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Papa
Joe ~ Travel
Notes
From: Papa Joe
To: Storytell
Subject: Tour Notes #13
Date: Saturday, July 19, 1997 11:37 AM
July 10th - 12th, 1997 Michigan Storyteller's Festival, Flint, MI
I arrived at the Flint Public Library just before Sunrise and
manage to get some much needed sleep. I even woke up in time to
tell at the Kiwanis Club's Luncheon. Cynthia Stilley is my host
and the Coordinator of the festival. I'm staying in the Library
parking lot. The Festival Tent is on the other side of the
Library. This is my first Story Festival outside New England and
I must say I am pleased to be a part of it. First of all, the
Festival is free: workshop, performances, and swaps. Secondly,
the festival has a history: this is the 17th year. Mostly, it has
continuity. The staff knows what it is doing and works hard to
improve every year. They don't keep all the performers on site,
but provide out reach programs to make sure the folks who can't
come to the Library can still enjoy the featured tellers.
This year, my friends Len Cabral from Rhode Island and Tom
Weakley from Vermont were two of the three featured tellers. We
had a good laugh about how three New Englanders managed to get
together in the Michigan Festival. The third featured teller was
Kathryn Windham. I was hired as the Master of Ceremonies.
I must say being MC was really difficult. Getting up on a stage
with such an excellent family audience and not being able to tell
stories is contrary to my nature. I did do some warm ups before
the Friday night show. I hate to see the kids sitting around
waiting with nothing to do. And I also manage to get a slot at
the story swap, so it's not like I didn't get to tell at all. The
really difficult part was being 'on' all the time. I'm used to
working hard and burning up all my energy in an hour or two of
performance. As MC, I need to pace myself for a 14 hour day. By
Saturday afternoon, I was starting to lose words. Yikes! Went to
introduce folks and I couldn't remember their last name. Even Tom
and Len's. So instead of staying for the Saturday swap, I went
off site for a salad. A couple of hours of break and my brain
returned to normal.
The festival staff is great and they take good care of us. Aside
from paying our expenses, we were taken to restaurants whenever
we needed a meal and each of us were assigned someone to insure
nothing caused us any inconvenience. At Sharing the Fire in
Boston, we called them angels. Mine was LoiS. :) So much fun
having a Storytell person for an angel. LoiS thought a devil
might be more appropriate. I really had to thank her though.
There were times when Tasha Tripod wanted to stroll, but I needed
to be working. LoiS took her to her favorite waste lots and
watering holes.
Tom Weakley is a traditional Northern New England teller. He'll
take any tale and it'll come out as if it happened in his home
town. He is very careful to give his sources at the end of each
tale though. The source notes come out in a patter of "you
can do this too." Just about the time of the Virtual Story
Swap on Storytell, Tom told the story of the pickpockets and the
midwife's wedding ring. <Twilight Zone Theme Song> Very
strange that you folks on Storytell were enjoying the same story.
Tom's of course was set in Southern Vermont.
Len Cabral has a style very similar to mine. I have to be very
care watching him. I could tell his stories using his voices and
body language without even trying. I should ask him if it works
the other way around. One of the tools I use to create the
rapport with an audience is mirroring. For those that don't know
this term, it is copying the postures of the people you talk
with. To me it is automatic, but Len and I are so close already,
I have to work at not sounding like him days after we've talked.
Len needs to be seen to be appreciated. His joy is the joy of his
listeners. He is a contemporary US American teller with few
peers.
Kathryn Windham was a new teller to me. I'd never heard her
before. What a woman! What a storyteller! She tells (among other
things) true ghost stories. She has a quiet presents that
commands listening. And a confidences that commands respect. I
loved her from the moment I met her and would love to sit at her
feet and listen to anything she wanted to say.
During her last telling of the festival, I watched something that
shows the power of story. It was hot and a bit muggy in the tent.
We had opened as many of the flaps to let in fresh air, but there
was no breeze. As Kathryn told her stories, I could see the heat
was effecting her. Her face grew red and sweat was dripping down
her neck. It looked like she was wilting like a delicate flower
in the desert sun. I was frightened that she might faint on
stage. I kept hoping that she'd turn and drink the water I had
left for her, but she just kept on telling.
After thirty minutes, she began a story about her aunt. As she
told the tale, the air changed. I could feel a fresh cool breeze
and smell the scent of spring flowers. Kathryn seemed to grow
younger and stronger before our eyes. It was incredible. There
was no breeze, nor any spring flowers except in the story. But we
were all affected. Sunwolf and Fran would have loved to watch the
magic. Talk about story trance. Kathryn walked off the stage as
fresh as a young girl on a Spring morning and her glass of water
sat untouched.
One of my favorite parts of the festival is the Michigan
Showcase. Five of the story groups in the state each send a
representative to tell at the festival. It lends a great
diversity in talent and style to the show. I missed the
children's tellings. They were done in the library while I was
busy in the tent. I heard some great things about it though.
Maybe next time I come, I'll be able to see them.
There was a sign translator, Felicia Skinner. She needs to stop
pretending she's a translator and start telling on her own. She's
a marvel and had to work to not upstage the performers. As
graceful as a dancer she was. To watch her was to understand the
story and there were times when it seemed that the teller was
translating for her. She's very young and lacks confidence in her
abilities, but there is no lack to her talent. If I ever share a
stage with her for story, I'll bring her to my side as an equal
and not pretend she's a shadow. I think we could do a great
tandem telling dancing side by side.
All in all it was a great festival with very little room for
improvement. If you ever get a chance, go and enjoy it. I met
lots of nice people, some of whom were travelers, who come every
year and picnic on the lawn. It's a great family weekend.
Pax & Amicitia,
Papa Joe
In the Vardo, On the road, USA
Papa
Joe ~ Travel
Notes
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