Wanted!

Festival of Ghost Stories Coming Up!

Twice -told, storytelling with a translator

Farm day

Spring Stories

Children's Storytelling Workshop

Wintertelling Tellers

Wintertelling

Hope premieres her Lincoln piece!

Listen on-line

More October stories

Setting a goulish mood

Festival of Ghost Stories

A Halloween Tradition...

The season

Fall meeting.

Date set for September meeting

Spring Dinner 2008

June 6th dinner

Telling tales for Habitat

What storytellers love

After the show

Wintertelling 2008

Before the performance

Wintertelling this Friday

"Safe and sound" well delivered

A new story begins

Wintertelling coming up

SAFE AND SOUND. LETTER TO FOLLOW.

Stepping into the Holidays

An invitation to view "The Storyteller and The Listener Online"

The Mitten

Porquoi?

A Storytelling Gathering

The Search For a Time and a Place to Paint

The Storytelling Fork

In Print

On the USchool Stage

32nd Annual Festival of Ghost Stories

Festival moves INSIDE

Eerie Tales at the Knox County Library

Festival of Ghost Stories: Friday, Oct. 26.

Oct. 10 through 14th!

Time for the National Storytelling Festival!

A message from Abbie

Old Friends revisited