Posts Tagged North Eastern Storytelling

Odds Bodkin – Storytelling in the Bardic Tradition

Odds Bodkin Bard and Storyteller Press Play to hear Odds Bokin speak on Storytelling in the Bardic Tradition on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Press Play to hear Odds Bokin speak on Storytelling in the Bardic Tradition on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Odds Bodkin Writes…
Bardic storytelling–that is, spoken words with live music–is a tradition that dates back to Homer and more deeply into almost all
shamanic traditions. Homer plucked a lyre, scholars believe, and recited The Iliad and The Odyssey with character voices. Shamanic traditions have used music with spoken narrative to transport audiences ever since local history and the religious impulse demanded human expression. Read the rest of this entry »

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An Interview with Lanes Exec. Director Yvonne Zinicola Part 2

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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

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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.

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

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


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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Diane Edgecomb – Place Based Nature Storytelling.


Press Play to hear Storyteller Diane Edgecomb talk about place based nature storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Press Play to hear Storyteller Diane Edgecomb talk about place based nature storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Diane Edgecomb Storyteller
Diane writes…
In this interview with Eric, I speak about how the various elements of nature mythology can be an enlivening force both for those who hear
you tell and for your own journey into this ancient form of meaning. Storytelling a landscape and being storied by it is one of the most intimate and rewarding nature journeys one can take. Read the rest of this entry »

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