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The air is buzzing, the smell of pine needles and kit-kit-dizze fills the air and children are playing in the background, but all I can notice is the figure on the stage. She's bent over, staring into the crowd, fingers splayed and elbows akimbo and her eyes are so wide that it seems they could swallow me up.
Her dark heavy hair sways around her hunched figure, and a shiver of fear rolls up my back, giving me a chill despite the heat of the summer day. She is a storyteller, one of the best in the nation, and she is performing on a wooden stage built just for this event, the Sierra Storytelling Festival, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. This year the Queen of Storytelling Festivals, as it is known within storytelling circles, will be celebrating its 25th year. Author, poet and storyteller Steve Sanfield will return to the Festival along with Bob Jenkins, another renowned teller who long-time audiences of the Festival will welcome back with joy.
“People fell back! Steve is so respected, and people are in awe that he will be back. There was a communal gasp when they were told that he would be (at the Festival).” Lucinda deLormier, long time teller and local librarian has been a part of the Storytelling realm from many years. “The Bay Area Storytelling Community enthusiastically greeted the news that both Steve and Bob will be again taking the stage. We know that Bob is preparing to retell the first story the ever told at the Festival. We look forward to a rip-roaring tale!” Lucinda deLormier continued.
Since taking the stage as a teenager, Bob Jenkins has enjoyed metamorphic careers in a wide-ranging array of fine arts. He has been a short story author, scene painter, actor, director, playwright, vocalist, guitarist, percussionist, dancer, sound and lighting designer, essayist, blogger, and storyteller. During his professional life he has also applied the principles of artistry to his other interests as teacher, college dean, university department chairman, real estate investor, carpenter, gardener, runner, husband, father, and friend. For many years he has considered the questions: “How do you know when you are successful as an artist? Is your success measured by the money you make? The length of the applause at curtain call? What newspaper critics say about your work? The approval of other artists? Your own sense of self?” The answers may surprise you.
Storytellers come from near and far to the Festival. Jackson Gillman from Maine will visit the Festival for the first time. Though he hasn't ever been to the Sierra Festival, Jackson Gillman is delighted to bring his unique storytelling blend back to the Ridge. On two previous visits over 20 years ago, Schoolhouse audiences were treated to many of the Stand-Up Chameleon's altered egos, as well as his wide menagerie from Kipling's “Just So Stories.” Since then, Jackson has been developing new shows annually and countless new characters. So it's anyone's guess who and what he will be bringing to the stage this time. Whatever the repertoire, you can be assured that it will be sparkling with energy, wit and warmth.
Another new teller to the stage will be Dovie Thomason. She is an award-winning storyteller, recording artist and author, recognized internationally for her ability to take her listeners back to the “timeless place” that she first “visited” as a child, hearing old Indian stories from her Kiowa Apache and Lakota relatives, especially her Grandma Dovie and her Dad. From their voices, she first heard the voices of the Animal People and began to learn the lessons they had to teach her.
Tellers Diane Ferlatte and Gay Ducey will also be returning to the Festival as long time favorites. Diane has been praised by Paul Armstrong Music Hall, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, “You have the uncanny ability of making every single member of the audience feel like you are talking to them personally, as if in their own front room and then suddenly being able to switch gear to the role of orator addressing a whole hall of people. You are indeed a communicator extraordinary!”
A storyteller, educator and writer, Gay Ducey likes contradictions: A city girl who enjoys country roads; a witty wordsmith who speaks the plain truth; a teller with a preacher's passion and an eavesdropper's ear. A longtime favorite of the Festival we bring her back to help tell the tale of this 25th anniversary Festival.
Susan Klein and Charlie Chin are other tellers that long time festival attendees adore. Born and raised on Martha's Vineyard, Susan Klein is an internationally-known, professional storyteller, and author of Through a Ruby Window, a collection of stories about the Vineyard in the ‘50s and ‘60s. As owner of Ruby Window Productions, Susan offers acclaimed Story Wisdom workshops for lawyers, educators, writers, and speakers, and coaching and editing for the page and stage through An Alien Eye. Susan is a director/producer of numerous award-winning spoken-word recordings, and the 2007 recipient of the Creative Living Award presented by the Permanent Endowment of Martha's Vineyard and the National Storytelling Network's coveted Circle of Excellence Award.
A pioneer in Asian American Arts and Theatre, he recorded “A Grain of Sand: Songs from the Birth of Asian America,” (Paredon 1973) with Nobuko Miyamoto and Chris Iijima, a work that social historians have called, “the music that inspired a movement.” Chin's concerts, solo theatre, and presentations contain songs, stories and monologues that use humor, wit, and insight to celebrate the Chinese American experience from the Gold Rush of California, to the arriving immigrants of today.
Storytelling is one of the oldest as well as most compelling art forms. It forms the backbone of theater, writing, film, as well as our everyday interactions at the coffee shop. But professional storytellers take this basic skill and elevate it into stories that stir the soul and heart.
“Some would say that stories are everywhere. Matthew O'Malley, local poet and writer has attended the Festival for years.
“It's really nothing new, but in the course of Anglo-European history we have come to privilege scripture (i.e. written literature), and both forget and ignore our own oral (literary) heritage. In other words, the Iliad & the Odyssey, Beowulf, el Poema del Cid, Adam and Eve in the Garden, all of this began as oral literature, though that is largely forgotten. Now there is, of course, a vast and sophisticated heritage of oral literature indigenous to North America: a rich Native American mythtelling tradition, which has, tragically, been suppressed and neglected for various reasons.”
This year, the Festival will be hosting tellers from the local Maidu Tsi Akim group. Performing on Sunday only, tellers from Tsi Akim will present inside the schoolhouse concurrently with the Children's Concert outside in the amphitheater.
The North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center predates the Festival by only a few years. Soon after the cultural center was started by local San Juan Ridge residents in the newly renovated one-room schoolhouse Steve Sanfield approached with the idea of bringing a storytelling evening to the intimate nature of the iconic building. These Winter Tales were very successful and soon the Festival was born bringing along a boon to the cultural life of Nevada County.
For more information about the North Columbia Schoolhouse and the Storytelling Festival please visit www.sierrastorytellingfestival.org or www.northcolumbiaschoolhouse.org
Samantha Hinrichs is a writer interested in telling the stories of those around her. She can be reached at samhinrichs@gmail.com or at her blog at samhinrichs.wordpress.com
Her dark heavy hair sways around her hunched figure, and a shiver of fear rolls up my back, giving me a chill despite the heat of the summer day. She is a storyteller, one of the best in the nation, and she is performing on a wooden stage built just for this event, the Sierra Storytelling Festival, in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. This year the Queen of Storytelling Festivals, as it is known within storytelling circles, will be celebrating its 25th year. Author, poet and storyteller Steve Sanfield will return to the Festival along with Bob Jenkins, another renowned teller who long-time audiences of the Festival will welcome back with joy.
“People fell back! Steve is so respected, and people are in awe that he will be back. There was a communal gasp when they were told that he would be (at the Festival).” Lucinda deLormier, long time teller and local librarian has been a part of the Storytelling realm from many years. “The Bay Area Storytelling Community enthusiastically greeted the news that both Steve and Bob will be again taking the stage. We know that Bob is preparing to retell the first story the ever told at the Festival. We look forward to a rip-roaring tale!” Lucinda deLormier continued.
Since taking the stage as a teenager, Bob Jenkins has enjoyed metamorphic careers in a wide-ranging array of fine arts. He has been a short story author, scene painter, actor, director, playwright, vocalist, guitarist, percussionist, dancer, sound and lighting designer, essayist, blogger, and storyteller. During his professional life he has also applied the principles of artistry to his other interests as teacher, college dean, university department chairman, real estate investor, carpenter, gardener, runner, husband, father, and friend. For many years he has considered the questions: “How do you know when you are successful as an artist? Is your success measured by the money you make? The length of the applause at curtain call? What newspaper critics say about your work? The approval of other artists? Your own sense of self?” The answers may surprise you.
Storytellers come from near and far to the Festival. Jackson Gillman from Maine will visit the Festival for the first time. Though he hasn't ever been to the Sierra Festival, Jackson Gillman is delighted to bring his unique storytelling blend back to the Ridge. On two previous visits over 20 years ago, Schoolhouse audiences were treated to many of the Stand-Up Chameleon's altered egos, as well as his wide menagerie from Kipling's “Just So Stories.” Since then, Jackson has been developing new shows annually and countless new characters. So it's anyone's guess who and what he will be bringing to the stage this time. Whatever the repertoire, you can be assured that it will be sparkling with energy, wit and warmth.
Another new teller to the stage will be Dovie Thomason. She is an award-winning storyteller, recording artist and author, recognized internationally for her ability to take her listeners back to the “timeless place” that she first “visited” as a child, hearing old Indian stories from her Kiowa Apache and Lakota relatives, especially her Grandma Dovie and her Dad. From their voices, she first heard the voices of the Animal People and began to learn the lessons they had to teach her.
Tellers Diane Ferlatte and Gay Ducey will also be returning to the Festival as long time favorites. Diane has been praised by Paul Armstrong Music Hall, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, “You have the uncanny ability of making every single member of the audience feel like you are talking to them personally, as if in their own front room and then suddenly being able to switch gear to the role of orator addressing a whole hall of people. You are indeed a communicator extraordinary!”
A storyteller, educator and writer, Gay Ducey likes contradictions: A city girl who enjoys country roads; a witty wordsmith who speaks the plain truth; a teller with a preacher's passion and an eavesdropper's ear. A longtime favorite of the Festival we bring her back to help tell the tale of this 25th anniversary Festival.
Susan Klein and Charlie Chin are other tellers that long time festival attendees adore. Born and raised on Martha's Vineyard, Susan Klein is an internationally-known, professional storyteller, and author of Through a Ruby Window, a collection of stories about the Vineyard in the ‘50s and ‘60s. As owner of Ruby Window Productions, Susan offers acclaimed Story Wisdom workshops for lawyers, educators, writers, and speakers, and coaching and editing for the page and stage through An Alien Eye. Susan is a director/producer of numerous award-winning spoken-word recordings, and the 2007 recipient of the Creative Living Award presented by the Permanent Endowment of Martha's Vineyard and the National Storytelling Network's coveted Circle of Excellence Award.
A pioneer in Asian American Arts and Theatre, he recorded “A Grain of Sand: Songs from the Birth of Asian America,” (Paredon 1973) with Nobuko Miyamoto and Chris Iijima, a work that social historians have called, “the music that inspired a movement.” Chin's concerts, solo theatre, and presentations contain songs, stories and monologues that use humor, wit, and insight to celebrate the Chinese American experience from the Gold Rush of California, to the arriving immigrants of today.
Storytelling is one of the oldest as well as most compelling art forms. It forms the backbone of theater, writing, film, as well as our everyday interactions at the coffee shop. But professional storytellers take this basic skill and elevate it into stories that stir the soul and heart.
“Some would say that stories are everywhere. Matthew O'Malley, local poet and writer has attended the Festival for years.
“It's really nothing new, but in the course of Anglo-European history we have come to privilege scripture (i.e. written literature), and both forget and ignore our own oral (literary) heritage. In other words, the Iliad & the Odyssey, Beowulf, el Poema del Cid, Adam and Eve in the Garden, all of this began as oral literature, though that is largely forgotten. Now there is, of course, a vast and sophisticated heritage of oral literature indigenous to North America: a rich Native American mythtelling tradition, which has, tragically, been suppressed and neglected for various reasons.”
This year, the Festival will be hosting tellers from the local Maidu Tsi Akim group. Performing on Sunday only, tellers from Tsi Akim will present inside the schoolhouse concurrently with the Children's Concert outside in the amphitheater.
The North Columbia Schoolhouse Cultural Center predates the Festival by only a few years. Soon after the cultural center was started by local San Juan Ridge residents in the newly renovated one-room schoolhouse Steve Sanfield approached with the idea of bringing a storytelling evening to the intimate nature of the iconic building. These Winter Tales were very successful and soon the Festival was born bringing along a boon to the cultural life of Nevada County.
For more information about the North Columbia Schoolhouse and the Storytelling Festival please visit www.sierrastorytellingfestival.org or www.northcolumbiaschoolhouse.org
Samantha Hinrichs is a writer interested in telling the stories of those around her. She can be reached at samhinrichs@gmail.com or at her blog at samhinrichs.wordpress.com
