VASA SATURDAY STORYTELLING SERIES

WORKSHOPS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2010

Stories, Spanish, Songs, Olé

What better tool is there for foreign language acquisition and greater understanding of other cultures than stories and music? Stories are a fun way for people to learn new vocabulary in a foreign language and to gain an understanding of other cultures in an engaging manner. And music always makes learning more fun. In this workshop Katie Ross (the storyteller) and Otto Ross (her musician husband) will share ideas of what works in programs with the goal of including culture and Spanish (or any other foreign language). The couple will demonstrate what they have found works by sharing snippets of music and stories that they have performed in the past. A bibliography of age-appropriate sources, songs, and activities will be distributed.

Skill level: Storytellers and educators of all levels

Age/Grade: adults

Want to Tell A Story? Beginner Basics for Children: 10-11:30 with Merrilee Pallansch

Students enrolled in this course will discover how to tell a story by making one together using fun games and great imagination.

Skill level: Beginners

Age/Grade: 8-12 years

Story Coaching: 10-11:30 With Linda Goodman

You can never hear your story the first time. Let the coach and your peers help you understand how we hear it. This is perfect for beginners, or experienced tellers with a story in progress. Bring a tale for telling and feedback (fifteen minutes for both, giving time for ~ six tellers) or just come to hear. Listeners are especially welcome; some of the best stories at a storytelling event are heard at coaching sessions. Prerequisite: ability to check your ego at the door.

Building “Suspense” into Your Story: 1-2:30 with Linda Fang

Since the ability to make your audience laugh has been considered one of the most important skills for a storyteller, the ability to build “suspense” seems to be widely ignored. In fact the skill to build “suspense” in your telling is no less important that producing laughter. If you can make your audience anticipate that something is about to happen, and keep guessing what it is, you are a winner. In this workshop Linda Fang introduces the way to plant seeds of anticipation into a seemingly simple “not much is happening” story. Participants will also participate in the “planting seeds” exercise.

Skill level: Storytellers of all levels (Beginner-Professional)

Age/Grade: 15-adult

Story Coaching: 1-2:30 with Lynn Ruelhmann

You can never hear your story the first time. Let the coach and your peers help you understand how we hear it. This is perfect for beginners, or experienced tellers with a story in progress. Bring a tale for telling and feedback (fifteen minutes for both, giving time for ~ six tellers) or just come to hear. Listeners are especially welcome; some of the best stories at a storytelling event are heard at coaching sessions. Prerequisite: ability to check your ego at the door.

Skill level: Storytellers of all levels (Beginner-Professional)

Age/Grade: teen-adult

Enrollment: 6 tellers (8 additional story listeners welcome)

Storytelling Basics for Beginners: Bring out the Story in You 2:45-4:15 with Jane Dorfman

This beginners’ workshop will help you find your way to telling stories. We'll learn how to choose stories, different ways to learn them, and have some fun practicing. The class will come away with a couple of stores under their belts.
"To become a storyteller--tell stories. To become a better storyteller--tell more stories."--Papa Joe

Skill level: Beginners

Age/Grade: 15-adult

Enrollment: 30

Story & Business Swap: 2:45-4:15 with Linda Goodman & Barbara Effron

Come share a story and learn about the nuts and bolts of the storytelling business. The first hour will be a time for swapping tales. Have a storytelling biz question? Longtime professional tellers, Linda Goodman and Barbara Effron will lead a discussion on the business side of things -what works, what doesn’t, how to get started. Tellers who want to tell are to bring a short 5-8 minute story to share. Both storytellers and story listeners are welcome. You won’t want to miss this tale-tastic event and pick up some practical business tips too.

Skill level: Storytellers of all levels (Beginner-Professional)

Age/Grade: teen-adult

Enrollment: 40

The VASA Storytelling Concert

Saturday, November 6, 2010

7:00-8:30 (in the Art Gallery) with MC Barbara Effron

Tellers: Megan Hicks, Bill Mayhew, Denise Bennett, and Linda Fang

Break: refreshments provided by VASA members

9:00-10:00 Open Mic with MC Gary Lloyd

Ticket prices: $12 $10 for VASA members and children who can listen like adults

The Saturday All Day Pass (includes the evening concert)

$87 or $80 VASA members

Tellers Information: See Next Page

MEGAN HICKS

With equal measures of talent and charisma, Megan Hicks captivates audiences of all ages and all walks of life with her unique take on the storyteller's art. A favorite of audiences throughout the Mid-Atlantic States, she performs for schools libraries, festivals, retirement communities, hospices and professional conferences. Storytelling has taken her from juvenile detention centers to the FBI Academy, from Australia to Latin America and home again. Tonight, from her program from grownups titled Gutsy Broads, Megan is delighted to bring you "The Bob Mapplethorpe Memorial Condom Wallet --  A Love Story" about how sometimes you have to take off your lady-like white lace gloves and adopt a bare knuckle approach to courtship and romance.

Bio: Denise Bennett weaves story and music together with voice and harp. Whether telling to preschoolers or to elders, in an art gallery or a church, her traditional and original stories delight audiences everywhere. She is a selected artist for the Creative Arts Program of Fairfax County, VA and has been a presenter and featured performer for the Virginia Storytelling Association Gathering, as well as the LAUGHS and the Williamsburg Storytelling Festival.  Her one woman show for which she wrote both the script and the musical score, "The Hearts True Scale" has been performed in theaters and other venues in both Virginia and Maryland.  Master Storyteller Elizabeth Ellis says of her:  Denise Bennett is a storyteller and a musician of exceptional talent. Her work is timeless, and flawless. Her work reminds us of the love that dwells in the deep heart's core.

Linda has performed at the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, the Smithsonian, National Theatre, Round House Theatre and many other places around the country. She was a featured teller at the Corn Island International Storytelling Festival, Toronto International Storytelling Festival, the Graz Erzhalt International Storytelling Festival in Austria, and in Germany. She has had several television and radio appearances. Her book The Ch'i-lin Purse, a collection of ancient Chinese stories, is the winner of the 1996 Storytelling World Tellable Tale Award, and several stories from the collection has been reprinted in American textbooks. In September 1998, Linda won the title of "The National Storyteller of the Year". Her audiocassette tape “The Ch’i-lin Purse” won the 2001 Parents’ Choice Award. Her CD “Tales from Ancient China” won the 2006 Parents’ Choice Award. In 2004 Linda received Sole Theatrical Performer Award from the Maryland State Arts Council.

Linda is a co-founder of Telling Moments, a brand-new storytelling theatre dedicated to presenting top quality storytelling shows and storytelling education programs to Maryland.

Bill Mayhew, a longtime member of Voices in the Glen Storytelling Guild, has been telling stories all over the place from campfires to the Kennedy Center, birthday bashes to Voice of America, and colleges to the White House for the annual Easter Egg Roll. He has delighted his audiences 6 to 96 with folk tales from around the world by adding his own special touch and a big dose of humor. He has two recordings: Davie Crockett, the Cyclops & Me on cassette and Maren & the Bears & Me on CD.