November is a great time for stories, who am I kidding, I love stories in every season. This month I produced a show with seven tellers who are members of the Saskatoon Storytellers’ Guild and also the Storytellers of Canada-Conteurs du Canada.
Here is a link to an interview my good friend Jerry Haigh did about the concert.
Story consumes me. My memory and imagination never stop and as I continue this journey as a teller and listener, I can’t help but share my art form.
This summer I spent two weekends with new Canadians talking about story, and poetry, and remembering. It was an honour to listen as their stories began to unravel.
I am getting ready to head out to schools again at the end of the month. Over five weeks I will travel throughout the province visiting schools and engaging with more than seventy classrooms. I’ll be with other artists, we’ll share the driving, bedrooms, and our own tales. I’ll grow as an artist and I will return with even more stories.
It was the longest day, 3 performance, many kilometres and the late afternoon show took me further away from home than I’d be all summer. I love the variety of the venues on the Summer Reading Tour. The library in Gravelbourg is in what was once a chapel in an old convent school, the acoustics in the huge room are amazing. Wood Mountain, my last stop of the day has hosted me before in the park near the concession. A tiny stream flows through the little clearing surrounded by gnarled trees just down a hill and slightly hidden. If fairies live in Saskatchewan and listen to stories they would have been at this performance listening to my voice accompanied by the water and the rustling leaves.
Does a storytelling performance in Climax mean I’ve reached the peak of my career? They’ve heard every joke but the folks in climax were a highlight of the week. They had a great, well-cared for 1970’s era swimming pool and we had the weather to enjoy it!
How can a person not feel like an explorer when they reach Frontier? This is one of the furthest points in the south west corner of Saskatchewan I’ve ever been. My four corners of performing in Saskatchewan are now La Loche, Sandy bay, Frontier and Oxbow.
Sunny days and time on the road. It doesn’t get any better than this. The stories lead me down the highway and along the way I discover more. Leader gave me the story of a friendly but hard of hearing hotel operator and the smallest room I’ve ever stayed in with both children.
http://culturedays.ca/blog/2013/07/23/saskatchewan-artist/
Here is a link to a Culture Days blog featuring some of the work I did last year as an animateur. It was a great gig!
