Noted Recently (February 24, 2011)

Recently noted in the storytelling blogosphere:

Priscilla Howe is blogging from her biannual storytelling tour of Belgium.

Nominated for Best Spoken Word Recording for Children, Bill Harley drops by the Grammy Awards.

Jay O'Callahan writes about a "challenging performance space." Worth a read, although don't miss the buried gem: Buzz Aldrin was in the audience. (Wondering why that matters? Ah, you haven't heard "Forged in the Stars" yet. Do it here.)

Have Stories, Will Travel. On Foot. Or Horse.

(via BBC News)

Storyteller and songwriter Eric Maddern is going on tour. He's got a new show, it's up and running, and he's taking it across Wales—on foot. Also on bicycle and on horseback. That's unusual enough that it made the news. Of his tour, Maddern says:

“In Australia, a songline is an ancient mythological route that connects sacred places across a landscape. In a way, I’ll be journeying along songlines in Wales, starting off by walking over Snowdon and visiting Dinas Emrys, where legend has it that dragons appeared and Merlin made his first prophecy; spending a night on Cadair Idris after which, according to folklore, you wake up mad or a poet; walking across the Preseli’s, where the bluestones for Stonehenge came from; travelling east-west along old drovers’ roads as well as cycling on the more modern Sustrans bike paths. I want the experiences of meeting people during the day as I slowly cross the land to enter the performances I do at night. The whole thing is an exploration in how to sustain and restore the world in these challenging times. What’s more, I believe it’s possible to have a great adventure without going to the exotic ends of the Earth. I spent ten years travelling the world in my youth, but as far as I’m concerned, Wales is as good as it gets. So I’m really looking forward to getting to know the country more intimately.”

Eric's repertoire of songs and stories have always reflected his interest in ecology and sustainability. His new show for adults, What the Bee Knows: Songs and Stories to Sustain and Restore the World, is described as "a provocative look at the roots of our current global crisis, threaded around the story of the bee."

Nice to see a storyteller who has carved out a niche aligning his business with his values. He's walking the walk (literally).

If you're in Wales this Spring, and want to catch his show, venues are listed on Eric's website, here.

Now that's "Uncalled For": the Tour

Three storytellers (Kim Weitcamp, Bil Lepp, and Andy Irwin) with a common comic sensibility have put together their own concert and organized their own tour. Six cities in two months.

Such promotions are not uncommon in music, or in standup comedy. But in storytelling? I've never heard of such an enterprise.

I'd love to see this succeed as a new model of producing. Whether they succeed or fail, I suspect this is the only self-organized tour we'll see in the next three years, simply from inertia (doing the same old thing, producing wise, that's been done the past 30 years).

Tour opens in Idaho next week. Keep up with the tour on its blog.

Is it too much to hope for YouTube videos from the side of the road as the tour van breaks down?