Storyteller Mark Goldman

A TimpFeast at Timpfest

The twenty-third Timpanogos Storytelling Festival (known as Timpfest) was a true Feast for Storylisteners. The festival, at the beautiful Mt. Timpanogos Park in Orem Utah, now boasts itself as the largest storytelling festival in North America, taking place over two days and one night. There were great stories from great tellers, in a great setting, and great food to boot!

One of the things that amazed me was the number of young people there. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of youth tellers and listeners. Utah is very big on youth tellers, and on teaching storytelling beginning at very early ages. This is wonderful, and resulted in having many youth tellers open the morning sessions with some wonderful stories. Many of them sounded like seasoned professionals and shined in their spotlights. There were also puppet shows going on all day, along with musicians and jugglers making for rich, full days of entertainment.

Waddie Mitchell’s and Pippa White’s stories in verse made us marvel at their ability to craft and perform their tales in rhyme. Dovie Thomason shared her humor and special slant on her Native American stories. Donald Davis makes you feel like he’s been a part of the family forever. The Storycrafters shared their special relationship and creativity in modern-day raps of old world tales. Antonio Sacre’s mixture of Cuban and Brooklyn accents made the roller coaster rides and family stories vivid and funny. Bill Harley is a kid at heart and his fifteen minute song of love and “adventure” at the public pool was hysterical. Kim Weitkamp’s haunting tale of a young girl’s demise and her cry for help left us shivering in the night.

But it was Clare Murphy who stole the show with her soft Irish brogue, undulating body, playful gestures and impish facial expressions. If you can tear yourself away from her stories, she is a real study in storytelling. Every word, every expression, every well-timed pause or glance at the audience are the tools she uses to fill her stories with richness and texture. She can turn a simple shawl into a hump on a peddler’s back, a sack of potatoes or the regal robes of a queen. She’s an Irish treasure who has graced us with her ability to easily glide deep into our hearts with story.

On the purely culinary side, the highlights were Tucanos Brazillian cuisine, the Banana Leaf’s Sri Lankan food, and the down-home cooking of Norma Jean’s Diner. Unfortunately (or maybe not) we never got the chance to sample the fare at the Chuck-A-Rama Buffet. Perhaps on our next visit (or maybe not).

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This Week

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EVTOT - This Saturday

This Saturday, September 8th ~ 10am - Noon

East Valley Tellers of Tales is a Phoenix area guild of Storytellers and Storylisteners. We are an affiliate of the National Storytelling Network. Come and find out what this means, and how it benefits you!

We meet the second Saturday of each month to hear great stories and celebrate Storytelling Successes. Everyone is welcome; all tellers and listeners. Afterwards, many of us meet for lunch at a nearby restaurant. Everyone is welcome to join us.
Click here for details & info

West Side Story Tellers - This Saturday

West Side Story Tellers is an NSN Affiliate storytelling guild. They meet at the Glendale Public Library, main conference room, 5959 W. Brown Street, Glendale.

They will be meeting this Saturday, September 8th from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

For more info, contact Mark Compton, President, westsidestorytellers@yahoo.com

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Tips

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Beginnings

Julie Andrews said it best in the song, Do Re Mi, "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start... "

Once upon a time is certainly an acceptable beginning. Let's see if we can go beyond the utilitarian, though, to something that will grab your audience and make them want to know more. Here are some examples:

There was only one thing that could keep Cassandra from going out that night.

We want to know what that one thing is.

The world is a dangerous place, and wooing a young girl is just as perilous.

We want to hear about the danger.

Sampson was a great warrior, but today was not a day for victory.

We want to know what went wrong.

Ezmeralda was truly beautiful, but she was cursed from the day that she was born.

We want to hear more about the curse.

Let the audience know a little about the story, just enough to tease them. Make them curious about the characters, or about what will happen. The thunder and lightning frightened Amelia, and she knew that danger would visit her before the night was over. Don't we all want to know more about what happened? What was the danger, and even more important, "How will she survive?"

What’s the best thing that could happen to your protagonist? Tell us what that would be, then tell us that it didn’t happen that way in the story. Then...tell us why in the story.

Or you might tease the audience with, "The end of this story will surprise you. But in order to be surprised, we must start at the beginning."

Remember, your goal is to set the scene, and make the audience want to hear more!

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Tidbits

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Five More Tellers Added to Expert Section

I've added five more storytellers to the "Experts" section of the website. There are now thirty-six tellers, each giving us a 60-second look into the magic of storytelling, what they love about the craft, and some advice for new tellers. The latest additions are Bill Harley, Dovie Thomason, Waddie Mitchell, John McCutcheon and Clare Murphy.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM ALL

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Ongoing
Events

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CLICK HERE TO SEE THE NEW FULL MONTHLY CALANDAR

East Valley Tellers of Tales -Storytellers Guild
Second Saturday of each month - SCOTTSDALE
Scottsdale Public Library (Civic Center Branch)
10:00 am - 12 Noon
Gold Room
http://www.evtot.com

Storytellers Open Mic
First Sunday of each month - PHOENIX
Terra Java Coffeehouse - 3619 E. Indian School Rd. in Phoenix
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
http://www.storytellermark.com/openmic/

Odyssey Storytelling
First Thursday of each month - TUCSON
Fluxx Studio and Gallery, 416 E. 9th St., Tucson, $7 -
7:00 pm
http://www.storyartsgroup.org/odyssey/Odyssey/Welcome.html

Lit Lounge - Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMOCA)
Fourth Friday of each month - SCOTTSDALE
It’s a little bit This American Life and a little bit rock-n-roll! Every fourth Friday, some of the most engaging writers and performers in Arizona, and the nation, will share their funny, compelling and TRUE stories fused together by kicky, live music!
7:00 pm
http://www.scottsdaleperformingarts.org/smoca-events.php

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All Newsletter content ©Mark Goldman
Got some news or information you would like to get out to the storytelling community?
Contact Mark Goldman -x602-390-3858x - Mark@Storytellermark.com