Why Storytellers are Sure to Be Great Folks

Why Storytellers are Sure to Be Great Folks

Musica Nuova in Cambridge - The Boston Globe

Musica Nuova in Cambridge - The Boston Globe

Up In The Air

This video is an excerpt from a performance I did at the annual Davis Square ArtBeat festival in Somerville, MA, of a traditional folk tale called "Why Sun and Moon Live in the Sky", a story

told by the Efik people of Southern Nigeria. This year's ArtBeat theme was water, and the weather was hot, so naturally I told a story that would take the audience on a wet and watery journey!

I like this tale, in part, because it ends up so far from where it starts. The narrative takes a rather circuitous route, leaving listeners guessing for a while. It's clearly a pourquoi tale, and it concerns two verysignificant heavenly bodies. However, it is not very cosmological; very little time is spent up in the sky, the ultimate destination of our co-protagonists.

Interestingly, a third player is brought in - Water - whose actions affect the destinies of Sun and Moon. They say no good deedgoes unpunished, and this is certainly true of the overly hospitable celestial pair, whose efforts to accommodate their aquatic friend and his innumerable brood result in their permanent exile from the earth.

What I find particularly fascinating, is that the storyseems to imply that Sun and Moon prefer their new aerial abode because Water cannot go there. Perhaps the Efik people had an understanding or belief that Water - vital to all life on earth - is something that can only be found on our planet, for its absence in space is a crucial element in the narrative. A wonderful example of how science and storytelling intersect to enrich our understanding of our world, and our universe!

Bridge to Haiti

"Tonton Chien et Neveu Chat", a traditional tale from Haiti, told by Doria Hughes at massmouth's Bridge to Haiti, part of the Cambridge River Festival. I found this story in

Children of Yayoute: Folk Tales of Haiti, by Turenne Des Pres.

On June 5, 2010 massmouth created a unique and wonderful collaborative installation called Bridge to Haiti, as part of the Cambridge River Festival. We invited massmouth Storytellers and local artists to come and work together to maintain awareness for Haiti, in the wake of the recent earthquakes, and in so doing, brought beauty and storytelling to a forlorn old bridge.

Norah and Adriane installing one of our hand-painted Haitian flags on the Weeks Memorial Bridge.

Norah Dooley and Andrea Lovett had been talking about their vision for a collaborative project between artists and storytellers for over a year, and they had lit on the idea of using a bridge as the ideal space to "bridge" the gap between visual and performance art, since it provides the perfect physical space for both disciplines. Saturday morning, despite dire predictions of rain, the day way blustery and blue-skied, so we installed Norah's hand-painted cardboard panels on the bridge, brought snacks, tables, chairs, water, video equipment, and everything we could think of that artists and storytellers might need.

massmouth's gang of four (Norah, Andrea, Stu, and myself) were joined by a team of stalwart volunteers, including Rowan Meade (past winner of one of our Cambridge Story Slams) and Adriane Spunt (one of our excellent Story Slam judges), and various willing minions. At 1pm, we held a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony, and our Bridge to Haiti was officially open to the public!

We were joined by massmouth Storytellers Nicolette Heavey, H.R. Britton, Bruce Marcus, Tony Toledo and Laura Packer, as well as Haitian Master Storyteller Charlot Lucien and his talented children Malaika and Sebastien. Everybody told stories and riddles, while the artists painted and drew on the bridge; folks walking by also contributed their artistic inspiration to the project! It was a beautiful day, a wonderful cause, and happiness was infectious. Ice cream trucks nearby helped, of course!

Thank you to all who came, told, listened, painted, and laughed. I can't wait to see you at our next massmouth event!

Kric? Krac! Haitian storytelling at Cambridge River Festival 2010

Come here and see Haitian stories at the annual Cambridge River Festival, on Saturday, June 5th, as told by myself and my massmouth cohorts! For more information, click here.

massmouth at Riverfest, Cambridge MA 2010

a Bridge to Haiti - Weeks Memorial Footbridge

12noon - 6PM ongoing

massmouth presents Haitian Folktales in a Bridge to Haiti, featuring storyteller Charlot Lucien and others.

We will have story sharing in our tent all day, and also plan to support Folklore and StoryStream tents!

12noon - 6PM ongoing
massmouth opens their tent for ongoing StoryTrades, where all festival visitors are invited into the massmouth tent to share a life story. We will record, or just listen and exchange stories, if you like. Recorded stories will be archived for StoryStream Cambridge. Visit with Haitian storytellers and artists in the tent and find out more about Haiti relief efforts.

1:00PM 2:00PM 3:00PM and 4:00PM "Bridge to Haiti" on the hour
20 minute to 1/2 hour performance of Haitian folk tales by Haitian and massmouth storytellers in collaboration with Haitian and Cambridge visual artists who will respond to the stories in stations across the Charles River on the Weeks Memorial Foot Bridge.

A Tale of Two Frogs

Spring has finally settled in here in New England, and we at massmouth have finished up our wildly successful first Story Slam season! That means it is time for a summer of MouthOffs and other storytelling delights. Our first MouthOff of 2010 was held at the Brown-Rhone Park in Central Square, Cambridge, on the evening of Monday May 17, and I had the privilege of telling alongside of some talented newcomers and my able MouthOff co-host, Stu Mendelson.

I decided on the spur of the moment to try out a story that I've been itching to tell for a while, about two frogs, a lot of cream, and the power of perseverance. One of my favorite variants of this tale can be found in Elisa Pearmain's "Once Upon a Time... Storytelling to Teach Character and Prevent Bullying". This is my first attempt at telling this story in public, and naturally, I had to give it my own personal twist and take on it. Perfect timing, since this coming Friday I have a frog-themed storytelling activity hour planned for my classroom of kindergartners at the Gardner Pilot Academy! Let me know what you think of both the story and my telling of it, I'm always interested in getting feedback.

Jackal calling

I'm working on a jackal-themed Storytelling class, and doing some research - boy do I love youtube! I am fascinated by the strange high howling sound that these animals produce. Naturally it takes practice to make a jackal call, so I'll be wandering around town working on that today......
Along with sounds, games, songs and rhymes, I will be telling a story from India called The Jackal King, also known as The Blue Jackal. This tale has a strong - even harsh - moral lesson about the importance of loyalty and truthfulness, but it's also about what happens when an opportunistic jackal falls into a vat of blue dye.

This story has many variants, but its origin is to be found in the Panchatantra, a collection of animal tales originally written in Sanskrit and now lost.