Obituary for Brother Blue

Brother Blue, aka Hugh Morgan Hill, died peacefully at home on November 3, 2009 at the age of 88. An internationally reknowned storyteller, mentor to hundreds, inspiration to thousands and beloved husband of Ruth Edmonds Hill, Brother Blue’s life exemplified his passionate belief that telling and listening to stories changes the world. His stories have changed the worlds of everyone who heard him.

Brother Blue was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 12, 1921. An exceptional student, he served in the Read more »

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Dale Gilbert Jarvis – How to collect true scary stories for Halloween.

Fill out the form and press play to hear Dale Gilbert Jarvis speak on how to collect true scary stories for Halloween on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Dale Jarvis in the Flesh.

Tired of the tin sound? Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #064 Dale Gilbert Jarvis for $2.23 How to collect true scary stories for Halloween.

Dale Jarvis Writes
Near to where I live is a small lake with the delightfully ghoulish name of Deadman’s Pond. According to local legend, the pond is bottomless, and I’m sure many people know of similar stories for lakes near where they live. These lakes and ponds offer us tantalizing doorways to another realm. Peering into the reflective surface of a still body of water and wondering what lies beneath provides us with a link to the unexplained. Perhaps this is why they fascinate us. It is not so much that we think they actually are bottomless, but that part of us wishes that they might be.

So too with ghost stories. I’ve told ghost stories to literally thousands of people over the past 13 years, and they continue to be Read more »

Storytelling in The Street at Festivals and as Outdoor Theater and Storytelling With Magic.

Fill out the form and press play to hear Joshua Safford talks about street storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Tired of the tin sound? Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #054 Joshua Safford for $2.23 Telling to the street – magic for eye.

Joshua Safford writes…
I’m looking forward to discussing with Eric what it means to be a street Storyteller as well as the fusion between magic and storytelling. While I have performed in theaters, schools, café’s and more traditional storytelling venues, I most commonly perform for people under trees, in fields and on corners. This is actually a more traditional means of performing storytelling back when storytellers worked in the marketplace in the street or would travel from home to home singing for their supper. Largely I do this in the context of a Renaissance or fantasy festival but I have, in the past, taken it upon myself to just do storytelling in the modern street.

Why work in this storytelling fashion? Well for one it breaks the third wall in a very special way. One can actually reach out and touch ones audience members, clink mugs and adjust ones programming according to their expressions. Certainly this can be done in a theater but one gains a greater sense of control through a cluster instead of a crowd. And storyteller can pay greater individual attention to the storytellers audience. The storyteller can also judge them more effectively when storytelling with a tighter lens so to speak.

Picking the right story for an individual that you meet in passing can be very powerful. One is also afforded a greater Read more »

David Epley – On the Power and Responsibility of Comedy: My lil’ Soapbox

Fill out the form and press play to hear David B. Epley on storytelling with comedy on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Tired of the tin sound? Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #047 David Epley for $2.23 Comedy and Storytelling.

David Epley writes…
Comedy is one of the most effective tools for imparting any information:

• It actively involves the audience; laughter is not passive.
• It encourages the audience to focus on the process; you must pay attention to the setup in order to get the punch line.
• It makes the process fun.

All of these aspects conspire to make an event, an individual, or a particular subject matter, more memorable. Think of your favorite Teacher, Storyteller, Pastor, Politician, Actor, Choreographer, et cetera, and you will see the truth of what I’m saying. Comedy can be used to educate, to alleviate tension, to Read more »

Alex the Jester – Connecting Quickly through Physicality.

Fill out the form and press play to hear Alex the Jester (Alex Feldman) talks about how to use your physical relationship with your audience to build your success on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show.”

Tired of the tin sound? Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #041 Alex Feldman for $2.23 Connecting Quickly (and Managing Behavior) through Physicality.

Connecting Quickly (and Managing Behavior) through Physicality.

When telling for young audiences, even the most brilliant story is vulnerable to young audiences if the situation is compromised, or your delivery is not ideal for the setting. In this discussion, Alex reveals how his wild and mesmerizing style is methodically built, brick by brick. Small details can reap huge Read more »

Brother Blue on Street Storytelling

Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference call on 10/10/2007 storyteller Brother Blue appeared on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf to talk about street storytelling and storytelling from the heart.

Brother Blue is one of three storytellers in the country whose work and style have directly influenced my own storytelling style and flavor. I am very proud to bring you this conversation about street storytelling and everything else related to storytelling with storyteller Brother Blue.

Eric Wolf

—–storytellers Brother Blue and Ruth Hill

Hugh Morgan Hill
(Brother Blue, Storyteller/Street Poet)

He is Dr. Hugh Morgan Hill, but everyone knows him as Brother Blue. He is called by many “the world’s greatest storyteller.” He says he wants his stories to be “bread for the mind, the imagination, the heart, the soul.” He says, “I speak my stories from the middle of the middle of me to the middle of the middle of you” [the people].

Brother Blue received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College (with honors) and a master’s degree from the Yale School of Drama. For his Ph.D. degree from the Union Institute, his final presentation or Project Demonstrating Excellence (PDE) was “Soul Shout,” a storytelling concert in a prison, accompanied by a musical band of over twenty inmates.

Storytelling festivals include the Corn island Storytelling Festival, in Louisville, Kentucky; Day for Sam, in Wrentham, Massachusetts, a festival commemorating the life and death of a five-year-old boy; Sharing the Fire, sponsored by the League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling; Toronto Festival of Storytelling; Vancouver (B.C.) Storytelling Festival; and the Yukon Storytelling Festival. He has also appeared several times at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee; and at “In the Tradition…”, the festival/conference of the National Association of Black Storytellers, held in a different city each year.

He has taught storytelling in prisons, and in schools and colleges throughout the Read more »