Friday, August 31, 2012

Education Highway:Storytelling Concerts, Workshops and More!

List your storytelling events here for free, no strings attached. It will also be listed in my
bi-monthly newsletter. International events are most welcome as are events taking place beyond 2012.

Please follow the detailed instructions at the bottom of this page. and email your event to me with Education Highway listed in the subject heading at storybug@aol.com .

ONGOING SERIES

Needham, MA Stories in Progress -second Monday of every month - An open story laboratory with innovative coaching technique for works in progress. Listeners also participate in improvisational responses to the stories. Contact cindy@cindymarshall.com , call 781-444-1986 or see http://www.cindymarshall.com/calendar.html .
2013 Events

February 3, 2013 Berkeley, California - Workshop: Building Stories from Scratch by Tim Ereneta, to be held at a private residence. Address will be provided once you have registered. 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.. Presented by Storytelling Association of Califronia. For registration (required) http://storyscratch.eventbrite.com . For more informaton contact Tim Ereneta at *510) 931-3194 or email at tim.ereneta@gmail.com .

February 8-11, 2013 Brattleboro Vermont - 7th annual Springboards for Stories workshop held at Kipling's historic home. It is designed to help individuals develop their own personal stories and is open to all, regardless of experience. Jackson Gillman, jxsong@comcast.net, 508-295-0886. Details and testimonials on http://www.jacksongillman.com/public_html/workshops.html

April 5-7, 2013 South Portland, Maine Sharing the Fire: Northeast Storytelling Conference,, More information will be posted in the future. Visit www.lanes.org

April 11-14, 2013 Beaufort, South Carolina - BIG Story Fest & Liars Competition, headlined by Bil Lepp, a recipient of the Storytelling Circle of Excellence Award. The BIG Story Fest is an esteemed gathering of those who shoot the breeze with the greatest of ease, of the lying liars and the audiences who laugh with them, including workshops, children’s events, special theater events, concerts, and audience participation activities. A project of ARTworks, the arts council of Beaufort, Port Royal and the Sea Islands. www.artworksinbeaufort.org, 843-379-2787.

April 26–28, 2013 Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Northlands Storytelling Conference. More information will be posted in the future. Visit http://www.northlands.net

June 7-14, 2013 Nairobi, Kenya SIGANA International Storytelling Festival, various venues.For information contact: Zamaleo Arts and Culture Trust, http://www.zamaleoact.org . For dates Kristin Pedemonti performs, www.storytellerkp.com
August 1-4, 2013 National Storytelling Conference, Richmond, Virginia. More information will be posted in the future. Visit http://www.storynet.org

RADIO

Here Women Tell. We air a new show every 1st and 3rd Monday each month. Each show is up for two weeks and then it goes into our archives. www.herewomentell.com

Alamosa, Colorado - Children’s Hour on KRZA 88.7 FM radio or streaming on the net at www.krza.org 5:00-6:00 p.m.

Katy’s Tales Revisited – Produced and hosted by Colorado storyteller Katy Little. Storytelling programs from the past interspersed with new stories, reflections and comments from storytellers around the country. It airs on the 4^th Sunday of the month from 6-7 pm (Mountain Standard time) on KRFC FM 88.9 from Fort Collins, CO. You can STREAM the WEB “live” at www.krfcfm.org. Click on “Listen Live” in the top right corner. For more information contact Katy at katy@katystales.com, www.katystales.com or call 970-613-1197.

Call for Storytellers: Yes, your great stories, well told and well recorded, can be on internet radio. We have listeners in 101 countries and are rated 29th out of 434 spoken word stations. Our DJ is Buck P. Creacy. Visit http://live365.com/stations/storytellingradio/

SUBMISSION DIRECTIONS

IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to the large number of submissions I receive please follow the directions and format rules below or your submission(s) will be disregarded. I will no longer contact you to alert you of a problem with your format as it has become far too time consuming.If submitted correctly I will email you that it has been received and that it will be included. I hope you understand and will continue to submit your wonderful venues. ** Before you submit take a look at the list above to see if the event has already been included. Everything is listed in chronological order.

Please DO NOT use abbreviations; this is an international list.

Examples:

Massachusetts not MA.

Avenue not Ave.

Please DO NOT send me flier's to edit or anything that needs rewording, spell checking or rearranging to fit the format.
Please include year of your event.
Submissions must be in paragraph form, NOT a bulleted list.
Only workshops, conferences, festivals, classes or retreats. NO personal performances or personal conference workshops.

Required informaton:

Date(s) of venue

Location: City and state (No abbreviations and list country if outside of the United States.

Two sentence synopsis describing venue.

Contact information. i.e. name and website, email or phone

Font: Times Roman size 12 black

Please do not submit flyer's to edit.

Here is an example of the correct format:

March 3, 2012 Urbana, Illinois - Workshop: Building Oral Narrative: The Practical Construction of Effective Stories for Telling by Janice Del Negro at the Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory. 8:30 AM. Part of the Museum’s annual WorldFest multicultural performance celebration. For registration (required) or information, contact Kim Sheahan at 217-244-3355 or ksheahan@illinois.edu .

Incorrect format:

Date: March 3, 2012

Location: Urbana, IL

Description: Building Oral Narrative: The Practical Construction of Effective Stories for Telling by Janice Del Negro at the Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory. 8:30 AM. Part of the Museum’s annual WorldFest multicultural performance celebration

Contact information: For registration (required) or information, contact Kim Sheahan at 217-244-3355 or ksheahan@illinois.edu .

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Swimming Towards the End of Summer: Oceans and Whales

The Sea Fairy
by Warwick Goble

Are you looking for some fun additions to finish off your summer programs with the little ones? Here are some songs, fingerplays and story stretches about whales and the ocean to help cool them off during the last hot days of summer!

There are also additional links for two separate blog posts with more fun and some lesson plans, games and activities for the older children.

SONG

A Sea Song (Sung to the tune of The Wheels on the Bus)

The waves at the beach go up and down, up and down, up and down.
The waves at the beach go up and down all day long.

The lobsters on the beach go snap, snap, snap, snap, snap, snap, snap, snap, snap.
The lobsters on the beach go snap, snap,snap all day long.

The crabs on the beach go back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
The crabs on the beach go back and forth all day long.

The clams on the beach will open and shut, open and shut, open and shut.
The clams on the beach will open and shut all day long.

The jellyfish they go wibble, wobble, wibble,wibble, wobble, wibble, wibble, wobble, wibble.
The jellyfish they go wibble, wobble, wibble all day long.

FINGERPLAYS

A Whale Is Not as Small as Us

A whale is not as small as us (shake head and finger)
Most whales are bigger than a bus! (stretch arms out wide)
A whale is not like a fish in the sea (shake head and finger)
A whale breathes air like you and me.(take deep breath)
A whale can't walk upon the ground (shake head and finger)
A whale must swim to get around (make swimming motions)
A whale is a mammal just like you and me, (nod head and point to self and children)
But his home is in the deep blue sea! (make wave motions with hand)

I Walked to the Beach

I walked to the beach, (Swing arms and walk in place)
And what did I see? (Put hands over eyes, looking)
A lot of little fish, (Place hands together, wiggle)
Looking at me! (Point to self)
I jumped into the water, (Jump)
And splashed all around. (Put palms down; make splashing motions.)
The fish swam away, (Place hands together; wiggle)
And didn't make a sound! (Put fingers to lips)

STORY STRETCH

Ocean Motion (To the tune of Hokey Pokey)

You put your crab claws in,
You take your crab claws out,
You put your crab claws in,
And you snap them all about....
You do the ocean motion and you turn yourself around,
That's what it's all about! (Make wave motions with the hands as you turn around)

Swish your eel's tail in..out....sting it all about
Show your shark's teeth...bite them all about
Put your star fish up......down......flop it all around (spread hand wide to be the star fish)
Reach your octopus arms out..in....hug them all around (hug self)
Put your clown fish stripes on...off...swim all around.

The Whales (To the tune of I'm a Little Teapot)

I'm a humpback whale,
I'm very strong.
I leap about
and sing a song.
I like to eat my fill
In the Northern Sea.
But in the winter,
South I flee.

I am a beluga,
I'm all white.
From head to tail
I'm quite a sight.
You can hear me singing
Way up north,
Playing and swimming
Back and forth.

I'm a mighty orca
Black and white.
In the sea I'm a beautiful sight.
I'm not very big, but I am sleek.
I hunt for my food
Cause I have teeth.

Another blog post connected to my lapsit program with songs and fingerplays.

Let’s Swim with the Fishes!

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2012/05/lets-swim-with-fishes.html

And another to celebrate World Water Day.

Water, Water Everywhere

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2012/03/water-water-everywhere.html

GAMES, ACTIVITIES AND LESSON PLANS

Mr. Donn.org – Ocean information and lots of links here to keep you and your students swimming along for the year.

http://geography.mrdonn.org/oceans.html

Karen Chace 2012 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Fighting Demons with Compassion

Goddess Durga
18th Century, Author Unknown

Fighting Demons With Compassion
By Gaye Sutton © 2012

It was autumn; the time of year that one of my favourite poets calls the ‘sacred, sensual, significant time of the year’ ¹ The trees were blazing colour, the sky grey and the harvest almost over. I’d been telling stories at the Addictions Centre for three weeks, encouraging the women to paint and draw afterwards. Some of them loved to paint and some struggled with their confidence. But they all loved hearing stories. The mornings were fun; they were an upbeat bunch, the women the Addiction Centre staff called their ‘chronics.’

But that fourth week; the atmosphere was dull and flat, everyone looked morose especially Janie and her mates. The morning check-in took a long time. Janie had ‘relapsed’ at work over the weekend. She sat with her blonde head bowed; her small frame huddled into the corner of the couch, her voice almost a whisper as she told us about the temptation, her attempts to resist and the caving in.

During morning tea in the kitchen, talk turned to the hopelessness they all felt about ever losing the label chronic.

“They [the staff], don’t expect that we’ll ever leave this group and I’m not sure I believe we will either,” one said and several heads nodded. I leaned against the bench, remembering my despair about what I thought of as the impending end of the world and our apathy about it. I’d begun collecting re-creation stories, stories of hope to sustain myself and it seemed to me, that this was a moment for one of these.

Once everyone was seated on couches and chairs again I stood and began my story…”The world stood poised on the brink of destruction once before.

Rivers dried up, plants refused to grow. People starved. There was war everywhere. Slaughter prevailed. Dancing stopped, even singing was forgotten. The asuras, the demons, were loose, raging unchecked across the world, drunk with destruction…”²

It’s a myth about the cosmic battle between Durga, who rode a lion out of a column of fire that stretched from the sky down to the top of the Himalayas, and the many, many demons she had to fight to save the world. A battle so fierce ; “…oceans boiled, the sky stretched thin, the mountains shook…”

A powerhouse tale of an alliance between many of the Hindu goddesses and a reminder that the last fight is one we must win alone. The atmosphere, when I finished, was electric and the women moved eagerly towards the art materials on the table and worked in deep silence.

Afterwards, I asked each woman to tell us the story of her images, as I held them up and responded to each story by personalising the image. Janie’s painting was of black mountains, covered in snow. A huge column of fire stretched from green foothills to the heavens. Durga stood in the flames, but her feet were planted firmly in the green earth.

“She’s got her feet on the ground and she’s in the flames, but fighting her way through, to save her world.” Janie said.

I held the painting up to her and said, “This is you Janie, grounded in the earth and fighting the fire to save your world.” It was a powerful moment and one that Janie referred to often in the weeks that followed.

We moved back to the couches where I told a personal story about my discovery of Kuan Yin, the Mother of Compassion in Buddhism, which begins with a powerful meditation recorded in Jon Blofield’s book: ‘In Search Of The Goddess of Compassion’.

As the story ended, a discussion began; about spirituality as opposed to religiosity, their antipathy to the Twelve Step Programme because of finding a male God unacceptable. It was a turning point. Several of the women joined their local AA groups, taking feminine representations of the divine with them to meetings. It helped them stop resisting notions of the divine. Some of them adopted Kuan Yin as a mother archetype and used her to make contact with their compassion for themselves. When my stint at the service finished some had been sober longer than ever before.

1. Dinah Hawken. Writing Home

2. China Galland, The Bond Between Women :A Journey to Fierce Compassion

Gaye Sutton is a storyteller, Child & Family Therapist and Celebrant living under mountains in New Zealand on a small organic farm with her beloved Michael. She likes to weave and spend time with her delightful children and grandchildren She is currently the Convenor of Glistening Waters Festival of Storytelling Inc. and seeking committee members and willing souls to make another festival in New Zealand in the future.

She loves the way mythology; “informs and enlivens our daily lives,” and is always looking ‘for the links. Gaye can be found at www.storyweaver.co.nz or on her blog http://storyweaversjournal.wordpress.com/ .

Gaye Sutton is a guest blogger for Karen Chace and Catch the Storybug blog. All rights to this article belong to Gaye. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without her expressed, written permission. Of course, if you wish to link to the article Facebook or Twitter please feel free to do so. If you would like to be a Guest Blogger contact Karen at Storybug@aol.com for the details.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The Four Friends - A Bhutan Folktale

The Four Harmonious Friends
by Ella Brewer

Last week my niece Hayley called to read me a story she wrote. She initially read this story in a folktale book and loved it so much she wrote her own adaptation, just like storytellers do with the tales they love.

Hayley will be entering the second grade in September. She has been exposed to storytelling since she was in kindergarten as she attends the same school where I have directed a storytelling troupe for ten years. Her older brother Brad was part of the troupe for two years so she is very excited about becoming a storyteller herself.

I promised Hayley I would post her version on my blog so my colleagues could delight in her work. I have also added a link to a longer version of the story and some additional websites to whet your storytelling appetites. If you have a moment, please leave a note for Hayley in the comment section at the bottom of the blog. I know she will be delighted to hear your words of encouragement.

The Four Friends
by Hayley

One day a peacock planted a little seed. Along came a rabbit. She asked, “Can I help?”
“Yes”, said the peacock. So the rabbit and watered the seed.

Along came a monkey. He asked, “Can I help?”
“Yes,” said the rabbit. “Please feed the seed.”

Along came an elephant. She asked, “Can I help?”
“Yes,” said the monkey. “Please watch the seed.”

So the elephant watched the seed. A little plant grew into a big tree. Big red apples grew on the tree. “I cannot reach the apples ,” cried the elephant.

“I can help,” said the monkey. He jumped onto the elephants back. “I cannot reach the apples,” cried the monkey.
“I can help,” said the rabbit. She jumped on monkeys back. “I cannot reach the apples.”

“I can help,” said the peacock. He jumped onto the rabbits back.” Now we can all have apples!”

You may read a much longer version of the story, The Four Hamonious Friends, from the Jataka Tales at this link:
http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=40,1531,0,0,1,0

It is said that wherever a picture of the Four Harmonious Friends is displayed, the ten virtues will increase, the minds of all will become harmonious, and many auspicious events will occur.

The animals are representations of Lord Buddha himself and his close advocates: the bird is Buddha himself, the rabbit is Sheribu (Shari Putra), the monkey Mou-Gelgi-Bu (Mugyalyana), and the elephant Kingau (Ananda). The painting teaches most of the Bhutanese values of etiquette like respect for elders, cooperation, and generosity. http://www.bhutantravelportal.com/miscellaneous/four_friends.php

ADDITIONAL STORIES

Jataka Tales - Collected by Ellen C. Babbitt, 1912.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/jt/index.htm

More Jataka Tales Collected by Ellen C. Babbitt, 1922.

http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php3?author=babbitt&book=morejataka&story=_contents

The Jataka Tales – Twelve Tales Collected by D. L. Ashliman
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/jataka.html

* The artwork at the top left of the blog is the original work of Ella Brewer of New Zealand. She graciously granted me permission to use it in this post. Please take a moment to visit her site and view her other beautiful pieces of art. http://www.pureview.co.nz

Karen Chace 2012 ©

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Send Your Senses Soaring!

Allegory of the Five Senses
by Gérard de Lairesse, 1668

Five Minute
Creativity Boost
by Monica Davis
© 2012

What is creativity? By definition it is: “the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns...and create [bring into being] meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations.” We humans love to create...and recreate; to bring forth and nurture originality as if it were our precious child; to push the boundaries of “Why?” and ask, “Why not?”

Have you tasted the stroke of midnight? Heard fruit ripening on the vine? Ever held a shooting star in the palm of your hand? Smelled tomorrow? Seen the fragrance of a rose?

The logical part of our brain says: “Not possible”; “Doesn't exist”; “Can't do it”; “Human senses don't work that way.”. But the creative part of our brain rises to the challenge and attempts the seemingly impossible: “Stroke of midnight? Hmm, rich, decadent, tangy...delicious!”

Five Minutes, Five Senses!

A simple 5-minute exercise may boost your creativity, bring clarity to your thoughts, open your imagination, and yes, aid memory. The exercise is done in 4 steps. Focus your attention on each individual sense (taste, sight, touch, smell, hearing) one at a time, and fully engage in that particular sense before moving on to the next. (Eyes may be open or closed.)

Step 1: Experience familiar sensations.

Taste

Taste cold, juicy watermelon
Chocolate melting in your mouth
Bite into a sour lemon

Sight

Watch a beautiful sunset
See the smiling face of a happy child
Watch a bird fly across the sky

Touch

Pet the soft fur of a kitten
Walk barefoot along a sandy beach
Make a snowball with your bare hands

Smell

Inhale the aroma of freshly brewed coffee
Smell a pine forest
Smell an ocean breeze

Hear

Listen as a distant train whistle grows louder, then fades away
Hear a clock strike five o'clock
Hear the sound of raindrops on a tin roof

Step 2: Apply all five senses to a single experience; such as baking bread.

Knead the dough with your hands
Smell the bread baking in the oven
See the golden color of the freshly baked loaf
Hear the crunch of the crust as you bite into it
Taste the flavors as you savor a slice spread with melting butter

Step 3: Experience each sense through obscure and unusual combinations. This allows the creative side of the brain to join in, trying to answer a riddle. (Don't get hung up or struggle; just go with whatever comes and move on. With practice, your creative brain will know what to do.) For example:

Taste the air inside a bubble
Walk along the red stripe of a rainbow
Hear wax shine
Smell square
See an echo in a canyon

Step 4: Mix up your bread baking senses. For example:

See the crunch of the crust
Smell the ingredients into forming a dough
Taste the color of the finished loaf
Hear the flavor of melting butter spread on a warm slice
Touch the aroma of the baking loaf

A gifted storyteller moves an audience through all senses: hearing, sight, touch, smell and taste to create a truly satisfying and magical experience. Heightening the senses gives the brain more avenues for memory recall; no longer relying solely on rote data filing, but recalling feelings, sensations and associations.

From once upon a time, to happily ever after is just five senses away.

© 2012 Monica Davis
About the author: Monica Davis is an accomplished writer, editor, speaker and creative consultant. She is the author of the soon to be released non-fiction book, “Wisdom of the Toga: Mythic Patterns That Shape Our Lives”. For more information, please visit her website at: www.wisdomofthetoga.com

Monica Davis is a guest blogger for Karen Chace and Catch the Storybug blog. All rights to this article belong to Monica. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without her expressed, written permission. If you would like to be a Guest Blogger contact Karen at Storybug@aol.com for the details.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Grandparents - Adding Richess to Our Lives

Grandfather's Favourites
by Arthur John Elsley, 1861

Although I have written about Grandparent’s Day in the past it carries a special significance for me this year. First, it falls on September 9, my son Christopher’s birthday, and second, he and his beautiful wife Stephanie will grace me with my first grandchild in October.

My son has been blessed with the most amazing grandparents. They continue to add a richness and dimension to his life that could not have come from anyone else. Because of this close relationship he has grown into a young man who respects and appreciates his elders.

I have learned so much from watching them and I hope I will be the same positive influence in my grandchild's life as they have been in Christopher's. I am so excited to greet my own grandchild in a few months. I can’t wait to hold him in my arms and tell him story after story.

Here are some new tales and activities to help you celebrate and honor the elder’s in our lives, both past and present.

STORIES

How Master Rabbit Went Fishing - Micmac

http://tinyurl.com/9abmmmh

Grandfather’s Eyes – Czechoslovakia

http://tinyurl.com/9t78pbo

Old Grandpa Money Rock - Hmong

http://tinyurl.com/99y237z

The Devil and his Grandmother
http://www.familymanagement.com/literacy/grimms/grimms95.html

The Dragon and His Grandmother - German

http://tinyurl.com/8lgx2s6

The Merchant of Seri - Jakata