Well – see what happens when a summer project turns into a fall release the name of the show has changed. Early release woudl have been better I guess. This is part 2 of the course.
src=”http://www.artofstorytellingshow.com/photos/09-09-09.jpg” alt=”Statistics of the Art of Storytelling Podcast 09-09-09″ />
I am happy to share the latest number from the show. For the last 3 months we have been running over six thousands downloads a month Currently listeners are in over 104 countries world wide. The average released episodes has 1000 listeners with 26,000 downloads since June 1st.
Thank-you for all of those who have been so supportive. I have changed the name of the show.
As of two days ago the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf is the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf. The name has been changed to help with audience identity and growth.
Finally – the many of the episode CD’s of the show will be for sale in the National Storytelling Festival Marketplace tent. Make sure that you stop by the tent at the Market Place and buy and pick up a CD!
Last summer I pushed for the recording of important sessions of the National Storytelling Network’s (NSN) 2008 Conference I was recording my session on the future of storytelling online for this podcast. I figured why not do a little more? I exhausted myself and recorded the membership session and the regional NSN rep session. These recording are the property of NSN. Unluckily I work for myself like most artists and it took me two months to edit the work – then having finished it – I promptly forgot about it. Finally in November I got my copies to the NSN board. Jo Radner, the NSN board chair was very excited about getting some key sessions recorded. I got the feeling the board would have liked faster service – but you know the old saying you get what you pay for and I was free.
Others recorded the Keynotes and the Master storytellers concert. I don’t know what happened to these files. I’m sure the NSN got a copy of them somewhere. The master storytellers performance – Doc McConnell’s last performance – was almost not recorded! I saw the volunteer putting his equipment away before the performance, and when I asked why, I was told by NSN volunteers that the storytellers would never agreed to their work being recorded.
So I walked up to each storyteller and asked them for permission to record their performance for NSN with any other uses to be worked out later. They all said yes with a great deal of passion and Doc McConnell said we could do anything NSN wanted with his recording. I’m sure I was too pushy for bystanders
The reality is that storytelling has an advantage over other art forms, because new work is always being created. We all have material that we have not performed in years. We all have stories that were once primary to our performance, but now no longer capture our attention. What if all of that material was still available? Mostly I try to downplay storytellers’ fears by asking this one question: Re-framing the whole debate. Do you want to be a part of the historical record?
That is how I would frame this debate over recording conference sessions.
Five years from now if this material is available will it still matter to you? Won’t you be on to other things? Wouldn’t it be nice to have this historical moment recorded? The question is not “Do we record our conference sessions?” The question really is – “When do we release our recorded conference sessions? One year? Two years? Five years from now?”
The storytelling skill set is timeless – the skills and abilities we have today will not, unlike computers, internet or blogging, become old fashioned – they are ageless. I personally know that the storytelling movement has a lot to offer the world and think it’s time we stepped up to the plate to offer our skills. NSN or any other national organization could be the vehicle for that delivery. Who ever builds a content delivery system around the art of storytelling first will win that race and be the source for the international storytelling movement for the next twenty years. My website www.artofstorytellingshow.com is well on the way to being the source for all things relating to storytelling with children, but what about storytelling with seniors, in business, marketing, or any of a dozen different topics that I have not had time or resources to cover in the depth that should be covered?
NSN could be so much more then a network, using it’s conference it could bring the separate candles of the storytelling community into a bright light that would shine forth across the world.
If you’re a storyteller with a webcam, you can record your stories and post them on-line. It’s remarkably easy. Since July I have been busily recording stories and songs, making up for years of talking myself out of it because of the expense, the time commitment and my nervousness in front of the camera. Now the videographer is me, the venue is my own home, and telling to the webcam is as natural telling in front of a mirror.
Videos are a way to reach a far, far wider audience than you ever dreamed. Through my presence on storyteller.net, ProfessionalStoryteller.ning, Facebook and, most of all, YouTube, I have told to people in unexpected places such as Qatar, Croatia, Argentina and Indonesia. I have also forged new friendships with other storytellers. I absolutely Read more »
Very few storytellers make it easy for potential clients to listen to their material online. Many storytellers choose to hide the treasure of their professional work behind a wall of profit and self-interest. Unluckily for them profit and self-interest can be better served by bringing down the wall. How do you expect potential clients to be sold on your ability as a storyteller if they have never heard you tell a story? How many potential presenters or school administrators are not hiring storytellers just because they had one bad experience and need more evidence to overcome their prejudice? How do you expect people to buy your online CD’s without being able to test the waters?
As a movement we are offering what the world wants to hear. Currently America is filled with cynical, disconnected and apathetic people who are dying for authentic relationships. What is good storytelling? – authentic, real and Read more »
Saturday, October 25, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Eric James Wolf
Phone: (937) 767-869 Speaking out in Defense of Scary Stories on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show
Eric James Wolf, professional storyteller and host of the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show, is available for print, radio and television interviews to defend the use of the scary Halloween stories in the oral tradition with children.
Scary Halloween stories and ghost stories for children have taken the place of ritual trials of adulthood for teenagers, according to Mr. Wolf. They also serve as a means for adults to warn children away from dangerous places or behavior. Ghost stories and scary Halloween stories in the oral tradition can be age appropriate and satisfying for families. Currently on his the Art of Storytelling shows website he has five interviews available for easy download about the art of telling scary Halloween stories.
Eric Wolf does not condone or support horror or the graphic use of violence. “It is possible, however, by carefully working within the confines of scary Halloween stories and ghost stories for children, to leave our audience psychologically stronger and more emotionally capable of dealing with their fears or the shock of real world disasters,” Mr. Wolf says.
Beginning Storytelling Tips, Brother Wolf, Coaching Storytelling, Extra Articles, Storytelling Digital | Brother Wolf | 
September 23, 2009 1:16 pm | 
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