MArch 9- April 2, 2008

BRIEFLY: I had a BLAST in an exhausting collage of faces and places starting with Atlanta, Kennesaw (curriculum mixes drama and storytelling) with Irish teller Eddie Lenihan. Then up through the Smokey Mountains: Cleveland, Knoxville, and Jonesborough (SUCH A LITTLE TOWN!) Connie Gil hosted me. Met with NSN (Bobbie) and ISC (Susan/ Jimmy Neil) about a national story radio show. I did a workshop & tell there, then did lotsa ghost tours with my daughter in Savannah, and caught my breath at her house in Jacksonville, Florida. Then a wonderfully intense long weekend at the Florida Storytelling Camp and home on one of the last ATA flights.

My Georgia has two cities: Atlanta and Kennesaw, and that’s a WORLD of fun! A lot of what I know as ATLANTA is due to two folks: Feriel Feldman and David Schutten. Feriel is the dramatic kingpin behind the Southern Order of Storytellers. She arranged for two evenings of dinners with tellers from SOS, and made sure I toured the hills of Atlanta’s Mansions, drove me to gigs, and to an Atlanta Puppetry Theater show, Duke Ellington’s Cat (WOW! A REAL PUPPET THEATER doing NEW WORKS filled with KIDS! This is SUCH a JEWEL! Atlanta should be very proud.)

David Schutten arranged for me to do a few days in schools (all ages, all black- unheard of in Hawaii). He’s an executive for the teacher’s union, and is a teller too. He has a hand in everything, but managed to drive me around a bit, which was illuminating.

Then to KENNESAW UNIVERSITY. John Gentile heard me tell at the NSN Conference in Bellingham, Washigton in 2003 and arranged this residency with THE Irish teller, Eddie Lenihan (looking a bit like a troll). He’s written a ton of books, one of which is full of new accounts of encounters with the faeries (the only new one since Yates). There’s lots of Scotch/ Irish/ English immigrant history in Georgia/Tennessee, and they brought their stories (Jack Tales) so Eddie has lots to offer such researchers. I learned tons of history of the South and of Ireland. We were wonderfully chaperoned by Hannah Harvey, a bright energetic professor from ‘the hills of Tennessee’. The Kennesaw Theater program is exceptional, giving students 1) theater training, 2) storytelling classes 3) innovative hybrids mixing the two. Prof. Gentile was directing his original adaptation of ‘Moby Dick’. The students are all in their 20s. The first evening we briefly participated in a student storytelling concert (many solo/duet pieces, all innovative and noteworthy in different ways). We’ll be hearing from students in this program in decades to come. I‘d send my (grand) children there.

On each of the next 2 days, Eddie and I would each do a workshop, rest and eat well in the late afternoon, and do an evening show. After the show, we’d ‘drink a few pints’, return to our quaint B&B, drink tea and talk more. I LOVED it- a great priviledge.

My 1st workshop followed my new CD (completed and packaged for the trip and 2 others) YAKKITY YAK- Talkin’ about Tellin’. It uses stories (on the CD told to music) to illustrate points and thoughts about storytelling. It went over very well (as the students told me. A former speech professor said it succinctly codified thoughts and points she’d been making her whole career). Then I did a shadow puppet workshop on the overhead projector and with my ‘laptop’ (the only time I used them the whole trip).

My 2nd workshop pleased me less. I talked lots on storytelling and media, recording ourselves, and showed video clips from my tells and from my Talk Story Festival (also the only time I shared this on my trip). At one point I asked the students how many of them use Final Cut Pro and many raised their hands. This is the future in storytelling. Duh! The question and answer session at the end was much better.

I was pleased with my tell the first night, but my voice was wearing thin. I arrived with a nose that needed blowing (long flights- I’m not used to this), and it got worse, dogging me throughout the trip. I only took my hat, scarf, and jacket off outside twice (in Florida). It was cold and I had a cold. This messed up my head for my second workshop and evening tell, but I muddled through it on technique and perseverance. Sigh… embarrassing (and unusual. I’m NEVER sick in Hawaii). I‘m proud that I insisted on recording Eddie’s outrageous traditional Tall Tale tell on the second evening. I hope the tremendously innovative work being done a Kennesaw will be recorded (and I hope to put them on my projected national story radio show.) Oh, they treated us well!

Then a series of days began, each filled with new ’story’ friends. It was exhausing fun and I learned so much as my yellow rental car drove from one appointment to the next.

It began with a drive to CLEVELAND, at the bottom of Tennessee’s Smokey Mountains. I joined a small group for a potluck at the house of Peggy Jones. After dinner I told some funny stories and heard about their tellings (Pete Vanderpool is Santa Clause and does a program warn kids about ‘danger strangers’ and safety).

The next day I got a tour of the Cleveland Museum and lots of history from Sylvia Idom, and a drive up a gorge where the Olympic rough water kayaking was held and the devastating copper mining at the hilltop (for years everything was dead). That night I joined the KNOXVILLE group organized by Janice Brooks-Headrick in the sophisticated log cabin of Susan & Stephen Fulbright. After dinner, everyone LEFT (it WAS a Monday night- wish we’d had more time) so we talked story as the news played. The next day Stephen told me about squirrel hunting (early frost= no nuts= not many squirrels= don’t hunt). I took his advice and drove a GORGEOUS backroad and saw wonderful landscapes (and trailer housing).

That afternoon I made it to JONESBOROUGH - what a KICK! A tiny old town by a little river, perhaps three blocks long, nice older buildings, and in its center the ISC- International Storytelling Center. THIS IS IT= The Epicenter of Storytelling in America! ISC has a little theater, and the outside wall has teller’s faces and quotes (including Bren & Lucille Breneman, the grandparents of storytelling in Hawaii.) I saw the little Gazebo for Spookies at the National Festival (as Lyn Ford described it to me)(I’d remove the railing to see tellers better.) I tried to imagine the grassy areas PACKED with listeners and the little town INVADED with audiences spilling out of seven big tents.)

I was generously hosted by Connie Gill, President of the Jonesborough Storytelling Guild. She allowed me to play hookie from the Guild Tell that first night in Jonesborough and we drove to hear the 90 year old Grand Dame of Southern Storytelling, Kathryn Windham. There we met several students from ETSU’s ‘Masters Degree in Storytelling’ Program (the first of many students/ alumni) and professor Delanna Reed. Some later came to my show. They’re an older, more diverse group than the Kennesaw students.

I want to do a National Storytelling Radio show. It’s time. I’ve created the blueprint in Hawaii (go to www.talkstoryradio.com and listen to podcasts- subscribe and make comments.) I met with NSN (National Storytelling Network)’s Director Bobbie Morgan for a very productive, on-task meeting filled with laughter. Connie took me to do a TV appearance, and that afternoon I met ISC’s Jimmy Neal Smith and Susan O’Connor for a delightful talk (we’re new to one another.) All are curious and interested in the radio show. Good will come of this. I’m motivated and committed, and these talks helped.

The next afternoon about 12 adults gathered in a Jonesborough Church community hall for a few hours of workshopping. I talked through my ‘Yakkity Yak’ and then we just talked. I really enjoyed the opportunity to commune in storytelling with these folks, especially the give-and-take session. Larry Kelley , a drawlin’ Jonesborough teller (and very funny CD) said, ” I lieeked whut you saaid, but whut I’ll take away with me is your passion saying it. You Lluuuv storytellin”… See me melt. What a gift! He made my trip.

That night I did a 90 minute tell at the Jonesborough Rep Theater, earning $500 for NSN. A busload of teenagers were the principal audience. I started with personal funnies, added a surfer tale, did a touching tale and a Pele. After a break I did 2 moving tales. One teenager annoyed adults texting, but teens told the teacher “when’s the next one? It was surprisingly good!”

Then I drove to Charlotte (stopping briefly in Ashland, home of David Novak, to see it) to join my daughter Mecca. We walked around downtown and went to a two blocks long ‘art night’. We caught up. In SAVANNAH, an atmospheric city on a river, we took every history (revolution, Civil & Indian wars) and ghost tour we could fit into two days (but found no rockin’ gospel-singin’ church service for Easter.) Life intervened to prevent a ghost tour with Savannah teller Bess Chapas. In my opinion, these tour guides need lessons in telling spooky tales! It was factual, only ‘spooky’ once, despite the guide/teller. Working stiffs just doing a job. One Haunted tour seated 8 people in a Hearse with the top elevated.

Then we returned to Mecca’s house (new to me) in Jacksonville. I told tales to her co-workers at the University (nice folks), and I drove around downtown (art museum, etc.- it was deserted.) I felt lucky to ‘hang’ with her seeing her world. We visited St. Augustine, seeing what wealth built there (Flagler College) and its historic center. I drank a good bit one night with a good Hawaii friend’s brother learning lots of arcane family and regional history. FUN!

Then to the Florida Storytelling Camp, with an auspicious beginning- a ride with Kaye Byrnes. I soon met a WORLD of new friends (and some old)… featured tellers Michael Parent (Maine pal), Michael McCarty (LA pal), Molly Catron (from Jonesborough- twist that drawl with humor into some challenging ideas), Kuniko Yamamoto (mime/prop tells, who may come to Hawaii), and a REAL SURPRISE- Sandy Walker, a Miami ghost tour teller (she never told a ghost tale at Camp)- MAN, what a weird circular compositions: 1/2 way through, you wonder ‘where are we going?’ When she ties it off to end- BAM.. so satisfying. Quirky, halting, reticent speaking style, but POWERFUL! And LOTS of REALLY GOOD local tellers and story enthusiasts and some real ‘doers’ in storytelling. A small core made it happen who love this Camp (Kim Rivers, Mary Lee Sweet, Carrie Sue Ayvar, Mylinda Butterworth, Kay, many others). I’ve never BEEN somewhere with SO MANY GUILDS! It was a revelation to meet so many people doing great things- It was totally engaging. I was MOVED! THESE are my PEOPLE! STORY People! I did the swaps and a 10 minute evening story, which went over well. I hope to return, see my daughter, visit new Florida pals, and have MORE FUN… it really felt great. I was challenged and affirmed, accepted and adopted. That’s A LOT from a camp! I just wrote on MEDIA for their next newsletter.

I stopped for a few days in Los Angeles to see my folks and lunched with itales.com founder Mary Margaret O’Connor (the story download site- get on it.) I came home way tired on one of the LAST ATA flights. I’m finally cleaning up a glut of papers and am listening to some of the box of CDs I brought home (traded for many, sold some cheap). I’m back into my life (which was waiting with its own needs) and plotting MORE trips!

To my new friends met on this trip, thank you thank you and thanks AGAIN for your kind attention to this traveler from so far away. Thanks for gathering your tellers around my passing presence and for sharing your warmth and insights. My world is a bigger, friendlier place.

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