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Tellabration
Nov. 23rd, 2008 08:19 amLast night was Tellabration, an international event of storytelling performances on the same day. I went to the Voices in the Glen event at Kensington Row Bookshop in Maryland. I think it's important to go to events like this, even when I'm not performing, to show support for storytelling.
I got out of the house later than I planned to, there were a few spots of traffic (mostly I-66 to the Beltway, which just seems to get worse and worse) and it took longer than I'd expected to find parking, so I was a little late. That meant I missed the beginning of Bill Mayhew's set. When I arrived, he was telling the walking fish story, which is the sort of thing I think he does well. He told a few other things, but I can't quite remember what. The real surprise was that he was wearing a tie. I don't think any of us have ever seen that before.
He was followed by Ralph and Margaret Chatham, who used the bookstore setting to tell literary tales. Ralph told something from Jack Vance, which just didn't work well for me as oral literature. He followed that with James Thurber's "The Princess and the Tin Box," which was far more successful. Then Margaret told Jane Yolen's "The Cat Bride," which has always been a favorite of mine. (I knew somebody else I know tells it, but only remembered this morning that it's Carol Feeney.) Then Ralph and Margaret told the always delightful "Perfection." (I don't remember the author, alas.)
Ellouise Schoetler was next, with two personal stories. One of them I'd heard before, while the other was new to me. Both were humorous and it was clear she was having fun telling them.
Ann Sheldon told one of Carl Sandburg's Rutabaga stories. It was a somewhat disturbing piece and I can't imagine how anybody could think of this as a children's story. Stylistically, yes, it has a fairy tale form, but the ideas are very adult. She also told Thurber's version of "Little Red Riding Hood," which is another of my long time favorites.
Jane Dorfman, who MC'd, finished off the program with an Irish story. I'll admit I thought the story placement was not ideal, since it was a quieter, more contemplative piece, but I'm not sure where I would have put it in the flow of things. (The whole subject of what order to put things in is complicated, with the universal rule that nobody wants to be either first or last and somebody has to. But I'll write about that some time when I'm organizing an event and herding those cats.)
All in all, it was a lovely event. I am not sure what the exact turnout was, but the room (admittedly a small one) was standing room only. I'd really like to get to that venue more often (Ellouise hosts a regular monthly event there), but it's not very convenient on weeknights.
I got out of the house later than I planned to, there were a few spots of traffic (mostly I-66 to the Beltway, which just seems to get worse and worse) and it took longer than I'd expected to find parking, so I was a little late. That meant I missed the beginning of Bill Mayhew's set. When I arrived, he was telling the walking fish story, which is the sort of thing I think he does well. He told a few other things, but I can't quite remember what. The real surprise was that he was wearing a tie. I don't think any of us have ever seen that before.
He was followed by Ralph and Margaret Chatham, who used the bookstore setting to tell literary tales. Ralph told something from Jack Vance, which just didn't work well for me as oral literature. He followed that with James Thurber's "The Princess and the Tin Box," which was far more successful. Then Margaret told Jane Yolen's "The Cat Bride," which has always been a favorite of mine. (I knew somebody else I know tells it, but only remembered this morning that it's Carol Feeney.) Then Ralph and Margaret told the always delightful "Perfection." (I don't remember the author, alas.)
Ellouise Schoetler was next, with two personal stories. One of them I'd heard before, while the other was new to me. Both were humorous and it was clear she was having fun telling them.
Ann Sheldon told one of Carl Sandburg's Rutabaga stories. It was a somewhat disturbing piece and I can't imagine how anybody could think of this as a children's story. Stylistically, yes, it has a fairy tale form, but the ideas are very adult. She also told Thurber's version of "Little Red Riding Hood," which is another of my long time favorites.
Jane Dorfman, who MC'd, finished off the program with an Irish story. I'll admit I thought the story placement was not ideal, since it was a quieter, more contemplative piece, but I'm not sure where I would have put it in the flow of things. (The whole subject of what order to put things in is complicated, with the universal rule that nobody wants to be either first or last and somebody has to. But I'll write about that some time when I'm organizing an event and herding those cats.)
All in all, it was a lovely event. I am not sure what the exact turnout was, but the room (admittedly a small one) was standing room only. I'd really like to get to that venue more often (Ellouise hosts a regular monthly event there), but it's not very convenient on weeknights.
