Ellouise's Storytelling Salon

I have had a lovely time playing with Storyteller Ellouise Schoettler this week.  Every first Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm she hosts a Story Telling Salon in Kensington Row bookstore not far outside Washington DC.

Last Wednesday was my first visit and as I drew up outside I fell in love with the venue and the feeling increased as I crossed the threshold.  The bookstore is magical - the shop that time forgot - a movie scene in the making – 84 Charing Cross Road moved to Maryland:  Truly a perfect setting for a storytelling evening.

The tellers were Cricket Parmalee and Nick Newlin.  Cricket told three creation stories and the audience was entranced. 

The first, the closest to my heart, was the biblical version from the very beginning of Genesis.  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…” 

As always, I melted on hearing those verses.

Clearly the Almighty did also.

As Cricket got to: “And God saw that the light was good…” a train roared past on the nearby tracks blasting its whistle enthusiastically for all the world like a divine soundtrack.

Another of Cricket’s stories, this time from the Hindu tradition, was particularly haunting. It was a healing tale, both beautiful and profound, describing how day and night came into existence so that grief could become more bearable as the progression of time dimmed its pain.

Nick told well crafted biographical stories that shed light on how a Harvard graduate became Nicolo, a full time professional juggler, married a high wire performer – Joanne, the delightful “Queen of Whimsy” - and years later emerged as a Shakespeare scholar. 

It was a wild and fascinating ride beautifully told!

Besides being a juggler and storyteller, Nick is a teaching artist at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC and has just written a series of books called “The 30-minute Shakespeare” which enables students of all levels to be able to quickly grasp, perform and grow to love the Stratford Bard’s classics. 

At the end of the telling Ellouise skillfully led a question and answer session that gave a window into each performer’s world.  All fascinating stuff!

The salon takes a summer break in August and will resume on September 1^st when Ellouise and I will be sharing the program.  I am looking forward to telling and hearing stories in this wonderful venue – a book-aholic’s dream.

Do come and join us!

My Fourth July Fourth

This is my fourth July fourth as an American! 

 To my great delight I was naturalized on January 5^th 2007 and spent my first Independence Day as a citizen while staying with a wonderful friend, Liz Carpenter - which I thought was very appropriate.

 Over two decades ago when I was new to the US and renting Liz’s guest house in Austin, Texas, Liz threw me a 25th birthday celebration, (my first on American soil) hung bunting and called it “the Americanization of Geraldine party!” 

 Twenty five years later her prophetic gesture became a reality.

 Liz was soaked in politics. She was one of the three women to start the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), was Press Secretary to Lady Bird Johnson in the White House and was appointed to positions of influence by six presidents. 

 Although Liz was horrified that I have sustained a life-long disinterest in politics we shared a love of many other things including Vera Lynn torch songs, impromptu parties and poetry.  Indeed during my stint living in her guest house I read her a poem I had recently discovered which had quickly become one of my mother’s favorites.

“Never mind your mother”, cried Liz. “It’s now my favorite poem!”

She proceeded to put it in the book she was writing and quoted it in subsequent media interviews.  It was the Jenny Joseph poem that begins: “When I am an old Lady I shall wear purple…” which quickly developed a life of its own.

 Whenever I see a woman of a certain age decked out in purple and wearing a red hat I smile and remember Liz.

 Liz died this year, age 89, on March 20^th 2010.  It was the first day of Spring – and she would have loved the irony – her code name during her White House years was “Springtime”.

 On July 4^th it is good to remember all the blessings that come from being part of the great melting pot that is America.  And as for me, one of those blessings is having known, learned from and loved one of the all-time great American characters - my friend Liz Carpenter.

Story Genesis

A funy thing happened on the way to the conference….

On Saturday I was headed towards Washington DC to be a storytelling groupie at the American Library Association Conference, where friends Linda Martin and Kim Weitkamp were going to be performing with Southwestern Storyteller Joe Hayes at an evening tale telling session, when I was struck by a story in the making.

Right there on the side of 295, vividly outlined against a bright blue sky, an orange VW Beetle was alight – red and yellow flames  bursting out the top as though the sun was rising through its roof.   Standing about a hundred yards away, slumped against a wall, space in between them, their eyes on the ground, a young man and woman, looking despondent but completely unharmed, were speaking into cell phones. 

All the way to DC “I told you so” story scenarios danced through my mind. 

Had she wanted to stay at home and watch the World Cup?

Had he nagged her to have the car serviced?

Were they always cast in non-traditional gender roles?

Would the relationship survive the inflagration?

Or - my favorite - was this bonfire an answer to prayer where a paid off, fully insured lemon had gone up in smoke?

I’m hoping one day to hear the true tale of the roadside fiery furnace…

Praying it has a happy ending.

Theater Of The Spoken Word

A friend I haven’t heard from in a long while called me the other day to ask what I was doing and I told him all about my headlong plunge into the world of storytelling. 

He phoned back yesterday to ask if I was still busy reading books. 

I wouldn’t have known what he was talking about except that I had just read an article online by Jason Gelt* about California’s  Ojai Storytelling Festival where artistic director and founder of the festival, Brian Bemel, is quoted as saying: “One of the biggest misconceptions is that people just stand up and read books.  That’s why I started using the term ‘theater of the spoken word,” because they don’t read, they perform the stories.”

Theater of the spoken word!  I like that!

And I was delighted to have such a succint nugget to pass on to my slightly cynical friend. 

Thank you Mr. Bremel!

* Have they got a tale for you in Ojai, by Jason Gelt, Los Angeles Times, April 29, 2010

The Journey Begins!

Since leaving my position of Protestant Chaplain at the Maryland Correctional Training Center in January 2010 I have plunged into the deliciously different world of storytelling rekindling a passion that was too often put on the back burner during my prison years.   

I discovered SpeakeasyDC – an award-winning Washington DC biographical storytelling club and made up for lost time by exploring their web site, watching dozens of their archived videos of past open mike participants then joining them onstage or in the audience as often as possible.   

I told stories at February and May's true storytelling sessions as well as taking part in their productions for Washington DC’s Big Read and their first Fathers Day event on June 18th: Who’s Your Daddy? Stories about men, masculinity and fatherhood – a culmination of their inaugural advanced storytelling workshop.  

At the May SpeakeasyDC open mike I met the very kind, very funny, highly talented, Kim Weitkamp - a professional, national storyteller who told the first story of the evening to great acclaim.  This is what she wrote after hearing me tell a tale later that evening about being bored in paradise… 

“I first heard Geraldine tell when I was in D.C.  Halfway through I looked at all the other tellers and said, “Where the heck has she been hiding?!”  They felt the same way.” 

Kim told me I could have told that story on any national stage, graciously took me under her wing saying I was a hidden treasure (which of course made me swoon with delight!) and has opened doors for me in the storytelling world at large – for which I am extremely grateful – and still a little stunned.  

God is so full of delicious surprises – and meeting Kim was one of them.  It always amazes me what He has up His sleeve, besides the everlasting arm! 

So now, on July 25^th, I am recording my first album of stories, Destination?  Slammer!  Tales of life and laughter and I have been booked for the Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival in Chillicothe, Ohio from September 10-11 2010 (www.southernohiostoryfest.com) – which I am looking forward to immensely.  

I am telling stories anywhere and everywhere and I am meeting storytellers of all kinds – surely the most delightful people in the world! 

In the days and weeks ahead I will be looking at the world of storytelling through fresh eyes – eyes of wonder and thankfulness – as well as sharing my thoughts on creativity and the quirkiness of life.  I would love to have you join me on this journey of inspiration, insight and oddity.