#yyjStoryteller

Story North

2011-04-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

Just got the new advert for Story North, a super storytelling conference to be held at the end of May in Yellowknife. It will feature the best storytellers from the Canadian North West, and more...

Storyfest 2011

2011-04-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

Intrepid Theatre Club (Fisgard at Blanshard). Friday, April 15, 7:30 pm to 9:30
Stories from Around the World and Close to Home.Our kick-off event, World Storytelling Day was such a hit, we had to turn people away at the door. Don't miss the rest of the series!

STORYNORTH SCHEDULE DETAILS

2011-04-06T00:06:00.000-07:00

Storynorth is the 2011 annual conference of the Storytellers of Canada-Raconteurs du CanadaIt will be held 26-29 May in Yellowknife, NWT.

The First Telling: North /South/East/West - Thursday May 26   9:00 – 10:00pm
As an opening session, the FirstTelling will take place as part of the Opening Reception. Attending Tellers are all eligible for this opening set as upon registering they will be asked to designate themselves from one of the four directions in relation to their northern setting. Example – Alberta is due south and everything east of that is East and everything west of that is West. (it will make for some new Canadian alliances.)   Their names will then be placed in a direction box and then drawn from the box t the beginning of the reception. These drawn tellers are then asked to bring us an opening story celebrating their direction.

Welcome Story: Dawn Lacey: The Break of Bread -Friday May 27, 2011  10:00am
Dawn Lacey has been breaking bread to begin the NACC Storytelling Festivals for many years and this year will be no different. The significance of coming together to listen, to share and to break newly baked bread, whose recipe has been passed down through the generations is a grounded commencement for the Conference.

Next Gen Tellers Concert - Friday May 27, 2011  2:15 -3:15pm
One of the concerns raised by storytelling organizations has been – where is the next generation of tellers? What stories are they telling? Where are they telling? The first formal concert of the Conference will focus upon four young northern tellers who are able to rip it up and put it out there. The concert will feature Aaron Hernandez, Annie Fletcher, Reneltta Arluk and Elora Braden. The concert promises to be a contrast of new light and dark and youthful beats and introspection. Lots of surprises in store.

Storytelling and Northern Development with Patrick Scott - Friday May 27, 2011 3:30 – 5:00pm
Patrick Scott is a veteran of northern development. “Stories Told” is his recently published book he will take you back into the epic journey of the Berger Inquiry where Judge Berger travelled from one northern community to another to hear stories told from the hearts of the people who lived in the North from time immemorial, Through the telling of vivid stories about life on the land, the course of development history in Canada was altered as the Mackenzie Valley pipeline was halted and democracy was reborn. This is a special workshop of interest to all who believe in the power of stories to be able to reform the world we live in.

Caribou Droppings Concert  - Friday May 27, 2011  8:00 – 9:30pm
The Friday evening concert will take you across the northern half of Canada featuring tellers from Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The concert will be hosted by Ben Nind (NWT) and will feature Sharon Shorty (Yukon), Pat Braden (NWT), Michael Kusagak (Nunavut) and Moira Cameron (NWT) with a special appearance by Rene Fumoleau (NWT).

Welcome Story: Moira Cameron - Saturday May 28, 2011  10:00am
Moira Cameron will greet the new day with a morning story. Moira has been known to the Canadian storytelling scene since she performed at the first 1001 Friday Nights storytelling club in Toronto. She made an impression then, and she is still at it. Although she loves telling traditional folk tales or performing recitations, Moira has devoted much of her performing talents to the ‘singing’ story form –ancient ballads of England, Scotland, the US and Canada.

  Storytelling and Self Determination with John B Zoe. -
Saturday May 28, 2011  2:00 – 3:30pm     Northern Heritage Centre
John B Zoe is a member of the Tåîchô Nation and currently serves as the senior advisor to the Tåîchô Government. Mr. Zoe was born and raised in Behchokö and was appointed chief negotiator to represent the Tåîchô in negotiations with the governments of Canada to help settle the land claim and obtain self-government. The final agreement and the Tåîchô Government became effective on August 2005. His linkage of stories to the roots of identity are unshakeable. This workshop is for those interested in how we identify ourselves within our own culture.

Accessing You Greatest Resource – Ivan Coyot
Saturday May 29, 2011 3:30 – 5:00pm
Northern Arts and Cultural Centre Ivan Coyote was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. An award-winning author of six collections of short stories, one novel, three CD’s, four short films and a renowned performer, Ivan’s first love is live storytelling, and over the last seventeen years she has become an audience favourite at music, poetry, spoken word and writer’s festivals from Anchorage to Amsterdam. Ivan will be exploring the theme of personal experience as an unlimited renewable resource for storytelling material. This is an essential workshop for those who want to free up, get down and get dirty from a master of personal reflections of her own space and the world that surrounds her.

Telling the Wood Buffalo National Park Story – Ria Coleman
Saturday May 29, 2011 3:30 – 5:00pm    Northern Heritage Centre
Ria is a South Slave Métis woman of Beaulieu lineage, who was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. She is the great, great, great granddaughter of Francois Beaulieu II, who is the first Métis man of the Northwest Territories. Ria’s Chipewyan (Dene) ancestors have lived in this area for 10,000 years. Ria is also head of park interpretation for Wood Buffalo National Park and a leader in park education through storytelling initiatives. Ria will be presenting a host of stories and tools used to celebrate North Americas largest park.

Caribou Droppings Concert 2 - Saturday May 28, 2011  8:00 – 9:30pm
The Saturday evening concert will take you into the heart of the north featuring tellers from Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The concert will be hosted by Sharon Shorty (Yukon) and will feature Ria Coleman (NWT), Jim Green (NWT), Michael Kusagak (Nunavut) and John B Zoe (NWT) with a special appearance by Michel Labine (NWT).

Welcome Story: Jim Green NWT - Sunday May 29, 2011  10:00am
Jim Green will kick the final morning of the gathering to the moon. He is a celebrated storyteller, poet, writer, broadcaster, and performer who has been living in the Northwest Territories of Canada for more than forty years. He’s a gyrating old counter-culture buzzard with a keen wit, sharp tongue, twinkling eye, and an infectious sense of wonder at this life.

Caribou Droppings Concert 3 - Sunday May 29, 2011  2:30 – 4:00pm
The Saturday evening concert will take you to the edge of the polar shelf and then back again featuring tellers from Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The concert will be hosted by Michael Kusagak (Nunavut) and will feature Sharon Shorty (Yukon), Jim Green (NWT), Moira Cameron (Nunavut) and Ivan Coyote (Yukon) with a special appearance by Pat Braden (NWT).

Note: That these events/details are as planned at this time and the schedule may change at anytime.
For more information go to the SC-CC and to Storynorth websites.

WORLD STORYTELLING DAY

2011-03-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

Since 1991, on the spring equinox, as many people as possible, in as many communities as possible around the world, celebrate the art of oral storytelling by telling and listening to stories on the same day. Each year a theme is chosen. For 2011, the theme is “water”.

This is the first year the Victoria Storytellers’ Guild (VSG) has organized special concerts in order to participate with other storytellers across Canada and internationally on World Storytelling Day. Come out and celebrate a world of stories AT THE Intrepid Theatre, 1609 Blanshard at Fisgard, Sunday March 20, 2011

Afternoon concert for children and families: 2 - 3 pm
Evening concert for adults and mature children: 7 - 9 pm

Storytellers: Pat Carfra, Jennifer Ferris, Diane Gilliland, Peg Hasted, Jacquie Hunt, Sandra Johnson, Shoshana Litman, Margo McLoughlin, and Faye Mogensen.

Evening Concert Host: Lee Porteous

Tickets at the door; afternoon concert by donation; evening concert $10 per adult and $5 per child

Contact: Lee Porteous events@victoriastorytellers.org or visit www.victoriastorytellers.org

Bill C-32 May Hurt Us All

2011-02-15T10:20:00.000-08:00

I am a storyteller and a writer,

Most Canadian writers earn very modest incomes. Some writers try and get by on less than minimum wage. Some people say that's our choice. And it is. But creating is our calling, our vocation.

Just like anyone else, creators need income to survive. Our incomes depend not just on sales. We also depend on income we receive when universities, colleges, schools, corporations and governments make copies of my works for their own use, instead of buying more copies of the original.

Copyright exists to protect creators. When others use our works, copyright law should ensure the people who worked so hard to produce them are compensated.

Check out the following URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qrcNksj5DE

Please ensure the voices of Canada's creators and publishers are heard.

Please work with your colleagues to see that C-32 is amended so that without hardship to consumers, creators suffer no hardship either.

Legislative Committee Members

· Gordon Brown, Chair, brown.g@parl.gc.ca

· Charlie Angus angus.c@parl.gc.ca

· Pablo Rodriguez rodrigues.p@parl.gc.ca

· Mike Lake lake.m@parl.gc.ca

· Dan McTeague mcteague.d@parl.gc.ca

· Serge Cardin, cardin.s@parl.gc.ca

· Ed Faste, faste@parl.gc.ca

· Sylvie Boucher, boucher.s@parl.gc.ca

· Dean Del Mastro delmastro.d@parl.gc.ca

· Peter Braid, braid.p@parl.gc.ca

· Carole Lavallée lavallee.c@parl.gc.ca

· Marc Garneau garneau.m@parl.gc.ca

Stories Are Serious Business

2010-06-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

In 2004, retired research scientist and Storyteller Kendall Haven proclaimed to senior officials at NASA's Goddard Space flight Centre that stories are an information delivery system powerhouse that are evolutionarily hardwired into human brains. When challenged to prove it. Haven interwove research from 16 different fields of science to show that story structure is how we humans think! In his book STORY PROOF: The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story, he defines eight essential elements that define effective story structure.

Local Storytelling at its Best - Stories at Fern Monday

2010-06-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

The last Victoria Storytellers' Guild's "Stories at Fern" until the new season begins in September, is this Monday, June 14th, 2010.

Here are the details:

STORIES AT FERN

Monday, June 14, 2010, 7:15 p.m.

1831 Fern Street (between Fort and Begbie). Park on Begbie.

"Stories at Fern" is a public gathering -- open to all (*Adults $5, Students $3), where stories are told and listened to, from September to June.

*There is no admission fee for members. Tea and goodies are included.

Famous Storytellers Callahan and Kujawa on Cortes Island in August

2010-06-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

Jay O'Callahan, storyteller, author and workshop facilitator, will lead a very special 6-day workshop at Hollyhock Retreat Centre, Cortes Island, BC Canada August 14-19, 2010. Mandi Kujawa, songwriter, singer, storyteller and librettist from Banff, Canada, will co-facilitate the workshop.

Jay O'Callahan is one of North America¹s most beloved storytellers. Dubbed "a genius² by Time magazine, he has performed his original work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, at the Lincoln Center and in theatres throughout the United States. He slips into the souls of his characters and captures the wonder and sparkling sense of life within them.

Visit http://www.ocallahan.com

Mandi Kujawa brings the element of musical play to the storytellers'exploring their "unique" voice. Mandi and Jay have worked together for seven years co-facilitating workshops.

Workshop Description: Like Fireflies, The Art of Creative Storytelling. Everybody and everything has a story. In fact, we are filled with stories. These stories can be memories of events, characters, places and moments in our lives. These stories are like fireflies flitting around deep inside us. Call forth some of those fireflies in a simple and playful way. When a memory is called forth, the storytelling is often fresh and interesting; the details are sharp, as is the sense of place, characters and the event itself. These forgotten memories are at the heart of good storytelling. Draw your memories out with what Jay calls ³sparks.²

To register for the workshop visit
https://www.hollyhock.ca/cms/index.cfm?Group_ID=4577

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE ART AND TRADITION OF STORYTELLING

2010-02-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

Storytellers of Canada-Conteurs du Canada (SC-CC)
18th Annual Conference
July 28 - Aug 1, 2010
St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

Storytellers from throughout the world will merge in one place - St.
John's, Newfoundland and Labrador - for the 18th annual conference of
Storytellers of Canada-Conteurs du Canada. For five days,
participants will be engaged in an international meeting place of
culture, art, and tradition. Storytellers from across Canada will
meet and work with storytellers from the USA, Italy, Denmark, Ireland,
Scotland, England, Netherlands, and South Africa, and attend
celebrations for the 400th anniversary of English settlement in Canada.

Conference registration is now open! For registration forms, links to
tourism sites, info on accommodations, and to preregister for one of
our exciting international professional development workshops, visit:

http://www.sc-cc.com/conference/2010

Et cette année, nous avons des ateliers en français, aussi!

Early-Bird Registration ends March 1st

“You can only come to the morning through the shadows.” J.R.R. Tolkien

2010-01-03T21:55:00.000-08:00

Today is the birthday of J.R.R. Tolkien. In storytelling circles, Tolkien is and should continue to be one of the most influential storytellers of our time. He is best known for his books of epic fantasy: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.

Tolkien’s fantasies speak to us of people who live in other places and times, but they are people like ourselves: ordinary men and women who dare to struggle against the most inconceivably strong forces of evil. They suffer dreadful losses but go forward with unshakeable determination.

In our age, wars and environmental hazards leave us uncertain about the future. Modern story creators and tellers need to capture and share that hope that Tolkien found in the heart of every person, that humanity can and will prevail over life’s most challenging moments.

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Ira Glass on Storytelling 1

2009-12-08T22:07:00.000-08:00

What is storytelling all about? What are the basic building blocs of a good story? Here are some thoughts by Ira Glass on You Tube

Victoria Storytellers Guild

2009-10-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

The Victoria Storytellers Guild http://www.victoriastorytellers.org/
meets at 7:15 on the third Monday of the month at the Quaker Meeting House on Fern St. Everyone is welcome because even the best of tellers would never be heard without a listener.