The Art of Storytelling Show

Interviewing the best of the Storytelling Community.

Penny for Your Thoughts

Jul 21

Posted by Brother Wolf in Extra Articles, Storytelling Resources | No Comments

Diane Ferlatte CD Penny for your Thoughts Written and performed by Diane Ferlatte, with Erik Pearson. Order by emailing diane@dianeferlatte.com or visit www.dianeferlatte.com

Reviewed by Linda Goodman

Diane Ferlatte has a rich, silky voice that is full of soul and heart. I could listen to her recite multiplication tables for hours and never feel board. Imagine how pleasant it is to hear her telling stories.

I first heard Diane at the Three Apples Storytelling Festival in Harvard, Massachusetts. I was spellbound by her gentle wisdom, coupled with spurts of energy that had me springing upright in my seat. I have heard her many times since, and she never fails to delight her audience.

Three of the stories on this CD are ones I have not heard before, including Next Town, in which Ferlatte shares a tale about a family road trip from California to Louisiana in the midst of a steaming, hot summer in her childhood. Her wise mother prepares food for the trip, but it disappears much sooner than expected. In the segregated south, when many restaurants refused service to black people, Ferlatte learned that people can hate others without even knowing them. Read the rest of this entry »

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An Interview with Lanes Exec. Director Yvonne Zinicola Part 2

Jul 14

Posted by Brother Wolf in Extra Articles, Festival Storytelling, Professional Development | No Comments

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photo by: Simon Brooks
Yvonne Zinicola ( Rt.) with Lanes President Joanne Piazzi and President- Elect Tony Toledo

Written by Carolyn Stearns
This is part two of two of my interview of Yvonne Zinicola our Lanes Exec. Director. Now more than a year into her position we look at where we have come from and where she sees Lanes going.
8. What gem have you found since you began with Lanes?

I know it sounds repetitive, but our members and our volunteers are the largest gems of LANES! The sheer dedication of our board members and our volunteers from bloggers to event volunteers to others, amazing! Our members are VERY supportive of each other and travel about visiting each other’s venues. It’s a wonderful network of people.

9. Anything coming up you want to share about?

The board will be revamping the Strategic Plan before June 2012 and by then we should start to see more of the plan’s implementation for which we have been building the foundation. Truly getting into promoting storytelling is what we want to benefit the whole storytelling community.

10. New York is the next host state, how is the planning going? Read the rest of this entry »

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Interview With Lanes Exec. Director Yvonne Zinicola Part 1

Jul 6

Posted by Brother Wolf in Extra Articles, Festival Storytelling, Storytelling in Community | No Comments

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Written for by Carolyn Stearns…
Part 1- An Interview With Lanes Exec. Director Yvonne Zinicola as of 3-29-2011

I requested to interview Yvonne for the blog as a way of capturing her first year and reflecting on its impact with Lanes and storytelling in the Northeast. I sent Yvonne my questions and we thought of putting out this interview prior to Sharing the Fire. My questions got Yvonne to thinking and they needed time for the answers to gel while STF day was racing forward. We decided after everyone was home from Sharing the Fire and the light had simmered to red coals it would be a good time to release the interview. I decided to post it as received in the question answer format and not try to fix something that doesn’t need fixing.
Yvonne has had a year to get to know us and we are all beginning to see who Yvonne is. Hopefully for those who have not yet had the pleasure this will bring you a little overview. For all those who have met or worked with Yvonne already, here is some follow up to what you have been introduced to.

1. 1 year has passed, what is just as you expected in that time frame?

I really do not set “expectations” until I have a chance to understand the organization, its members and its systems. The first year was exploratory and foundation building. Although I am new to Storytelling, I am not new to the arts and have over 15 years experience in Non-profit management. First, I had to do an in depth assessment of the organization to determine our strengths and weaknesses. The framework of processes was in place, but I had to add much more detail. That’s not really unusual for a non-profit that has been pretty much staffed by volunteers with some part-time admin folks along the way. So it was no surprise, but it has taken much time and energy. In order to move forward, it was vital to our work to do this foundation building.

2. What in the year has most surprised you?

I was surprised and amazed by the passion and dedication that our storytellers have. We have an amazing group of vibrant members who are dedicated to each other as much as to furthering the art of storytelling. I was impressed at the many functional, creative and inventive ways that storytelling is being used to make the world a better place and to create understanding between people.

3. Where have you seen the most progress? Read the rest of this entry »

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Leeny Del Seamonds – Using Character Voices in Your Storytelling.

Jun 15

Posted by Brother Wolf in Beginning Storytelling Tips, Episode List, Professional Development, Storytelling in Community | 4 Comments

Lenny Del Seamonds Storytelling at the National Storytelling Festival Press Play to hear Leeny Del Seamonds on using character voices in your storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Press Play to hear Leeny Del Seamonds on using character voices in your storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Written by Leeny Del Seamonds
My journey into professional storytelling came through a stage door. Raised in a theatrical family who ‘spoke story’ (and always gestured with their hands), I eventually studied acting, improvisation, voice, dance and mime. Armed with a B.A. in Theatre/Performing Arts (minor in Directing) from Rowan University , I moved to the Big Apple to make my mark. In between off (and sometimes off-off) Broadway gigs, I took additional classes in voice, acting and mime. An actor never stops learning and growing in her craft/calling. One of the most significant things I learned along the way is the value of having a strong and varied voice and how to Read the rest of this entry »

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An Audience of One

Jun 9

Posted by Brother Wolf in Extra Articles, Magical Child, Storytelling in Community, Storytelling in Libraries | 1 Comment

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Photo Credit D Sharon Pruitt

Back when I was an aspiring actor in New York City, fresh out of conservatory and performing in showcase productions in out-of-the-way, off-off-off-off-Broadway theaters, we had a rule — understood if not clearly spoken: call off the performance if the actors outnumber the audience. (Unless of course there happened to be a casting agent in the house.) I remember a particular production of Richard III (yes, think Richard Dreyfuss in The Goodbye Girl?) when the cast of fifteen put the policy to the test on numerous occasions.

Whether or not we cancelled shows (I don’t think the producer was in on the compact), the principle is clear. Don’t squander your talents on less-than-ample audiences. Or, more pointedly: what if you put on a show and nobody comes? Read the rest of this entry »

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Planning a World Storytelling Event from Start to Finish in 25 Days

May 21

Posted by Brother Wolf in Creating Success, Extra Articles, Festival Storytelling | 9 Comments

World Storytelling Day
by Stuart H. Nager

I found out about World Storytelling Day (http://worldstorytellingday.webs.com/) on February 23, 2011, through a posting on Facebook. The global event, centered around the theme of Water, was to be on or around March 20th. I’ve been working hard as a Teaching Artist, doing my storytelling and other performance gigs here and there, and thought this was a great day to support. Jazzed, excited and energized, I already had a meeting set up for the 24th with Read the rest of this entry »

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Diane Wolkstein – Connecting with Audiences, Other Cultures and Ourselves

May 17

Posted by Brother Wolf in Episode List, International Storytelling, Literacy, Peace Storytelling, Storytelling in Community | 1 Comment


Press Play to hear Diane Wolkstein and Connecting with Audiences, Other Cultures and Ourselves on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Press Play to hear Diane Wolkstein and Connecting with Audiences, Other Cultures and Ourselves on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

dianewolksteinstoryteller

Bio…

Diane Wolkstein is one of the world’s most preminent storytellers and the award-winning author of more than 30 books, CDs, and DVDs. From amusing children’s tales to epic adventures for adults, Wolkstein has performed and collected stories on five continents. Her lively and Read the rest of this entry »

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