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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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!

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!

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

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

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

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..."

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

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....

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

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

“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

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.