storytelling

Normal Doesn’t Mean Anything – Let’s Focus On Moving Forward

  The Past Time! Normal – adjective 1. conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected. “it’s quite normal for puppies to bolt their food”         Next – adverb adverb: next 1. on the first or soonest occasion after the present; immediately afterward.     I know that many people are...

Adjusting To Life As An Artist During A Pandemic

Three weeks ago I was exhausted. I was on a twelve-week touring jag with a single week off in the middle of it. I was planning to be in Georgia, Florida, out in the Caribbean on a cruise ship, in Colorado, Chicago, and who knows where else. There were...

Sometimes I Forget…..

Storytelling is work Being a working storyteller is a pretty intense job at times. Right now the booking season is in full swing and schools, libraries, conferences and other types of performance and workshop venues are calling for dates and shows. In my brain this translates to the work...

Li Chi Slays The Serpent

  source This story has been sitting in my body for days. It wants to be shared. Long ago, in China, there was a fearsome serpent who lived in the Yung Mountains. His head was as big as a large rice barrel and his body was fearsomely long. When...

How To Avoid Blundering Into Horrible Gig

source There are few things worse than blundering into a performance situation that is annoying or horrible. We all have types of shows we won’t do. For every performer who runs screaming, another would do the venue at the drop of a hat. Some people like birthday parties. Some...

What Is The Best Grade To Introduce Storytelling?

Some years ago, after a storytelling set, a curriculum teacher told me she really wanted to start using storytelling in the classroom. She asked me what would be the best grade to implement such a thing. I know I had one of those run over by a train looks on...

Telling For Sixth Graders

February is always an exhausting month for me. My running joke is that even people who didn’t know they needed a performer of any kind suddenly need a black one in February!   I work with all kinds of audiences. Sixth grade is one of my favorites.   Sixth grade is...

Thoughts About Storytelling To Start 2018

We made it to 2018. More shows, more writing, more teaching.  I found myself in two conversations this week about the nature of storytelling. I thought I’d share some of the observations.   Q: What is the difference between being a storyteller and being a comedian? My Answer: Comedy...

Librarians Have The Best Stories

Blogging has been a very interesting experience for me. As I continue on into the years, I learn more about the insidious way my brain works. So, I promised to blog about Sydney, but I couldn’t think of anything particularly interesting to say about Sydney. Not because I didn’t...