I wrote an article like this back in 2009 – there has been a lot of water under the that bridge and I rarely write articles for this bog – but recently someone twitted about that old post and I thought – what they heck might as well update my readers. Keep in mind that many of these people have become my friends, I apologize to any worthy storytelling blogger who feels excluded form this list.
By the way only four of these storytellers linked to other folks who are writing blogs on the subject of storytelling – bad karma for the rest of you… 3 of them are the top 3 listed. In this world with limited web resources devoted to oral narrative or any form of narrative at all – we have to stick together.
Wow – while my back was turned the Moth has been turning out stories and racking up rewards to the credit of those hard working folks at the Moth office in New york. If you have the chance get your self to a Moth event.
The Woman Who Sold Winds & Other Tales of the Sea by Ralph Chatham
Available from Curmudgeon Story & Whistle Works
703-698-5456 email: Ralph.Chatham@verizon.net
$10.00 + postage http://voicesintheglen.org/storytellers/ralph-chatham/
Reviewed By Linda Goodman
I was particularly excited to listen to Ralph Chatham’s CD The Woman Who Sold Winds & Other Tales of the Sea, not only because it boasts a story that Ralph’s telling presented to perfection at March’s VASA Gathering, but because it was not recorded using the usual professional route. The stories on this CD were recorded with Apple’s Garage Band and imported into iTunes, all standard software with Macintosh computers these days.
The CD begins with an introduction detailing how “compost heaps and pounding in tomato stakes” directly led to the narrator’s love affair with the sea. That love is clearly evident as one listens to Thar She Blows, a whale hunting adventure sprinkled with Read more »
I promise to always remember my power, love, and intelligence as an artist,
and the vital role that artists have played in every culture and time.
I will never again invalidate any artist who is living their truth,
including myself, or any work of art that expresses that truth,
but rather ally myself with all artists to end our economic oppression, and enthusiastically encourage the creativity of every human.
Rational Island Publishers developed by the Re-evaluation Co-counseling Community. Bold parts added by Brother Wolf
Recently my friend Kevin Cordi published a nice dare on the Artists Commitment – I suggest you read his words –
I have had a problem with this commitment for some time – I believe thatRead more »
Compact Disc Review by Linda Goodman
Available from Ellouise Schoettler
Email: ellouise9112@ellouisestory.com. 301-951-1213 $15.00
Recommended for teens and adults.
Reviewed By Linda Goodman
This CD, recorded live at Strathmore Hall Arts Center in Rockville, Maryland in April, 2007, embraces an environmental theme: reduce, reuse, and recycle. All the stories on this CD extol these virtues.
The Thrifty Tailor is an ancient folktale about a man whose love for his beautiful coat prevents him from discarding it when it gets worn out. Creatively thinking outside the box allows him to preserve the fabric he Read more »
Recently I asked the question on Facebook and elsewhere are you comfortable using the word theatre to sell storytelling events? I liked Mary Grace’s reply and I invite you to think deeply about her application of these ideas. Brother Wolf
Mary Grace Ketner writes… I would not use the word “theatre” itself, but I often use other terms related to theatre, such as “performance” or “stage.” I fear that if a person comes in expecting lights and costumes, it will take them some real readjustment time to appreciate what is actually going on in a room where one person, dressed pretty much like everyone else, is standing up and holding a microphone. And there may not be enough “readjustment time” for that, anyway. What I like about opera, for example, is the set and costumes and drama. 4 people standing there singing in Italian doesn’t usually do it for me, and 10 or 15 minutes is enough of that. Others have also mentioned the misleading expectation of a particular repeated script (perhaps a famous, well-traveled one that can be compared with a version one’s friends saw or that one has seen before) and the fourth wall: actors talking to each other as though no one were watching, the audience as peeping Tom.
In preparing storytelling programs, even something like a local Tellabration!, I have found that many storytellers do not like to Read more »
The Question that we must ask ourselves is if storytelling is so amazing why are more storytelling events not filled with sold out venues?
In today’s internet based world - community, human connection and personal narrative are highly valued and desperately needed in the United States. Modern performers who can successfully and repeatedly bring these values to the stage are loved by audiences everywhere. All of these values are part of a successful storytelling event
Inside the community of storytellers we use the word storytelling to describe what we do. I would suggest that the use of this word “Storytelling” to sell our art form to potential audiences of 1st time attendees outside of our community is both counterproductive and self-sabotaging. Successful storytelling is many things – Read more »
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February 1, 2012 3:38 pm | 
Comments (0) 
I would not use the word “theatre” itself, but I often use other terms related to theatre, such as “performance” or “stage.” I fear that if a person comes in expecting lights and costumes, it will take them some real readjustment time to appreciate what is actually going on in a room where one person, dressed pretty much like everyone else, is standing up and holding a microphone. And there may not be enough “readjustment time” for that, anyway. What I like about opera, for example, is the set and costumes and drama. 4 people standing there singing in Italian doesn’t usually do it for me, and 10 or 15 minutes is enough of that. Others have also mentioned the misleading expectation of a particular repeated script (perhaps a famous, well-traveled one that can be compared with a version one’s friends saw or that one has seen before) and the fourth wall: actors talking to each other as though no one were watching, the audience as peeping Tom. 
