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Friday, June 22, 2007

Storytelling for "Get a Clue"

Telling Turtle of Koka with a volunteer named Derek, just like my son

Today it was storytelling performances at Ripley and Ravenswood libraries in my home county. Usually when I perform, it means at least a 2-hour drive one-way, but today I was right at home.

The libraries were using the national "Get a Clue" theme, so I focused on riddle and trickster stories. In the picture above, we're telling Uwungalema, which is more in the riddle category. I loved my drummer, who used my tongue drum very well from the comfort of his chair.


Still telling Uwungalema, granddaughter Hannah (back to camera) advises the turtle of the name of the tree. As usual, I prepared four times as many stories as I needed, but the flow depends on the audience in front of me, and having a wide variety of stories prepared to tell allows me a lot of latitude to change track as needed. One of the new stories I prepared (and a new favorite for me) is Hic! Hic! Hic! --a story from Turkey that closely parallels the Appalachian story Soap! Soap! Soap! It intrigues me that stories with such similar plots should be found in places and cultures so far apart.


It was a full house at Ripley, and the same at Ravenswood. What a day!

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