Storytelling

Back in the 1990's, storytelling was very popular. A number of individuals went around telling tales, sometimes with music. There was even a Storytelling Guild of Greater Rochester.

I was briefly one of them.

What brought this to might was I found an old notebook in which I kept a record of some of my storytelling gigs in 1995. To be honest, I was surprised at how many their were.

My first forays into the world of storytelling came in 1994 when I attended a storytelling conference an the University of Rochester, and joined the local Storytelling Guild. I was even elected "Guildmaster" of the Guild in 1995.

Then I became active in 1994, combining stories and music. I taped a number of religious stories as Brother Lee, the Storyteller on a cable access television Christian show, Clown Town.

Among my 1994-6 public performances:

1994 

May ? Hendrick Hudson School (Bridget's class) 

July 8 Mendon Ponds Park

July 9 Corn Hill Festival 

August 10 Pittsford Library

December 18 Mendon Solstice Fesival

1995

February 12 Mendon Ponds Park Winter Festival  

May 21 in Spencerport for Art in the Park

July 8 Casey Family Reunion in Bushnell's Basin

July 9 Corn Hill Festival 

July 29 Christian Festival in Seneca Falls

August 10 Pittsford Library

September 15 Writers and Books

September 29 St. Mary's School in Auburn

October 5 St. Michael's School in Newark

November 16 Creative Childcare in Macedon

November 25 Covenant Methodist Church

1996 

January 21 Strong Museum

April 12 School 16

November 21 Covenant Methodist Church Childcare

December 5 Winterfest at ?

I stopped storytelling to focus more on acting. My thought was to improve my storytelling skills that way, but then I did not go back to storytelling. And then the popularity of it faded.

As I look at the list of performances, I was amazed at how many stories (and songs) I did.

For Clown Town, for example, I taped St. Jerome and the Lion, St. Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio, Solomon and the Bee, The Tower of Babel, The Prodigal Son, Solomon and the Two Mothers, The Good Samaritan, The King of the Tree, David the Musician, and Benjamin the Grumpy Shepherd. I hadn't realized how many I told; I wonder if the videotapes still exist?

For secular audiences there were some standard stories and story/songs I performed: B'rer Rabbit and the Frogs, Abiyoyo, Puff the Magic Dragon, Put Your Finger in the Air, The Noisy House, On Top of Spaghetti, St. Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio, How Bear Lost His Tail, How Giraffe's Neck Got Long, The Stone Giant/Stone Skipper, Iroquois (Seneca) Creation Story, Seneca Canoe Song, Sun Man, and The Fly (Vietnamese). Thee were a few other scattered stales and songs depending on particualr groups or themes.

As I looked at the list of stories i performed i honestly could not remember how some of them went! Well, it's been 25 years. I'll have to look some of them up.

I wonder if storytelling is still a thing?

Pax et bonum