Posted by: thepinetree on 11/14/2013 06:43 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 11/14/2013 06:45 PM
Expires: 01/01/2018 12:00 AM
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Mother Lode Storytelling Guild Presents Tellabration!
Angels Camp, CA...Tales will spin when the Mother Lode Storytelling Guild hosts its annual Tellabration! program on Saturday, November 16th, from 4pm to 6pm at the Angels Camp Mercantile. 1267 S. Main St, Angels Camp, CA. The family program features Auburn-area storyteller Linda Ramey-Kennedy with folk tales, fairy tales and original tales. "We're very pleased to bring a teller from another part of the Mother Lode to our local storytelling stage," says B.Z. Smith, co-founder of the Guild and long-time producer of the central Sierra's Tellabration! The program is free to the public, but donations to the nonprofit project are always welcomed...
For nearly 30 years Linda Ramey-Kennedy has enjoyed sharing stories with children's and family audiences. "I love spicing up my stories with movement, song and lots of audience participation," she says. While attending San José State University in the mid-1980's to earn her teaching credential, she stumbled into a storytelling class with Professor Bob Jenkins. "I just needed the credits," she remembers. "Little did I know that this Dr. Jenkins guy was one of California's premier tellers and that he was largely responsible for starting the California storytelling movement." And with that, Ramey-Kennedy was hooked! She told stories while teaching and anywhere she could. And today she still does that!
Nowadays Ramey-Kennedy is a teacher of storytelling herself! On Saturday she will give a mini-workshop, packed full of ideas on how to quickly learn stories, crowd control techniques while sharing her enthusiasm for the craft. She performs throughout the Sacramento Area and the northern Sierra. Last month Ramey-Kennedy gave a workshop for the Sacramento Storytelling Guild. "We had a great turn out with people pouring over all kinds of techniques to polish up their storytelling skills." In addition, Ramey-Kennedy is deeply involved in a Placer County outreach project for women who have been homeless, are in addiction recovery programs or have experienced other critical crises in their lives to find personal empowerment through the use storytelling as a vehicle for self-discovery.
Ramey-Kennedy is deeply involved in a Placer County outreach project for incarcerated women that uses storytelling as a vehicle for self-discovery. "We're looking forward to getting involved and learning how Linda tells stories," says Colleen Dolan, another Mother Lode Storytelling Guild co-founder. "It'll be great to get a taste of her expertise. In particular, we're pleased to introduce a teller who is using storytelling for social justice issues."
Joining Ramey-Kennedy for the Tellabration! program will be Sonora's fairy tale expert Claudia Tonge with storyteller Smith, serving as emcee. In addition, other Mother Lode Storytelling Guild members will share tales in an Open Mic segment. "The goal of the Mother Lode Storytelling Guild is to encourage and support storytellers and story listeners of all abilities, interests and ages," notes co-founder Dolan. "Some of us are have been doing this for years, but others are just getting started. The experienced tellers are great about coaching and mentoring the novice tellers." The local guild has enjoyed stories from 80 year-olds to 8 year-olds. First time tellers and nationally acclaimed tellers frequent the gatherings with people from various professional communities: Educators, librarians, historians, child care specialists, entertainers, writers and those who want to preserve family lore or share personal narratives. Dolan also points out that the local guild is affiliated with the National Storytelling Network, which reaches out to people interested in storytelling all across the country and beyond.
Tellabration! is the National Storytelling Network's annual international celebration of storytelling. Since 1989 simultaneous storytelling programs have taken place all over the world on the same day as a way to heighten awareness about the art of storytelling. "This is our third year to do Tellabration! at the Angels Camp Mercantile," says Smith. "But it's our 14th year overall for the central Sierra." Smith pointed out that she and others began this annual event in 1999 at the public library in Sonora. Over those years, local Tellabration! programs have brought more than 20 different storytellers to Sierra audiences. "Every year we put on this very playful program hoping to bring new people to storytelling. There's something just plain magical about sinking into a well-told tale," Smith explains. "Our imaginations drift into another time and place when we're captured by the imagery and sound of well-painted words."
Smith serves as the regional representative for The National Storytelling Network, or NSN. In that capacity she works with storytellers, libraries, schools, arts organizations, day care providers, colleges, parks, museums and more from Mariposa County in the south to Nevada County in the north. "Anyone with even a passing interest in storytelling can benefit from learning about NSN's services and resources," she states.
Currently the Mother Lode Storytelling Guild is hoping to host a regional retreat in late 2014. "We'd love to pull together all the storytellers in the Sierra Nevada," states Smith. "It'd be empowering to meet each other, exchange ideas and share resources. We can work together to advance the art of storytelling in our part of California." The national organization promotes storytelling as a performance art, a rich educational tool, a process of cultural transformation, an agent for healing individuals and communities in times of crisis and much more. "We want to help our Mother Lode communities embrace these ideas," Dolan adds.
The Mother Lode Storytelling Guild is a nonprofit organization, working in cooperation with NSN. In addition, the Angels Camp Mercantile is part of Buttercup Farms, which is also a nonprofit organization. For more information on Tellabration! visit . For additional information on The Mother Lode Storytelling Guild or the central Sierra Tellabration! please email or call (209)532-7697.
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