Storytellers to bring old traditions to new audiences

Missouri River Regional Library graphic
Missouri River Regional Library graphic

Everyone has a story to tell, but not everyone is a professional storyteller - and the Missouri River Regional Library is going to have eight of them visiting local schools next week.

MRRL will host the second annual, revived Storytelling Festival, including an evening storytelling event at the library March 30. The program will also have storytellers visiting 31 local schools in Cole and Osage counties March 30-31.

"They take old stories and new stories - a folk or fairy tale - and make it their own," Angie Bayne, children's services manager at MRRL, said.

All the stories told will be in the oral tradition - a "tradition of storytelling that isn't as popular as it used to be," she said. There are no books or notes involved, just memory.

"(Kids) don't read these kinds of stories anymore," she added of folktales along the lines of Aesop's fables or re-tellings of personal experiences that remind her of grandparents beginning with "'when I was a kid.'"

Whether classic or original, storytellers take their material and tell it in interesting ways, and "they can make their stories fit their audience" of young children or older teenagers, Bayne said.

"It is a performance," she said. "Instead of music or poetry, they tell stories."

The library had hosted the festival for many years, but "it kind of went away for budget reasons for a few years," Bayne said.

However, they brought it back last year with the goal of bringing professional storytelling to children, especially students at rural schools who don't always have the opportunities to see performers as in larger cities.

In total, 7,830 students at 32 schools heard the storytellers during last year's event.

This year, Jefferson City High School will also have a storyteller visit. Only 31 schools made the list this year, in order to accommodate the Thursday evening event at the library. Each school performance is about an hour long.

"We have some internationally recognized storytellers coming and some local ones," Bayne said. Of the eight, all except one are based in Missouri.

Here are brief summaries of the performers who will be in the area:

Larry Brown tells original fantasies and real-life stories and songs of justice, courage and compassion, drawing from his experiences in public education, activism and as a pastor. Brown is president of Missouri Storytelling Inc.

Heather Harlan, of Columbia, combines folk tales with her own stories, songs and "a splash of guitar or ukulele." Harlan might ask the audience to provide sound effects or join in on a chorus.

Anthony Clark is a career storyteller, musician and writer. Clark's work has appeared in print, on radio stations and in audiobooks, video games and interactive apps. As sole author and as a co-author with his wife, he has books in stores now.

Karen Young's storytelling appeals to the "young at heart and ancient in spirit." Young draws her character portrayals from history and folklore from around the world.

Annette Harrison was awarded the National Storyelling Network's National ORACLE Award for Regional Storytelling Excellence in 2011. Through her stories, Harrison teaches literacy, character education, diversity, environmental awareness and American history. Based in St. Louis, she's been an active storyteller for more than 37 years.

Joyce Slater tells folk tales, fairy tales, ghost stories, personal narratives and more. Slater is the executive director of the River and Prairie Storyweavers and the artistic director of the KC Storytelling Festival.

Bobby Norfolk uses dynamic movement and vocal effects to bring history to life, particularly to highlight the African-American experience. Norfolk also uses songs and live musicians. His stories promote character traits like respect and responsibility, cultural diversity and literacy.

Beth Horner, a Missouri native, incorporates a variety of stories into her work: "childhood farmyard escapades;" eerie folktales; a spoof on romance novels; a tale drawn from her great-great grandfather's Civil War diary, a song that motivated a city to change its sewage policy; and a tale told with nothing but "the buzzing cadences of a kazoo."

Clark, Horner, Norfolk and Slater will be the performers from 7-9 p.m. March 30 in the art gallery at MRRL. The event is free and open to the public.