Important Note:
This is not the full program for STF 2024. It has descriptions and bios for Intensives, Workshops, Fringes, Main Ballroom Events, and anything we thought needed more explaining. Use the Public Sharing the Fire 2024 Schedule for all STF activities. Full printed program book, including photos of all presenters, will be available at the registration table in Portsmouth.
To register for Sharing the Fire, click here: STF 2024 Registration – Northeast Storytelling
Thursday March 21
The New Hampshire Storytelling Alliance (NHSA) Presents STF Fringes in ...
An Evening of Arcane Americana
The Desrick on Yandro, Performance by: Lynne Cullen, Kurt Kish
A supernatural tale about love and betrayal, music and monsters, adapted from one of the "John the Balladeer" stories by pulp writer Manly Wade Wellman (1903-1986). John wanders the folkways of Appalachia with only his silver-stringed guitar to stand against the forces of evil.
Bios: Lynne is a storyteller, writer, artist and musician. She produced Seanachie Nights, featuring tales from Celtic tradition. She plays concertina. Kurt’s scores add a cinematic dimension to the stories. Kurt has developed an original voice on electric guitar, concertina and ukulele.
Myth America, Performance by: Milbre Burch
What do an Irish immigrant, an essential worker, an unhoused person and children sharing their unstudied wisdom have in common? Their humanity calls to our own.
Bio: Milbre Burch is a GRAMMY-nominated spoken word recording artist, an internationally known storyteller, a sought-after teaching artist and storytelling coach. Featured at the National Storytelling Festival nine times since 1984, she has performed at festivals across the US and in Europe and Asia.
Location: PPMTV Studio - Portsmouth Public Media 50 Fox Run Rd., Newington NH 03801
Requires separate ticket
Friday March 22
The Elephant in the Room: An Interactive Exploration of Storytelling and Social Justice
Presented by Denise Page (she/her), Simon Brooks (he/him), & Joy Smith (she/her)
Do you want to use story to advocate for social justice? This is the workshop for YOU. Storytelling allows communities to connect. When we share stories of social justice anchored in the commonality of our shared experiences of social inequity, it has the ability to transform, ignite, inspire, and heal. This intensive workshop will delve deeply into the topic of social justice, safely exploring different genres of storytelling to be inclusive for all. This is NOT about being PC but about authentic community connections. Bring a five-minute story of your choice, come prepared to work, and mine the untapped resources within. Join us.
Location: Woodbury
All who are ready to deeply explore
Intensive, Requires separate ticket
Denise K Page, founder of Ubuntu Storytellers, tells and coaches stories to inspire social justice. She's been a professional in the field of DEI for over 30 years.
British storyteller Simon Brooks has led workshops on sound and marketing. He has been telling stories since 1997, with a nod and a wink and a little irreverence.
Joy Kelly Smith, daughter of a civil rights minister has told stories involving her own experiences in Social Justice. She is on the Artists Council of Rural Migrants Ministry where she has taught children stories about awareness and participation in social justice issues.
Big Body Stories and the Art of Improvisation
Presented by Masankho K. Banda, he/him
Embody your story in fun and easily accessible modalities! Masankho will guide you on how and when to use the body as an essential tool, how you move, and how you use the room. Work with full body movements to develop character and foster a personal warm-up routine. Movement also inspires improvisation. You will play with building story from a single word or phrase. There will be large group and small group formats so that you can have plenty of opportunities to practice what you learn.
Location: Warner
All Levels
Excellent for Beginners
Presented in Partnership with Rhode Island Black Storytellers (RIBS)
Intensive, Requires a separate ticket
Masankho K. Banda is a motivational storyteller, healer, facilitator, and cultural keeper who spent long days and nights learning the fine arts of storytelling and dance from his elders in his home village of Tukombo, Malawi. Those stories and dances captivated his mind, nourished his soul, and strengthened his spirit. Masankho earned a BA degree in Theater and Dance from the College of Wooster in Ohio and an MA in Culture and Theology from Holy Names University in Oakland, California. For his work around the world, Masankho was awarded the “Unsung Hero of Compassion “ commendation by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2001.
Transforming a Personal Story into a Healing Story
Presented by Lani Peterson, she/her
Through a series of exercises, debriefed in small groups and plenary, participants will be guided to unpack and repack a personal story, deepening their own understanding of the healing elements contained within. Participants will share their evolving story and their changing relationship to it as they understand at a deeper level what their story is about when told through a healing story lens. Working with templates, storytellers will leave with the resources to work with a lifetime of personal stories that may be told in a way that touches and benefits others.
Location: Woodbury
All Levels
Personal Stories, Applied Storytelling
Intensive, Requires a separate ticket
As a parent, psychologist, coach, and storyteller, Lani Peterson has searched for ways to support the development of values, insight, and understanding of both myself and others. I believe that as we understand our own stories and bear witness to the stories told by others, we can transform our limitations through insight and acceptance, encourage integrity, and motivate inspired action and interaction. From CEO’s to scientists, doctors, mental health providers, ministers, the incarcerated and the homeless, I have worked to help people find and share the stories that will open doors within and between storytellers and listeners alike.
The Brother Blue & Ruth Hill Award
Named in honor of its two original recipients, Brother Blue (a.k.a. Dr. Hugh Morgan Hill, who passed away in 2009) and Dr. Ruth Edmonds Hill (who passed away in 2023). Both have long been recognized as tireless in their promotion of storytelling and storytellers throughout the Northeast region. Each year at Sharing the Fire, the Board of Directors presents the award to a living storyteller or organization in recognition of their extraordinary commitment and efforts to promote a broader understanding of the art of storytelling and the support of storytellers in the development of their art. It serves, as Brother Blue said, “to honor those who give their lives to storytelling to change the world.”
A Foot in Two Worlds - Performance by Eleanor Reissa
Eleanor has had a creative life that has encompassed many worlds, different languages, and unique voices. For this keynote opening performance, she will share in song and story unique treasures of that earthy, poetic, empathetic language – Yiddish – and provide a window into another world seemingly long gone yet alive and revitalized.
Location: Ballroom A/B & Live-Streamed Online
Dance for All - Lead by Cindy Rivka Marshall
Take a break from sitting. Come move your body to dance-inspiring music!
Shake, wiggle, re-energize, boogie, get down. No experience needed.
Location: Ballroom A/B
Swaps
Swaps are a chance for attendees to share stories in a friendly, facilitated setting. Come and tell, or just to listen and appreciate! Hosts will set time limits and try to ensure everyone who wishes to tell a story has a turn.
Saturday March 23
Member Update from the Board
Hear all the exciting things NEST is doing!
Location: Bookstore
Que sera sera: the Life of a Storyteller - KEYNOTE WITH Eleanor Reissa
What does it mean to be a storyteller? How do we know if we are one or how to do it? Eleanor Reissa – actor, director, translator, playwright, author, choreographer in English and Yiddish – has lived as a storyteller without ever actually recognizing that she was one. Her keynote is a conversation about the paths and possibilities, the discoveries and revelations, that have culminated in this storytelling life.
Bio: Eleanor Reissa has lived a life in the theatre and the arts. She is a storyteller in English and Yiddish - her first language. She is a Tony Award nominee for directing, a prize-winning playwright, an actress, singer, translator, choreographer, and published author. A Brooklyn born-and-bred daughter of Holocaust fighters, her memoir, THE LETTERS PROJECT: A Daughter’s Journey, discovers the truth about her father, a slave in Auschwitz, as well as the truth about herself.
Location: Ballroom A/B & Live-Streamed Online
The Characters Within: Improv Play
Workshop leader Rona Leventhal
What would happen if you let go of your critical mind and let your body and imagination guide you to more authentic characters? Using prompts based in improv theatre and movement, we will develop and embody characters ... and see what evolves! Come and explore in a safe environment, and be able to more easily find your way into characters that feel true to you AND to your audience.
Bio: Rona Leventhal is the real deal! She’s been a Teller of Tales, a Storytelling Teacher and an Improvisational Theatre/Movement specialist for over three decades. Her workshops are hands-on and fun, guiding people to feel safe to explore and to walk away with immediately applicable skills and the motivation to use them! She’s presented workshops at storytelling, education and library conferences nationally and internationally, produced The Summer Storytelling Institute, and taught storytelling graduate courses for Educators. She has an award-winning CD, Into the Dark: Stories from the Shadows; and is Coeditor of the award-winning book Spinning Tales, Weaving Hope: Stories of Peace, Justice and the Environment.
Location: Gardner
All Levels
All Storytellers
Engaging Community and Developing Storytelling Practice for Positive Social Change
Workshop leader Milbre Burch
What stories in your repertoire address social issues that move you? How can you draw on your skills and local resources to get those stories to audiences? And how can you engage your community through stories to activate social change? In this interactive workshop, Milbre Burch will outline model projects, then lead attendees in adapting her strategies to create a performance, engage a community, and use local resources to promote change. With journaling, Q&A, pair-share and group brainstorming we’ll adapt a model project to your skills, your stories, your issues, your community resources.
Bio: Based in Chapel Hill, NC, Milbre Burch is a GRAMMY-nominated spoken word recording artist, internationally-known storyteller, and sought-after teaching artist and storytelling coach. Featured at the National Storytelling Festival nine times since 1984, she’s performed at festivals across the US and in Europe and Asia, and presented workshops nationally coast-to-coast. A producer of three multi-year storytelling series for adults in RI and CA, and co-coordinator of the virtual Remembrance and Renewal Festival at UNC, she's a member of NEST's Social Justice Initiative performance committee.
Location: Lear
All Levels
Applied Storytelling
Echoes & Ink: Merging the Oral and Written Storytelling Worlds
Workshop Leader Erin Lovelien
Discover the symbiotic relationship between written and oral narratives. Using hands-on activities and group discussions, participants will grasp the intertwined essence of these forms, exploring how writing refines oral tellings, and performed stories enliven the written word. Ideal for writers, tellers, and enthusiasts eager to enhance their skills, "Echoes & Ink" provides a platform to immerse, learn, collaborate, and embrace the dance.
Erin Lovelien has always appreciated a good story. While working on her first book, "Gui Ren: Extraordinary Stories of Ordinary People," she stumbled upon a local storytelling group. The artistic flair of storytelling met with the structure of writing was a game changer. Since then, she has performed her work across the country. Erin is an applied storytelling coach for professionals working in education. As the owner of Fishtail Publishing LLC, she’s published 3 books of her own and over 12 books for clients nationwide. Curious to know more of her story? Check out www.erinoneil.org.
Location: Warner
All Levels
All Storytellers
Choose Hope: Stories for Climate Change
Workshop leader Bowen Lyam Lee
The future of humankind depends on our stewardship of the Earth. Storytelling can play a major role in educating, informing, and moving people towards taking actions for a more sustainable world. This workshop can help you craft stories that spark conversations about the environment and our role as stewards of the Earth. Stories can stir people into wanting to do something positive, because the good news is people can undo the damage to the environment that we’ve caused. Learn how to design and tell the stories that invite others to be active participants in healing our planet.
Bio: Bowen Lyam Lee divides her time between cities, forests, and the ocean around Monterey, California. She was a natural science illustrator and writer before becoming a public school teacher. Now, she tells stories, incorporating storytelling into all aspects of teaching. She conducts workshops on storytelling to teach educational content in national and regional education conferences. She has been sparking climate change conversations through blending traditional tales with personal narratives, and inviting audiences to share their views and ideas about taking climate action.
Location: Riverwatch
All Levels
All Storytellers, Traditional, Personal, and Historical stories, Applied Storytelling
STF Fringe
Back-to-back performances. Please stay for both.
Story Dance, Performance by Phyllis Blackstone, Erin Curren
In this short performance, Phyllis will tell a folktale, followed by an interpretative, participatory dance by Erin.
Bios: Phyllis, retired educator and storyteller and Erin, NIA dance instructor combine stories and interpretative dances to offer a multidimensional storytelling experience.
Rhyme Time! Stories and Inspired Silliness in Verse, Performance by Bruce Marcus
Bask in the inspired madness of a seasoned recitationist who has been crafting and presenting a wide range of crowd-pleasing rhyming stories, poems, songs and miscellaneous malarkey for decades. 55-minutes, for ages 10 and up.
Bio: Bruce Marcus has been rhyming for decades, presenting original work called "Awesome!" (in the US, which means little), "Brilliant!" (in the UK, where the term is the British equivalent of "awesome"), "Amazing!" (somewhat of an improvement?), "Beyond clever!" and “Crazy, mad, daft and fabulous!"
Location: Woodbury
Make My Story Slam!
Workshop leader The Artist Anubis
Make your stories dance like thunder in the hearts of the hearers with Slam Poetry devices and rhythms. Slam isn’t just competition. Slam isn’t just demonstration. Slam is an engaging expression of mutual catharsis between a storyteller telling their truth and an audience finding their truth in the teller’s tale. Storytellers will play with poetic devices like Extended Metaphors and Oronyms while exploring forms like List Poems and Pirouettes to use Folktales and Fairytales to tell personal stories of pride, power, politics, and pain. Storytellers will share their different voices with unique Slam Poetry techniques.
Bio: LUTHER D. ISLER, poetically known as THE ARTIST ANUBIS, is a spoken word artist, cultural curator, playwright, and community cultivator. He founded Harlem Bomb Shelter: Spoken Word Open Mic & Showcase in Harlem, NYC in 2012 with the help of long-time mentor, Voza Rivers, cultural impresario and Executive Director of New Heritage Theatre Group, to provide a stage for amateur and professional performers and a safe space for people to express their human experiences. In 2022, Anubis started The Bomb Squad Mentorship Program, mentoring 5 young adults each year to develop their writing, performance, and networking skills. Most recently, he received an AUDELCO Award for his “Special Achievements” throughout the years as he keeps the multi-faceted Harlem literary legacy alive.
Location: Gardner
All Levels
All Storytellers
Are You A Good Witch Or A Bad Witch
Workshop leader Rivka Willick
Take a deep dive into the world of witches as we explore how they evolved in history, folklore, literature, and common culture. Storyteller Rivka Willick leads this interactive workshop looking at stereotypes and the ever-evolving images that still impact society. We'll look at the impact this iconic character group has upon women and social language and how implicit bias creeps into our stories. AND maybe you’ll win a hagstone.
Bio: Rivka Willick has been telling traditional, historical, original and personal stories for over 25 years. Her workshops tackle technique and challenging topics. Her work often deals with expanding awareness, breaking stereotypes, and increasing interaction in performances. She strives to introduce oral storytelling to new audiences with Storytelling Drum Circles. Her "Labor Daze". a storytelling show about birth, has been performed across America.
Location: Lear
All Levels
Traditional and Historical stories, Applied Storytelling, All who work with women
Stealth Ecotelling: Putting Your Repertory Where Your Heart Is
Workshop Leader Fran Stallings
"I want to help the environment, but I don't tell Nature stories." No problem. STORIES YOU ALREADY KNOW have messages about connections, responsibility, unintended consequences, and other basic environmental principles. Fran Stallings will help you put a Green perspective on familiar stories, letting you see your repertory anew. You'll consider how (much) to emphasize environmental advocacy, and how to avoid eco-downers.
Bio: Fran Stallings (PhD botany/biochem) taught undergrad biology and now uses storytelling to share information, concern and action on environmental topics. She co-founded NSN's Special Interest Group on environmental storytelling, co-chaired two international virtual ecotelling conferences, and writes story+science columns (www.franstallings.com/content/earthteller-tales) for The Environmentor e-newsletter. Based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, she tells and teaches nationwide and, thanks to Zoom, overseas.
Location: Warner
Intermediate, Advanced
All Storytellers, Applied Storytelling
Making Soup Out of Rocks: Finding Your Way to the Memoir
Or: How to create something nourishing and satisfying out of nothing
Workshop leader Eleanor Reissa (STF Keynote)
Some find it daunting to choose or decide on the 'event' necessary for memoir storytelling. In this workshop, we’ll examine the tools that you already possess inside of you and explore self prompts to help you unlock the door into your memoir possibilities and find your own voice. Using sense memory – photos, smells, sounds, etc. – we will write and share short vignettes that make your event specific to you and stimulate exploration of your story. Please bring a few photos that move you, if possible from a long time ago.
Location: Riverwatch
All Levels
Applied storytelling
STF Fringe
Back-to-back performances. Please stay for both.
No Safety, Performance by Judith Black
How can we, as storytellers, lift up and amplify the many issues challenging our world? These two stories of the No DAPL movement and how PFAS have invaded most water sources, draw listeners through new terrain.
Bio: JB is a professional storyteller and climate activist. Featured on stages from the Montreal Comedy Festival, to The Smithsonian Institution, to the Art Museum of Cape Town, to Hebrew University in Jerusalem, she has appeared 14 times at the National Storytelling Festival.
Upcycled and Recycled Stories about Clothing, Performance by Lee-Ellen Marvin
Lee-Ellen Marvin uses traditional and historical stories to explore the environmental impact of our clothes. What is the role of clothing in shaping our identities, what's in our closets, and what happens to our old clothes?
Bio: Lee-Ellen Marvin has explored storytelling as a radio and events producer, teacher, performer, scholar, and mental health educator. She launched Sharing the Fire in 1981, has a Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife, and is deeply interested in the role of storytelling in community life.
Location: Woodbury
Young teens through Adults
How to Craft Your Original Fairy Tale
Workshop leader Laura Packer
Have you ever thought that the folk or fairy tale you really want to tell must not exist? Have you ever wished a myth or story was yours to tell, but it just isn’t? Have you ever wanted to create your own tale that sounds traditional but is original to you? This is your chance. In this highly participatory workshop we will explore what makes a traditional story work including structure, metaphor, symbol, and more. Participants will leave with an original fairy tale they crafted, and tools to dream up more.
Bio: Laura Packer knows the best way to the truth is through a good story. She holds a degree in folklore and mythology, and has won many awards, including the National Storytelling Network’s Circle of Excellence and Best in Fringe at national festivals. Laura tells original fairy tales (such as The Adventures of Crazy Jane and Red Haired Annie), traditional, and personal stories. She coaches, teaches, writes, consults, and more. She’s worked around the world as a storyteller for over 30 years. laurapacker.com.
Location: Gardner
Intermediate, Advanced Personal and Traditional Stories, Adolescents, Fans of Neil Gaiman etc…
Stories for Social Justice in the Classroom
Workshop leader Katie Knutson
Kids have a deep sense of justice. Similarly, many folk and fairy tales have social justice themes. (Poor, hardworking folks are rewarded. Fairness is valued. Evil is punished.) When results aren’t just, it brings up even richer discussions. Using, modifying, and rewriting traditional stories in the classroom in intentional ways can empower students and promote social justice. Experience hands-on activities based on the work of Jack Zipes and Gianni Rodari that you can use to help students become the storytellers of their own lives.
Bio: Katie Knutson is a professional storyteller and teaching artist who taught with the Neighborhood Bridges program developed by Jack Zipes. Knutson has performed and taught around the US and in Canada, Chile, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates. She has taught hundreds of adults and children to tell their own stories, create new stories, and make traditional stories their own. She is the current Executive Director of NEST. ripplingstories.com
Location: Lear
Intermediate, Advanced Teachers, Teaching Artists, All Storytellers, Applied Storytelling
Blending Poetry and Story
Workshop leader Laura Deal
Storytellers understand the difference between a story and a poem. Yet spoken-word poetry blurs the line between these art forms, as does some prose. This workshop explores poetry-as-story, as well as ways to enrich storytelling with poetic use of language. We’ll play with words using fun prompts and a method for tapping into creativity that Laura calls “Juxtaprise.” By inviting the element of chance to join us, we’ll sneak past our inner critics to our creative playground, and create some fresh, new material.
Bio: Laura Deal is a storyteller, poet, and dream worker. She’s appeared on festival stages (in person and online) across the U.S.. You can hear her on Story Story Podcast and the Apple Seed on BYU Radio, as well as her CDs, The Diffendaffer Taffy Cafe and Other Stories, and Simple, Clever, and Wise. She hosts Poets Standing Strong Together, a monthly online gathering under the umbrella of Artists Standing Strong Together (ASST). She’s the author of The Newcomer’s Guide to the Invisible Realm: A Journey through Dreams, Metaphor, and Imagination, and Marbles: New and Collected Poems.
Location: Warner
All Levels
All Storytellers, Applied Storytelling
Mining and Crafting Historical Stories
Workshop leader Charlotte Blake Alston
This workshop will focus on the process for selecting, researching, and crafting historical, family or cultural stories for oral telling. How do you choose a story? How do you gather information? How do you put the pieces together? What is our responsibility as storytellers to these stories? Charlotte will draw upon stories from her own repertoire as models: the story of Bessie Coleman, the first American woman to earn an international pilot’s license; Six Triple –Eight, the story of the first all African American WAC unit to serve in Europe during WWII; and Voices in the Landscape, a commissioned horticultural Sound Installation.
Bio: Charlotte Blake Alston, STF 2024 Sunday Presenter, is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, and The Philadelphia Orchestra's Imasogie Storyteller, Narrator, and Host. She has graced stages throughout North America and abroad, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, and at regional, national and international Storytelling Festivals. Awards include two honorary PhDs, NSN's Circle of Excellence Award, and the Zora Neale Hurston Award from the National Association of Black Storytellers.
Location: Riverwatch
All Storytellers, Historical and Personal Stories, Applied Storytelling
STF Fringe
Back-to-back performances. Please stay for both.
The Blood Brothers, Performance by Jim Brule
A traditional story-within-a-story from the Hasidic tradition framed with its moral dilemma in the modern landscape, confronting the power of vows, fate, exoneration, and uncertain redemption.
Bio: Jim Brulé is a storyteller, death doula, and mentor. He teaches spiritual storytelling for healing and growth. His workshops address multicultural wisdom and end-of-life themes. Co-authored with Rebecca Lemaire, his book 'Stories of the Heart' presents 18 global tales for navigating life and death.
Saving Face, Performance by Mike Perry
Creative non-fiction, an introspective and humorous expose, with a provocative twist. Listening to his stories over time, Mike develops a relationship with an old man. It unravels when ego and nostalgia cause misunderstandings grow.
Bio: Mike's original stories often draw from a variety of life experiences including: teaching, corporate edu-tainer, circus, the Census Bureau, major motion pictures, and maintenance man. Mike can be found sharing stories at regional festivals, schools, libraries and corporate and community events.
Location: Woodbury
Adults and Teens
Olio Show - Raising the Roof: Stories of Social Justice and Collective Power
What is an Olio? In cooking, it’s a stew; in storytelling, it’s a variety of tellers and tales together in one show; and at Sharing the Fire, it is our always rich and simmering Saturday night showcase! (Bios and photos will be in the printed program book)
Joy Kelly Smith, Olio Emcee
Rona Leventhal “The Seeker”
Jezrie Marcano-Courtney “The Letter”
Robin Bady “The Cornelia Street Standoff”
Elisa Pearmain “The Butterflies Three”
Merrill Kohlhofer “A Formidable Woman”
Eva M. Abram “Miss Molly Steals the Butter”
Masankho Banda “The Boy Who Didn't Fit (Kuno si kwanu)”
Masks, Treats, and a Long Tale: Purim Festivities for all
Hosted by Andrea Kamens and friends
Purim is a Jewish lunar-based holiday that falls this year on Saturday night and Sunday of Sharing the Fire, and we are opening festivities for all! Traditional observance includes the reading of a dramatic tale from the Persian Jewish diaspora, wearing masks or costumes, using noisemakers during the story, extending the tale with silly, hopeful, and political commentary, and sharing food with friends and gifts for the poor. Surely we storytellers can handle this! Wear a costume if you wish to reveal your topsy-turvy truth or dress as royalty from your favorite tale, or come as you are! Listeners/watchers welcome.
Location: Ballroom A/B
Swaps
Swaps are a chance for attendees to share stories in a friendly, facilitated setting. Come and tell, or just to listen and appreciate! Hosts will set time limits and try to ensure everyone who wishes to tell a story has a turn.
Jazz Haircut & Social
What can we say? It's a tradition. Help give Tony Toledo his annual conference haircut, a bit at a time, or just come to chat and laugh and sip beer or water. Improvisational, welcoming, and good clean fun!
Location: NEST Suite
Sunday March 24
The Care and Feeding of Your Shaggy Dog
Workshop leader Andy Davis
A shaggy dog story is a meandering, digressive account of a series of events that leads inexorably, gloriously, beautifully to a disappointing anti-climax. It’s narrative for the joy of narrative, and Mark Twain called it a “high and delicate art.” We will take a brief look at the beguiling history of this art form, reflect on what it has in common with and what distinguishes it from other genres, and experiment with what you’ve learned about calculated digressions and other shaggy dog elements that can be also useful in daily life.
Bio: Andy Davis got his start as a storyteller telling comic tales by candlelight in Mexican refugee camps 30 years ago. His current work weaves together personal narrative, folklore, and grassroots history. When not puzzling over the timeless human search for meaning and belonging and other matters of consequence, he has been known to unwind a shaggy dog tale so elongated and digressive as to have the most peaceable audience members reaching for projectiles. He lives with his wife and beagle in a little house he built himself in Tamworth, New Hampshire.
Location: Gardner
All Levels
All Storytellers
Myths, Masks and Performing Objects
Workshop leader Mindy Donner
Participants will get some theory and a lot of practice creating or recreating a personal or collective myth using objects metaphorically or symbolically to deepen their storytelling. Come prepared to move, with comfortable clothes and shoes. We will explore how objects can be the environment of a journey, or become the characters. Which myth is living you? Which myth would you like to demystify or recreate for your future? Participants will have time to create solo, in partners, or in a small group, and share their piece with the workshop. Please bring favorite objects and masks. Some will be available at the workshop.
Bio: Mindy Donner is a San Diego-based storyteller and puppeteer who has performed on three continents. She is inspired by myths, observing people and nature, and co-conspirators. Her workshops are shaped in the crucible of nine years of college teaching in the arts. Donner delights in exploring movement forms such as commedia dell' arte, dance, and yoga. She has workshopped and performed with Bread and Puppet Theater in France, and Sandglass Theater at the O'Neill Playhouse, and was a guest editor for Storytelling Magazine. She’s addressed social justice issues, creating theater with youth and with her own troupe, and recently had the joy of meeting Little Amal with a troupe of transmythical animal puppets with Animal Cracker Conspiracy.
Location: Lear
Limited to 13 participants
Intermediate
All Storytellers, Applied Storytelling, Historical stories
Collective Telling: The Power of Audience Participation to Engage Listeners
Workshop leader Heather Forest
Joyful, collective energy rises when an audience unites to help the teller tell the tale. Through demonstration, lecture, and playful, improvisational activities, this experiential workshop will explore several participation techniques to enrich stories for audiences of all ages. Methods will include musical and rhythmic refrains, call and response, sound effects, physical movement, gesture, and audience suggestion, introduced before or during the telling. We’ll explore ways to engage the audience and amplify a story’s message.
Bio: Award-winning storyteller Heather Forest is a modern-day bard who has appeared in theatres, schools, literature conferences, and major festivals throughout the US and abroad. Her dynamic fusion of original music, poetry, and the sung and spoken word brings multicultural folktales to life in the imagination of her listeners. A pioneer in the American storytelling renaissance, she is a recipient of the Circle of Excellence Award presented by the National Storytelling Network for performance skill, and the 2021 Talking Leaves Award for her contributions to storytelling literature.
Location: Warner
All Levels
Traditional Storytellers, Applied Storytelling, Tellers to Children
High Performance Coaching
Workshop leader Jackson Gillman
Do you have a story you know is road-worthy, but is sputtering in performance or not quite ready to hit the track? Bring it to Jackson’s Bard & Body Shop. Specializing in: fine tune-ups for better spark and traction, hammering out the dents, lubrication and road-testing. Let Jackson help you get that number up and running like a charm! The goal of this workshop is to support others in crafting, delivering and polishing their work.
Bio: During Jackson’s 45-year career, he has had the privilege of coaching some of the best including Michael Parent, Judith Black, Bill Harley and Jo Radner. Jackson, he/him, has been featured four times at the national festival, and has also been Teller-in-Residence at the International Storytelling Center four times. In 2020, he received NSN's Oracle award. He was tapped as a workshop coach about every other year or so at earlier STFs, but the last time was back in 2016. He is frequenlty engaged for private coaching by a wide range of professional colleagues, with many return requests.
Location: Ballroom
All Levels
All Storytellers
STF Fringe
Back-to-back performances. Please stay for both.
Broken Mirror, Performance by The Artist Anubis
Set in an intimate therapy session, where the audience is the engrossed therapist, "Broken Mirror" is an immersive confession of a young man's battle with social Anxiety as he confronts his chaotic reality of dating and dad life with drama and comedy through spoken word poems and humorous anecdotes. 55-minutes, for Urban Theater Goers.
Bio: THE ARTIST ANUBIS, is a spoken word artist, cultural curator, and community cultivator.
Anubis founded Harlem Bomb Shelter, a literary arts organization. He produced a weekend run of his original poetry play Off-Broadway and published his poetry anthology, “My People Burn and Other Visions.”
Mickey Mouse Stares and Wickerwisps: Life is in the Little Things, Performance by Thea Iberall
A string of personal stories that will sear your heart and remind you why you are human. The stories explore image/moments of human connections between family, friends, strangers, and storytellers. Climate. Old age. Youth. Who we are. Who we want to be.
Bio: Thea Iberall is ‘a shimmering bridge between heart and mind.’ Inductee into Intl Educators Hall of Fame. Represented LA at National Poetry Slams. Former host of Expresso Yourself Café. Author of ecofeminist novel The Swallow and the Nightingale. Member of NEST & Jewish Storytellers of New England.
Location: Riverwatch
Adults
Hotel Checkout
Please remember to tip housekeeping staff. You can ask at the front desk for belongings to be stored through the final performance, and to extend parking lot privileges for a chance to have lunch after the performance and explore Portsmouth. Please return promptly to the ballroom by 11 AM. You won’t want to miss Charlotte!
Six Triple-Eight
Performance by Charlotte Blake Alston
Charlotte Blake Alston recounts the incredible story of the first – and only – Women's Army Corps Battalion of all African American Women ever allowed to serve on European soil during WWII. Their incredible achievements have only recently been acknowledged and rewarded with the Congressional Gold Medal for their outstanding achievements. Six Triple-Eight is just the kind of story of African American contributions to the fabric of America's history that is now being banned in many US States, a story teachers in those states would be charged with a felony offense if they dare to teach it. Charlotte believes it is critically important for these stories to be mined, crafted and told.
Location: Ballroom A/B & Live-Streamed Online