Leeny Del Seamonds shares storytelling with MCC-Maple Woods Spanish I students

Not only did she entertain audiences young and old throughout the Storytelling Celebration, she also spiced up Spanish class!

Featured Storyteller: Loretta Washington

Loretta is a professional storyteller who performs for all age groups throughout Missouri and Illinois. She performs for schools, libraries, festivals, private groups and organizations. With her alluring stories, captivating voices and movements, she brings her stories to life.

Loretta is also one of our regional tellers, and has been a Storytelling Celebration participant for many years.

Featured Storyteller: Gene Tagaban

Gene Tagaban is a Native American performing artist, storyteller, trainer, counselor and healer. His heritage is Cherokee, Tlingit and Filipino. Raised in Alaska, Gene's Nattive American name is Gaay Yaaw, loosely translates as Salmon Home Coming. He is of the Wooshkeetaan Eagle Thunderbird clan of Juneau, Alaska. 

Many of his stories tell of his journey to become Raven Dancer, drawing deeply from the stories his grandmother told him as a child. Gene believes that learning and laughter go hand in hand, and his stories educate and entertain all ages.

For more information, visit Gene's website.

Regional Storytelling Spotlight: Angela Williams

Angela J. Williams is a native of Hannibal,  MO.  She is a storyteller, drummer and drumming instructor.  Angela tells personal stories, African, African-American, animal, Hannibal, ghost, women's family and biblical stories.  She is animated, humorous and warm as she captivates and mesmerizes audiences of all ages.  Adults are fascinated by her stories and young children beg for more.  She surprises, inspires and amazes all with her unique storytelling style.

Regional Storyteller Spotlight: Carole Shelton

Carole is an educator, storyteller and writer.  She tells a variety of stories for adults and children.  Included are historical portrayals, original animal stories, folk tales, and inspirational stories. 

Visit her website here.

Honor the Ancestors during the Day of the Dead & Altar Stories concert

Day of the Dead & Altar Stories

Where: Mattie Rhodes Art Center (915 W 17^th St)

When: Nov. 5, 2010

Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Cost: FREE

Featuring: Olga Loya

A time of celebration and remembrance for many Latin American cultures, the Day of the Dead (Nov. 2) is a holiday of rich and varied traditions, including building altars and offering food and gifts to the departed, parades and parties honoring deceased family members and even a kite-flying event.

Olga Loya, a first-generation Mexican-American, will share tales of this holy and joyous holiday, offering insight into a celebration whose roots and traditions may not be fully understood.

*NOTE: This event is part of the Crossroads Art District’s “First Friday” series. Various art galleries, restaurants and retail venues will be also be open during this time.

Regional Storytelling Spotlight: LaRita Wright

LaRita features stories, songs and rhymes of animals that are appropriate for young listeners.  She enjoys seeing children using their imagination while listening to a story.

Pangea Day - Global Storytelling

Olga Loya performing at Westside Family Concert

Westside Family Concert

Where: Primitivo Garcia Elementary School

When: Nov. 4, 2010

Time: 6-8 p.m.

Cost: FREE

Featuring: Olga Loya

Listen to featured storyteller Olga Loya spin family-friendly tales of her life as a bi-cultural (Mexican and American) person in the United States. Loya’s childhood in Los Angeles, firmly rooted in the storytelling tradition of her father and grandmother, paints a vivid picture of the world for all ages. This event is sponsored by the Irene H. Ruiz Biblioteca de las Americas.

Local storytellers performed for Garcia Elementary Students in 2009 as part of the Storytelling Celebration.

Kathak: Indian Story Dance

Kathak is one of the 8 Classical Indian Dances, and originated from traveling bards who performed in village squares and plazas, singing and dancing to illustrate the holy scriptures for the townspeople. The word kathak is actually Hindu for "storyteller."

Kathak almost always features very precise, sharp movement and turns choreographed to music performed on traditional Indian instruments like sitars, tabla drums and reeded wind instruments and flutes.

Bobby Norfolk does baseball history - as Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige

Before the Lights Go Out:
The Story of Satchel Paige, James "Cool Papa" Bell and the Negro Baseball Leagues

Where: Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

When: Nov. 6, 2010

Time: 2-3:30 p.m.

Cost: ???

*Military Appreciation Day – all active and inactive military, plus two guests, will receive free admission. Please present military ID at door.

Before the era of steroids, outrageous agents and massive athlete salaries (and egos to match), there was an era of pure baseball, and trailblazers Satchel Paige, James Bell, Buck Leonard and Jackie Robinson were all displaying remarkable on-field prowess and athleticism in the Negro Baseball League. Started right here in Kansas City, the Negro Baseball League was home to a host of future Hall-of-Famers.

Bobby Norfolk, a storyteller and actor known for his rich characterizations, brings to life two of these men: Satchel Paige and James “Cool Papa” Bell, highlighting their successes and struggles in the world of professional baseball in the years before World War II.

Storytelling can be a history lesson, a character study, an exploration and entertainment all in one – visit the Negro League Baseball Museum with your families for a chance to learn about an important, but not often discussed, period in sports and American history.

This is a NEW event! If you attend or are planning to attend, please leave us FEEDBACK in the form of comments on this post or by emailing kcstorytelling@gmail.com.

Settle into a Family Show at Maple Woods!

Northland Family Concert

Where: MCC-Maple Woods Campus Center

When: Nov. 6, 2010

Time: 11 a.m. – noon

Cost: FREE

Featuring: Bobby Norfolk

Cereal bowls are in the sink and Saturday morning cartoons are over, but not to worry! There’s still a family show to take in at Maple Woods.

Bobby Norfolk, former host of children’s shows “Gator Tales” and “Children’s Theatre at Bobby’s House,” has a fun-filled hour of entertainment lined up for the whole family.

P.S. Bring the big kids, too – storytelling is great entertainment for all ages.

Olga Loya performing "Washing Machine"

Check out the video of storyteller Olga Loya!

Olga will be featured at several of our events this year, including Day of the Dead and Altar Stories; Ghosts in the Night Sky; and the Storytelling Spectacular.

Rakugo! Japanese Storytelling

Storytelling is an ancient and international art - this is rakugo, an example from the Far East. The origin of this type of performance - wherein a single storyteller relays a comedic story from a small stage, always in a seiza sitting position with few props and limited movement - dates back to 13th century feudal Japan.

The stories, which are complex and always involve dialogue between one or more characters, are kind of like a sitcom, where one actor plays all the parts.

Most rakugo are, obviously, performed in Japanese, but this is an English version for your enjoyment:

Featured Storyteller Spotlight: Olga Loya

Influenced by the lively but often true tales of her father and grandmother, Olga Loya embraces the rich storytelling tradition that was very much a part of her childhood growing up in East Los Angeles. Her family and person stories often explore the complexity of growing up and living as a bicultural person – Mexican and American – in the United States of today and yesterday.

Loya uses stories as a way of examining themes like healing, racism, and multiculturalism. She incorporates a variety of performance styles, including improvisation, movement and dance, song, and instruments. In addition to storytelling before all types of audiences, Loya also performs one-woman theater pieces and has written a book, “Momentos Mágicos (Magic Moments),” which won the Aesop Accolade in 1998, the International Reading Association Award for young adults and an America’s Commendation for young adults.

Regional Storyteller Spotlight: Geneva Greenfield

Geneva has been a staple at the Storytelling Celebration for many years and specializes in telling folktales, slavery stories, ghost stories and teddy bear tales to all ages.

Regional Storyteller Spotlight: John "Brother John" Anderson

Known to audiences around the Kansas City area as Brother John, cultural historian and motivational storyteller John Anderson educates and entertains through his stories. Audiences are treated to energetic, interactive tales, full of zany characters and dynamic vocal impersonations.

Regional Storyteller Spotlight: Deb Swanegan

Combining her African American, Cherokee, Scots-Irish and Hebrew heritages and churning out diverse, unique and entertaining tales since 1996, Deb Swanegan is an annual participant in the Kansas City Storytelling Celebration and was a featured storyteller at last year's festival.

In addition to being a storytellers, Deb is also an art educator, lecturer, workshop facilitator, master teacher, seminar leader, writer, actor and a past Missouri Commissioner for Community Service.

Check out these pictures of Deb from last year's Ghost in the Night Sky event and the Storytelling Spectacular:

 

Take a look at storyteller Bobby Norfolk!

Check out Bobby Norfolk - actor, poet, comedian... storyteller!

Bobby will be giving a number of performances throughout this year's Kansas City Storytelling Celebration, including a special performance at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

Stay tuned for schedule updates and more info

on this year's performers!

Regional Storyteller Spotlight: Dianna Waite

A native of Salina, Kansas, Dianna has always been inspired by her Cajun and Creole roots, collecting fascinating stories from both cultures and the regions they are interwoven with. Dianna uses personal history, tall tales, children's stories and cultural legends to paint a vivid picture of southern Louisiana's bayous and deltas.