Reflections on the Creative Leadership Award

Introducing Maria Tatar at our first "Grimm and Twisted" fairytale slam - also the 200th anniversary of the Grimms

Reflections on a Creative Leadership Award

by Norah Dooley
Photos by: Paula H. Junn
This Tuesday, June 4th, 2013  I am honored to receive a Creative Leadership Award at Puppet Showplace Theatre at the Garden Party Gala, celebrating the occasion of their 39th birthday. See details at their website and let me know if you would like to come.

When we first approached Puppet Showplace, in 2010, with the idea of a collaboration, massmouth was just over one year old. We had long known and respected Puppet Showplace Theatre as a venue that supported the art form of puppetry which,  much like storytelling,  it is an art form with ancient roots that evokes rather than replaces imagination. We also knew that Puppet Showplace Theatre were successful. They had a history that showed grit and commitment that we could admire and aspire to; they had survived as artists and had maintained a continuously operating theater right in the heart of Greater Boston for over 3 decades.

Three years ago,  we were whippersnappers, who had just finished our first season of story slams and believed we had a some social capital to share. And if leadership is boldly asking for what one needs, whether  appropriate or not, then I have earned some part of this honor -  although Cheeky Monkey Award would be a name better fitted to my style. We were beggars at the Puppet Theatre gate and  very seriously in need of inexpensive or free office space because our operations had outgrown bedroom/living room arrangement. I suggested a collaboration based on our needs. Ultimately and not surprisingly, the first date between massmouth and Puppet Showplace Theatre did not lead to a relationship.

Skip ahead to this spring.  I am reading ( more precisely, skimming)  the email announcing I was being honored with this award. At first glance I thought that I was being asked to write a recommendation for Roxie Myrhum.  She was the one who helped us find a way to work together.  How perfect, I thought. Roxie is someone with vision, passion and drive. She really deserves this kind of award. I was so delighted to be able to do a small favor for Artistic Director of the Puppet Showplace Theatre that I started to read the email, just to be sure I knew when the deadline for my recommendation might be.

This closer reading revealed a mind-blowing truth - The Creative Leadership Award was being given to me and Roxie had been my nominator. I know. It was crazy!  Immediately I was on the phone asking Maria Finison if the award could be expanded to include the other organizers and founders of massmouth who are still active in Boston. Specifically, Doria Hughes who co-hosted and planned the series at Puppet Showplace Theatre with me and Andrea Lovett, who is always actively promoting the art of storytelling.  They both are leaders in the very best in contemporary performance of traditional material. But, no dice. This is an award for one person and Puppet Showplace Theatre wanted me. They cited the other areas of my work as fitting their criteria; my picture books, workshops, curricula etc. and so, although it is awkward to be so honored, I realized that I had to man-up and take one for the team.  So I accept this award for me as a representative of the art of  storytelling.

Last summer after a different kind of overture we shared a proposal with Puppet Showplace Theatre and created a project that worked. It had been a dream at massmouth,inc. that we would one day be able to entice a theater or another arts group to support traditional storytelling.  This was an area of storytelling that we had mastered and worked in for decades. When we saw all storytelling on the wane, we started massmouth. When we saw the new energy slams brought to the art form we came up with an idea to mimic our successful 1st person story slams only using traditional content.

Doria Hughes, storyteller fabulosa,  traditional storytellers from Greater Boston and the region and I presented a monthly series of folk & fairy tale slams events right here. Our Slamming the Tradition: Six traditional storytelling events for adults were part open slam, where tellers presented stories no longer than 7 minutes, that were fiction and in some traditional form and part featured performer. Unlike our other story slams, tellers could include props, costumes and music BUT no notes. We secured the prizes and the audience chose winners: A bag of magic beans, magic wishing stone and a small bale of hay were award each month along with a gift card, donated by the Brookline Booksmith. Our first event was written up in ArtsFuse OCT 21 2012.

Performing with Susan Miron on February 14th, 2013

Audiences and performers enjoyed the project and you can read more about specific nights here. One of the highlights of our series for me was that I was able to create a program and present a feature on Feb 14th,  2013, telling longer stories from Boccaccio's 14th century collection of tales, The Decameron. Giovanni Boccaccio, a favorite of mine. He was an Italian author and poet, and an important Renaissance humanist. Boccaccio is particularly noted for his natural, his skewering of hypocrites in high places, witty dialogue and his sympathetic female characters.

My stories ranged from naughty to lusty, and included romantic tales that came from ancient story traditions of India and the bards of the Holy Roman Empire. Susan Miron accompanied me on the harp. She drew on various ancient folk melodies and dances from Southern Italy. The music comes from authentic folk songs of Campagnia, Calabria, Puglia & Napoli as transcribed by John LaBarbera, mandolinist.

Some traditional stories 'back story below and more at this link: Folk tales: the TV of preliterate culture Folk tales: entertainment for adults & the TV of preliterate culture

Since we announced our Folk and Fairy Tale Slams, all sorts of people I thought would know better, have been perplexed. "Traditional stories? Huh? What is a traditional story?"  In the paragraphs below I have tortured and twisted a wikipedia article into illustrating a Miller Analogy Test type statement. My main intent was to explore and hopefully explain the difference between traditional storytelling and contemporary 1st person narrative in performance. Secondly, I hoped to save time by lifting lots of the material for my explanation. This process is sometimes called slapdash, and, when less transparent, also known as plagiarism or "lack of artistic integrity". The statement I am working with is: traditional stories are to contemporary 1st person narrative stories as traditional folk songs are to singer-songwriter's songs. Imagine an acoustic performance of Arrow, by Cheryl Wheeler next to a performance by Simon And Garfunkel "Scarborough Fair"  or any other traditional ballad of Great Britain. 

From a historical perspective, traditional/folk storytelling has these characteristics:
    •    Traditional stories were transmitted through the oral tradition. Before the twentieth century, most people were illiterate. They acquired stories by listening and memorizing them. Primarily, this was not mediated by books, recorded or transmitted by any media. Contemporary yet traditional storytellers may extend their repertoire using picture books or CDs, but these are secondary enhancements when they are of the same character as the primary stories experienced in live performance.

• Storytelling is typically culturally particular; from a geographic region or culture. In the context of an immigrant group, storytelling acquires an extra dimension for social cohesion. It is particularly conspicuous in the United States, where immigrants and  oppressed minorities strive to emphasize their differences from the mainstream. They may learn stories that originate in the countries their grandparents came from.
• Stories may commemorate historical and/or personal events. Religions, spiritual traditions, and religious festivals may have a storytelling component especially a set of teaching stories. 
• Stories at communal events bring children and non-professional storytellers to participate in a public arena, giving an emotional bonding that is unrelated to the aesthetic qualities of the  performance.
• Traditional stories have been performed, by custom, over a long period of time, over many generations. 

Other characteristics sometimes present:    •    Fusion of cultures: In the same way that people can have a mixed background, with parents originating in different continents, so too, storytelling is often a blend of influences. A digital element can be added to an old  story creating a new genre for the art form of storytelling.
    •    Traditional storytelling is non-commercial in that no one can own a traditional story and we are within our rights to say, "Back off, Disney! Put the law suits away, and the folktale collection down and no one gets hurt."

All the performers at "Love, sex and heads may roll."

Thank you so much to Andrea, Doria and Stu, the co-founders of massmouth, to Paula Junn and Hannah Lapuh the staff, the Board of Directors and all the volunteers at massmouth. Thanks to all my friends and supporters especially Sheila Leavitt and Susan Miron. Thanks to all the storytellers and listeners. Thanks so much to all at Puppet Showplace Theatre. You are our artistic cousins and have treated us like family -and you all have been delightfully collegial and fun to work with besides.  And, saving the most important for last, thanks to my family for their support my art and endurance of my absences, rants and excesses as I follow a quixotic quest for a path that leads to right livelihood through work as an artist. Thank you, all.

Storytelling:Woolgathering 1.2 Exaggerate!

Storytelling: Woolgather & Exercise

by Norah Dooley
Theory and Practice for Storytelling as a 21st Century Skill

(Yeah, I just was not "feeling" the Think&Do title.  And Theory and Practice is too dry, just not me. So I have new title. Woolgathering; it is what I do best! Exercise; it is what I need most.)

Storytelling: Woolgather & Exercise 1.2  Exaggerate!

Those who listen to my bombast know me as the Empress of Hyperbole. I play fast and loose with size, quantity and quality in my storytelling.  I try not to do so when I write but in the heat of speaking moments, 'once'  may become become 4xs  and big becomes giant and salt should be liberally applied. Really no point in checking my facts if I am telling a story - I shade, stretch and distort with the best of them. I know I am employing hyperbole "exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.  And people, g_d help 'em, do listen so I know it works.  Here is wool and wisdom gathered on the subject of exaggeration.

  In his post FOUR rules I practice in storytelling: Brian C. Hughes, Senior Pastor + Blogger says

Creative Whack Pack

“I cannot tell you how many people have asked me, "Was that story you told yesterday actually true?" I guess it was so outrageous that it was pretty hard to believe. The answer is: Yes. It's true. And I thought it would provide a good opportunity for me to talk a little about storytelling as illustration in any kind of public speaking - whether it's a sermon or a lecture or a speech…

1) Exaggeration is ok. Most of the time, I look for ways to insert an absurdity. Strategically placed, these accomplish 2 things: 1- they make the story fun and funny, 2- absurdities tell the listener, "that part is an embellishment." In this particular story, I said something like, "I was so mad, I pumped iron like the old Arnold..." Well, that's clearly not true. But it's also clearly an embellishment. It's so absurd that it cannot possibly be true.

Where Pastor Hughes is very careful about his exaggeration, I think that in a short story like a 5 minute slam story it is sometimes necessary to distort story elements to get your meaning across. Is this alright? I say, yes. Is it truthful?  Well, no. But is it dishonest - to you intend to deceive and make people think particular details are true for some ego gratifying purpose? I think this is crucial. Since storytelling is an art - not journalism, we need to have room to create.  Exaggeration as a brainstorming tool can lead amazing results. 

Exercise:  1.2  Exaggerate!

1. In any story you want to tell try adding an exaggerated detail at the beginning and end of your story. Tell your whole story with and without the detail (to a live listener or record it) Ask for specific feed back. Does the new detail distract from your intended meaning or heighten it? Does it add some panache to your performance or does it call too much attention to itself?

NEW Feature- Storytelling: Think&Do 1.0

Storytelling: Think&Do

by  Norah Dooley

Theory and Practice for Storytelling as a 21st Century Skill

I intend to make my reflections on the art of storytelling and an exercise a weekly feature here.  And I welcome comments and lively discussion. Please join in!

Think&Do 1.0  "Time+tragedy=comedy. Or does it?

I  loved this bromide since I first heard it from Laura Love, a singer-songwriter in her introduction to Voices, a beautiful song about her mother's mental illness. Time+tragedy = comedy. Is this more cliché than true? Or is comedy the surest indicator that we are on the other side of tragedy? I just finished a workshop for a nonprofit group that wants to work with victims of domestic violence. This workshop naturally raised the issue that often comes up at our story slams. Can I tell a sad story?  Can I tell my sad story? Yes! Does my story need to be funny? No. Do you need to have distance from your pain? Yes.  And, have  you gained something from the experience that you choose to share that makes it worth listening to? Oh, yes. 

In many situations it is wonderful and healing to work through our stories together but as an art or as paid entertainment it is a huge no-no. In fact anywhere your listener has not agreed to the role of a caring and patient listener, this kind of storytelling is discouraged.

In a story slam situation I ask the storyteller ‘Do you bring something to the audience or are you asking them for something?’  People get paid big bucks to listen to you ramble – they are trained therapists. But an audience expects a work of art and should never be asked to try to make sense out of your life.  That is your job. As human beings we make sense of our experience through story. An artist/storyteller does this work BEFORE they take the stage. Often, with each telling our own understanding and insight into our experience deepens. This is the beauty of any true art for…the practitioner gains as well as the recipient.

Writer Judith Barrington acknowledges this experience in the quote below. Judith teaches memoir writing and her Lifesaving: A Memoir, is an award wining book. In it she reflects on the accidental death of both her parents when she was 19 years old and how as a young woman she dealt with sudden loss and coming of age. When asked how she worked through difficult emotions on the page Judith Barrington said:

“ I didn’t work through the emotions on the page; I worked through them before I started to write the book. It took years for me to be ready. I don’t believe that writing in any genre is a substitute for therapy (or deep thought or journaling or however you deal with life’s blows)—even though you may get new insights into your experience in the process of writing the memoir.”

For her readers and for Judith the resulting work of art was worth the wait.

Exercise: Think&Do 1.0  The 5 Whys  

State what your story is about in one or two sentences. Ask yourself or have a friend ask you why (are you telling me this?) The WHYS should come in rapid succession – speak your thoughts. You will answer with the 1st thing that comes into to your head, 5 times.  You may also try this as a writing exercise. Once you have done this a few times, it will be easier to know if you are ready to tell your story.

Adapted from from The Five Whys Technique by Olivier Serrat “ three key elements to effective use of the Five Whys technique: (i) accurate and complete statements of problems,5 (ii) complete honesty in answering the questions, (iii) the determination to get to the bottom of problems and resolve them. The technique was developed by Sakichi Toyoda for the Toyota Industries Corporation.”  www.adb.org/publications/five-whys-technique

Great  50 minute live set of Laura Love Band here: http://youtu.be/BxroVyOi5eQ

Thanks to  Annette’s Paper Trail blog at www.annettefix.com for the Judith Barrington material

1001 life saving stories...at Arabian Nights

What makes our true stories so compelling? Why do we listen with such rapt attention? Paula Junn, our Social Media director at massmouth said she realized that while she was listening  the story  allowed her to feel as if she was to living a life that was not her own. But after listening she felt a level of connection that was extraordinary. That really resonated. When we listen deeply, we are looking into the eyes and face of a person who has lived somewhere and some thing we have not. That is the beauty of all good literature - isn't it? And live storytelling is the most direct and organic form.

We had a blast at Central Square Theater last weekend and will be there again this weekend. The show, Arabian Nights is gorgeous and fun. Here is the skinny:

Do you have a story that saved your life? What story could you tell to save your life? Were you ever rescued? Did you ever save someone's life or lives ?
DEC 10 Workshop Leader: Norah Dooley and  storytellers  from massmouth: Farrah Haider, Ben Cunningham the Big Mouth Off 1st an 2nd place winners and the multi-talented, Paula Junn.

Storyteller's from massmouth  and CentralSquare Theater celebrate the art of storytelling with real life stories on the theme:
"1,001 Stories From Your Life:
Stories That Save Lives, Stories of Lives Being Saved and Life-Saving Stories".
Following a short storytelling workshop on how to create a story from your life experience, audience members will be invited to enthrall the audience with their stories before Central Sq. Theater's show...
Arabian Nights
Enter ancient Persia, and be transformed by the power of storytelling Based on One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of folk tales from the Middle East and Asia, Arabian Nights is rich with suspense, romance and hilarity – stories irresistible for all ages, At its heart is the power of the imagination to heal, inspire, and transform.
Because your have a life, you have a story. Bring it.
TIX and Info: (617) 576-9278 - massmouth members get a discount. Call for information 450 Massachusetts Avenue  Cambridge, MA 02139
http://www.centralsquaretheater.org/season/11-12/arabian-nights.html Here is a short and shaky video from last weeks show from iPhone footage:

My other Summer Job

This summer the Boston Public Library features Norah Dooley telling stories from from around the world, around the branches and neighborhoods of Boston. This is in conjunction with their annual Summer Reading Program. Spoken word is the source and sustenance of written language and oral stories, in performance, make that connection come alive. All performances are free and open to the public, July 6th thru August 15th.

One World, Many Stories

Norah Dooley performs in Boston Public Libraries as featured  storyteller for Summer Reading 2011
Norah  tells timeless folk tales from around the world. Her stories make audiences sing, laugh, and think. Noodleheads, legends, tricksters, and heroines are well represented as Norah shares engaging
traditional tales from Haiti to India, from Japan to Costa Rica, and from the Mediterranean traditions of Italy, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Algeria –including Mullah Nasreddin stories.

Why I Love My Summer Job

Storymobile, ReadBoston and me

  Telling a story in a basketball court for ReadBoston, 2010

During the past 12 summers I have worked for the Storymobile. This is ReadBoston’s most well-known and public program. Each summer about 12 storytellers tell stories at nearly 80 sites throughout the city of Boston for six weeks. These programs are free and open to the public. They are in parks and gyms and libraries. Sometimes there are 20 kids and caretakers. Sometimes hundreds. At the end of every performance every child who attends these storytelling sessions gets to pick out a free paperback book. If a child attends every week, he/she will have six brand new books to add to his/her book collection. And they will have heard 6 different storytellers tell in 6 unique styles and listen to stories. Listening to a story is not a passive act -because actively listening to stories enriches the soil of literacy which is...oral language.

It is often a "tough room", hot venues filled with squirmy and distracted kids.  But it is also amazing, rewarding work. After telling "Little daughter and The Wolf" last year, a six year old came up to me and said, "When are we going to see that movie again?" Which movie, I asked. She said, with some impatience, " The one just now, about the girl and the wolf. "  I said, you made up that movie listening to my words. She looked perplexed and then was yanked out by her teacher along with 9 others, on loops of rope. But I was delighted. She thought her imagination was as 'real' as a movie. Check out the schedule here: Storymobile Schedule. -

A few videos from ReadBoston:

Monday, July 11, 2011


Copley Library 10:00-10:45
66 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02115

Wang YMCA
8 Oak Street West, Boston (Chinatown), MA 02116

Salvation Army 1:15-2:00
1500 Washington Street, Roxbury, MA 02119

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Mosaic School 10:00-10:45
85 Seaverns Avenue, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Bromley Heath TMC Community Service Department 11:15-12:00
30 Bickford Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Marcella Park 1:15-2:00
Marcella Street/Highland Street, Roxbury, MA 02119

Monday, July 18, 2011

Ellis Memorial Children’s Center 10:00-10:45
66 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA 02116

Escuelita Boriken 11:15-12:00
85 West Newton Street, Boston, MA 02118

Ark of Cherubs 1:15-2:00
81 Walnut Ave, Roxbury, MA 02119

Friday, July 22, 2011

Crispus Attucks 10:00-10:45
105 Crawford Street, Dorchester, MA 02121

Egleston Square Library 11:15-12:00
2044 Columbus Avenue, Roxbury, MA 02119

Carter Playground 1:15-2:00
Columbus Avenue & Camden Street, Roxbury, MA 02118

Monday, August 1

Billings Field 10:00-10:45
Centre Street and LaGrange Street
2030 Centre Street, West Roxbury, MA 02132

Ohrenberger C.C. 11:15-12:00
175 West Boundary Road, West Roxbury, MA 02132

Mattapan Library 1:15-2:00
1350 Blue Hill Avenue, Mattapan, MA 02126

Tuesday, August 9

West End House Boys and Girls Club 10:00-10:45
105 Allston Street, Allston, MA 02134

Honan-Allston Library 11:15-12:00
300 North Harvard Street, Allston, MA 02134

Jackson Mann Community Center 1:15-2:00
500 Cambridge Street, Allston, MA 02134

Thursday, August 11, 2011

United South End Settlements, 10:00-10:45
48 Rutland Street, Boston, MA 02118

TADPole Playground 11:00-11:45
Boston Common, Boston (next to the Frog Pond)

Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center/Josiah Quincy School, 1:15-2:00
885 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111

Friday, August 12, 2011

Children’s Quarters 10:00-10:45
36 First Avenue (Charlestown Navy Yard), Charlestown, MA 02129

John F. Kennedy Family Service Center 11:15-12:00
23 Moulton Street, Charlestown, MA 02129

Charlestown Library 1:15-2:00
179 Main Street, Charlestown, MA 0212

An Open Letter to Justice Scalia

" [with the game] BioShock, the developer Irrational Games...is... "testing the limits of the ultraviolent gaming genre with a strategy that enables players to kill characters resembling young girls." The game presents an ethical choice to players, whether to kill 'Little Sisters' for extra abilities or save them and receive less."

Dear Justice Scalia:
I hope your mother is not alive to hear the latest nonsense you delivered from the bench.  Were you raised by wolves-or what ? Are you *pazzo?

Me, I got to wonder if you have actually seen ( or Saw) or played a video game or recently read a fairy tale? ( I have a few highlights of some great games below). You may say and even believe that that the violence in video games is protected speech. Fair enough. I mean, getting extra points for killing a prostitute after you have sex with her ( as featured in older versions of Grand Theft Auto ) is not only protected by the First Amendment, it is the American Way. That's just like the evil stepsisters having their eyes pecked out as in some classic versions of Cinderella - right?

Wrong.

Saying that the violence in video games is like violence the Brothers Grimm fairy tales is simply bone-headed.  First, the violence in a folk or fairy tale has some context and reason embedded the plot or the social context of the listeners. Second, in fairy tales, there is always a resolution to the violence. Yes, innocents are often irrationally and violently victimized, but the guilty are always punished. And sure, a person could read the gory parts of any fairy tale over and over again. Reading compulsively like that is not only unlikely it is distinctly different from the exciting simulation and repeated perpetration of violent acts upon others.  Duh!

It must be exciting to pretend to rape and murder over and over again. I don't know. Me? I prefer to make pesto. But I assume the pleasure in dangerously anti-social patterns of behavior is why video games sell so well? But, let's not talk about what I think. Let's talk about you, the wise judge in the highest court of the land.

*Che fai? What are you doing down there? Beyond protecting business interests, do you guys ever attend to or speak about moral considerations?  You did feel free to open your big mouth and talk about literature. The issue of violent video games has social implications that deserve very careful consideration. During WWII, the Nazis were the first to use repeated viewings of filmed violent acts to train and desensitize their concentration camp guards.

Just sayin'.

The First Amendment is one thing. I am a huge fan of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. But only a *citrull' could think that violent video games are harmless, or would compare them favorably to our valuable cultural heritage of oral narrative.

So, wise up, Antonin! What would your mother think?  And say hello to your *fratello, Romulus for me.

Ciao,

Norah (LaTosca) Dooley

*citrullo: /tʃiˈtrullo/ noun. fool, stupid.
*pazzo: /pa'ttso/ adj. crazy, mad, lunatic
*fratello:/fraˈtɛllo/ brother

Romulus and Remus were raised by a she-wolf until a kindly shepherdess took over.  Due to their humble beginnings they grew up without an X-Box or cable.

From a list at wikipedia

2006     RapeLay     PC     Illusion Soft     Rape forms a core part of the gameplay leading to controversy raised in the UK Parliament and elsewhere.

2006     Rule of Rose The mayor of Rome called for the game to be banned from Italy, saying children "have the right to be shielded from violence". The then European Union justice and security commissioner wrote an open letter condemning the game for "obscene cruelty and brutality". An Italian magazine, Panorama, claimed that in order to win the game players must bury a girl alive which the game's European publisher disputed. On the UK release day, the publisher announced that Rule of Rose would not be published in the UK, despite the game being approved for release by the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) and Video Standards Council regulatory bodies

2007     BioShock     Xbox 360, PC, PS3     2K Games     An article in The Patriot Ledger, the local paper of developer Irrational Games, argued that the game is "testing the limits of the ultraviolent gaming genre with a strategy that enables players to kill characters resembling young girls." The game presents an ethical choice to players, whether to kill 'Little Sisters' for extra abilities or save them and receive less. 2K president Ken Levine defended the game as a piece of art, stating "we want to deal with challenging moral issues and if you want to do that, you have to go to some dark places". Jack Thompson took issue with advertisements for the game appearing during WWE SmackDown's airtime, writing to the Federal Trade Commission and stating that M-rated games should not be advertised when large numbers of under-17s are watching.

2007     V-Tech Rampage     PC         This game simulated events from the 2007 Virginia Tech Shootings and has music targeting the RIAA

Where I Have Been for the past 4 months

The Queen of Hyperbole is a title I wear easily. It fits. So when I say this has been the most intense and exhausting few months of my life, most people will "pooh-pooh" me. But it has. And I guess I have done things like this before? But it is impossible to remember. Which is likely why I do things like this over and over again. What is "this"? "This" is/was an epic project that  cost me many more gray hairs, a dozen visits to  PT for back problems and 6 to 7, 18 hour days a week.

This spring, from March 11th until April 15th, massmouth storyteller-educators taught the art of storytelling to high school students. The curriculum based, in class program was called, StoriesLive® Collectively, we have heard over 1,200 personal stories from high school juniors and seniors in Abington, Andover, Boston Latin Academy, Everett, Lynn Classical, and Newburyport high schools. The best of the stories heard in the classroom moved on to tell in front of a larger high school audience. The best of each high school competed on April 30th, 2011 for a share $5000 in scholarship cash. Prizes were awarded for any post-secondary educational endeavor as follows: $2,000 for the 1st place and $1000 each to 2 runners up. $500 to the Audience Choice winner. A $500 award was a discretionary prize from massmouth to any student in the program.





So here, at last, is a video - uneven in quality but unified in message, that has some of the highlights of StoriesLive®.

Offices - here there and everywhere...

View from the Royalston office...

I am moving target these days...up and down Route 2, to and from Boston. Seeking internet connection in the boonies... Feeling a bit like the Red Queen from Lewis Carroll's, Through the Looking-Glass.

The Red Queen said, "Now, here you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that."


The Red Queen Principle can be stated thus: "For an evolutionary system, continuing development is needed just in order to maintain its fitness relative to the systems it is co-evolving with." Uh-huh. Well, whatever.  Another way to say it might be that we are so busy we hardly have time to wipe our noses.

My favorite quote from The Red Queen is : "Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." And at massmouth, we have sometimes done as many as six impossible things before breakfast.  Lewis Carroll said the Red Queen was based on the quintessential British governess or teacher. If that is true,   I often feel more like Tweedledummer than the Queen: "Contrariwise," continued Tweedledee, "if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic."

And as for my postings? Well, the Red Queen said it best: "It's too late to correct it," said the Red Queen: "when you've once said a thing, that fixes it, and you must take the consequences."

The postings have not kept up with our truly fantastic speed. Maybe that is a good thing, considering my pathetic typo to word count ratio ?  As for impossible things, this month massmouth moved out of my bedroom, established an office, found funding to pay for the office for six months and just found an intern from Lesley University, who will work with us for college credit. One of our dreams come true! And massmouth also hosted 5 story fabulous story slams/events and a few workshops.

Inside the office...

So, on many days, rather than feeling like the Red Queen,  I feel more like Alice: " Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen next."

Not the "off with yer head" gal, the other, more reasonable, equally bossy, monarch.

The Way of the Woodcutter

We spent a gorgeous afternoon with Nelson. Patti, Robert and I worked side by side and it felt great to be outside and working with wood under Nelson's gentle direction. Nelson is pretty deaf from working with a chain saw for 60 of his 86 years so my questions are loud. I recorded him by turning on my cell phone memo function and putting it in my pocket while we worked. The pics are all from my iPhone as well. Though I have been splitting wood for years this was my first time using a chain saw.

Nelson is 87 years old.

He is thoughtful and wicked funny.

Neslon said I would "starve" if I tried to earn a living cutting wood. He also said that he had "never burned oil" only wood.  He does not miss a trick and he loves to tease us.  He noticed that I was taking pictures - without actually looking up. He chided me to get the "beautiful side" of his handsome face. Later Nelson asked me when he sussed that I was up to more than just splitting and stacking wood, " Who is your media outlet? FOX or CNN?" We love getting to spend time with him. The little video below does not do him justice.

Storytelling for Adults and Kids: Everybody Has A Story pt 2

Checked out my tape and here is what I captured with my video cam set up. I adjusted to catch Eric and the rest of the tape has my head cut off - I sure needed a camera person.

Everybody Has A Story: A Storytelling Concert by Norah Dooley

 Great fun at Cambridge Center concert where we Skyped in Eric Miller in Chennai, India. NATIONAL STORYTELLING NETWORK: CONNECT WITH INDIA on 11/20
from my friend Jeff Gere and the ccae.org for sponsoring my performance
NSN Vision: Connecting people to and through storytelling

The Chennai Storytelling Association and the Mumbai Storytelling Association are wondering if there are adults and/or children in the USA who might like to videoconference with them in Chennai and Mumbai on Tellabration Day, November 20th -- just to tell and listen to folktales in English. It would be for 60-90 minutes, in the early part of the day on that Saturday (USA time)(Hawaii dunno). This 3-way videoconference will be facilitated by Reliance Communications, a huge Indian telecom company that has produced numerous Megaconferences. If interested, please contact: eric@storytellinginstitute.org , Eric Miller, Director, World Storytelling Institute, Chennai, India.

The video conference worked but seemed as if every piece of my recording equipment failed due to low then, no battery power. So I clicked a few shots with my iPhone and I have a story from the audience too. Very fun! Thanks Eric Miller for the inspiration. More connections to come, I hope.

Everybody Has A Story: A Storytelling Concert by Norah Dooley by Michael Cicone


"Norah Dooley is an entrancing storyteller." - Scott Alarik, Boston Globe


Critically acclaimed author and storyteller Norah Dooley comes to the Cambridge Center for Adult Education on Saturday, November 20 at 10:30 am for an all-ages storytelling concert: Everybody Has A Story. "Norah is an inspiration," says CCAE's director of education, Michael Cicone, "and she has a wealth of stories to share - from traditional folk tales to the real-life experiences of her neighbors."
Dooley has performed all over New England, including the winter and spring Revels, Newport Folk Festival, Cambridge River Festival and Three Apples Storytelling Festival in Bedford. She is also the author of a series of beloved picture books about her former neighborhood in Cambridge, MA - Everybody Cooks Rice, Everybody Serves Soup, Everybody Brings Noodles, and Everybody Bakes Bread - which highlight the commonalities of human experience that bring all of us together.
"Norah reminds us that everyone has a compelling story to share with the world," says Cicone. "And Everybody Has A Story is a great event for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors and friends to attend with the children in their lives. They will come away with lots of new things to talk about." Dooley is also a wonderful teacher - with a master's degree in education and a BFA in painting.

Eric Miller, PhD
http://www.storytellingandvideoconfer...
Director, World Storytelling Institute (Chennai)
http://www.storytellinginstitute.org
Assistant Professor of Story and Storytelling,
Image College of Animation, Arts, and Technology (Chennai)
http://www.icat.ac.in
"Methods and Options for Videoconferencing
in Relation to the Tamil Language in 2010,"
http://www.storytellingandvideoconfer... .
For http://www.infitt.org/ti2010 .
"Spin Yarns, Interact with Locals, and Visit the Places of Your Fairytales,"
http://www.storytellingandvideoconfer... .

The M&M Hotel - farewell to horror

Front entrance and waiting room where we spent hours

Looking for a story for the "horrified" story slam I bumped into an "old friend" and took some pics. Then I recorded my thoughts while sitting in our car, on an errand. In this short digital story, I have combined my thoughts and images with some images I found on line. They were amazing. These photos by Anna Shuelit were the exact mirror of images in my memory from my many visits to and from MMHC as a daughter and sister of mentally ill family from 1968 -- until 1990? Not sure.

The picture of our mother, sitting lost and alone, on our living room couch is seared in my mind.

Since I was not chosen as a contestant at the "horrified" slam,  I am posting my story, warts and all,  here. The Guess Who song "Undun"  in this soundtrack was popular during one of my mother's breakdowns and was kind of an anthem for us.



I was surprised to see this art installation and celebration of mmhc online. Check out the mmhc site and the project at:  http://www.1856.org/bloom/setting.html

The main entrance - all that was left on OCT 26, 2010

"THE MASSACHUSETTS MENTAL HEALTH CENTER
The Massachusetts Mental Health Center opened its doors on June 24, 1912. From its inception, the institution has been a partnership between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Harvard Medical School. It is one of the oldest public teaching hospitals in the United States and has trained several generations of leaders in American psychiatry. Located three blocks from Harvard Medical School, it is both a state mental health facility and a center of academic psychiatry, combining public service with clinical- and research programs. MMHC serves an ethnically diverse catchment area of about 285,000 people in several Boston neighborhoods, with a mission to care for the seriously mentally ill regardless of their financial circumstances.

The center began as the Psychopathic Department of Boston State Hospital in 1912, under the direction of Dr. Elmer E. Southard. It separated from the hospital and was renamed the Boston Psychopathic Hospital (BPH) in 1920. It was initially created to provide for the reception, diagnosis, and disposition of acute psychiatric patients in Boston, usually admitting patients for short periods only. After diagnosis patients were transferred to state hospitals or discharged for outpatient care. As the institution developed a reputation for active teaching and research in psychiatry, cases from other state hospitals were transferred to it for observation or special treatment.

When a building is closed after nine decades of continuous use, its long history moves from a physical setting to an abstract place in our memory. In the course of closing the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, the people who worked and stayed in this building for years, whose lives were affected - often unconsciously - by its dimensions, directions, and traffic ways, are moved to a new environment."

Millionaire Pt. 2: The written WWTBAM pre-audition prep

Meredith Vieria seems to genuinely enjoy her work

Below is some of what we had to fill out and bring with us. They knew our name, gender, age and address from the online form.  In the email, they called what we were doing an "audition" and that sounded very exciting. But the abc staff never saw my answers below because you have to make the first cut to actually have an "audition" where your picture taken and your application read. WWTBAM ( my lazy acronym - abc writes our their name) stuff is in blue...
    •    If you are selected from the Contestant Pool as a potential contestant, you must be available for a qualifying phone call. Please list the phone number(s) where you can be reached Monday through Friday between 9am and 5pm Eastern Time.




 If contacted by WWTBAM staff, all applicants must return phone calls Monday through Friday between 9am and 5pm EST     ELIGIBILITY

    •   Are you or any member of your immediate family (spouse, mother, father, daughter, son, sister, brother and their spouses) or anyone living in your household currently employed by: etc. etc a longish list. And then the usual
Do you or any member of your immediate family or anyone living in your household know any persons who are or have ever been connected with the production, administration or judging of “WWTBAM”?  This last bit was no surprise: Contestants are solely responsible for all expenses incurred in connection with their appearance on the Syndicated Program with Meredith Vieira including, but not limited to, travel to New York City, hotel, meals and all other expenses.  The Program Sponsor will not reimburse any Contestant for such expenses.  Do you agree to be responsible for all costs incurred by you in connection with your appearance on the Syndicated Program? Y X     N ___

Then this next part was way more fun. But very hard to suss out just what angle of my life story would fit their needs or get me on their show. Luckily I did not have a lot of time to worry over it. The WWTBAM asked this:

Married X Single __________ Attached _________ Kids? X 4 lovely daughters
Status
BFA in Painting, Museum School/Tufts and MEd in Creative Arts in Learning/ Lesley University
Education (Name(s) of Colleges and Degrees)
Free lance storyteller, educator and children’s picture book writer. Co-director of a no budget, no-profit storytelling organization with big dreams of becoming a low budget, nonprofit organization.
Occupation

Please answer the following questions:
1. Quirks, rituals, superstitions…What makes you unique? I play really loud  music in my car -  hip hop, rap, blues, folk, opera and I sing and/or dance  while  I listen.  When a family member next uses the car and turns the ignition they get BLASTED with  sound. Then they blast me. Possibly the only fan of Charlie Parker, Nas, MIA, Olatunji, Wyclef Jean, Punjabi MC, Shakira, Ani DiFranco, Arlo Guthrie, the BSO and Puccini that I know.

2. How would winning $1 million change your life? 
Short answer ? If I actually won the full Million? Wow!  I’d pay off our kid's college loans and buy a big enough house for the whole extended family to live together. And then continue to do the work I love.  As one of  two self employed parents in a flat economy I would cease worrying about my art habit. I love the work I do but our health insurance payments just tripled and my income is very, how you say, ...artistic.  

3. What is one thing you do that makes people laugh? 
I do incredibly stupid things and then tell the story …or I live through incredibly difficult things and tell a story. My imitations and accents make people laugh – been described as Robin Williams with larger mammary glands.

4. If you could nominate yourself as best-_____ or “most likely to_____,” what would be your vote?
I am “most likely to be distracted by anything vaguely interesting about almost anything.” And I am the fastest  Wikipedia researcher in my  circle of friends. I hate to hear opinions quoted as “facts” . When our kids were little  we used to have an encyclopedia next to the dinner table room and I constantly went to it to check or prove a point –  and then get lost in some random stuff. Thank god for iPhones. Wait, you mean I have to leave mine home, huh? Yeah, I guess I knew that.

5. What do you do for fun?
I play the violin/fiddle. I love to sing but I suck at it. Sing in a gospel choir.  Ride my bike places in the city.

6. You’d never believe it but I once… 
Some people will NOT believe that I wanted to be a nun until I was 13 years old. My Auntie Vera used to say  " Don’t do that ! You’ll be on your knees praying and scrubbing all day! You should get married”.  But this was before the woman’s movement and since we are of Italian “distraction” I couldn’t really see the difference.  If I married 'a nice Italian boy' as she suggested,  I would be on my knees all day, praying and scrubbing. But, stuff happens.  Been married 29 years and have 4 children. No “habits” in my future except bad ones. People would pretty much believe anything about me but they are very surprised when they hear how morbidly shy I was until I was about 15 years old.

7. Why do you want to be on Millionaire?
Been watching the show while spending time with  my 92 year old mother -in-law and I have been inspired to try. If I won ?  I’d a buy a big enough house for our whole extended family to live together. Grandma and all.  Then we could all be together and I would still get to do the creative work I love without worrying about making money at it. Besides, all this random info in my head must have some use.  And,  I love a challenge.

8. How did you hear about the audition?
The announcement on the show sent me online.

With a shrug,  I printed my email, my audition form and remembered to remove my Leatherman and Allen wrench from my bag. Then I bought a MegaBus ticket on line.  NY, NY, here I come.


In part 3 - Read how Getting there really is more than half the fun...

NY, NY - what a town! Image by joiseyshowaa via Flickr

Here is an interesting article on the show and how the recession has changed the way people are playing. Actually WWTBAM has really changed the format of the game and  it will be played very differently this season, I think in response to this trend:

 The economy is having an effect everywhere - even on game shows. Indeed, the downturn is having an impact on how people are playing "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," said host Meredith Vieira.
"I've seen more contestants who are playing for things like a mortgage payment," Vieira told reporters last week, "or, you know, because they don't have a job right now, or their kid suddenly can't go to college."

The real big gamblers are not there as much.

"On the other hand, what you're getting will be stories about people [for whom] this means a lot," she said. "It's more than just a game, so - it's life-changing money, and I think that's exciting in and of itself."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/10/12/2009-10-12_economic_crisis_affecting_contestant_behavior_on_who_wants_to_be_a_millionaire_a.html#ixzz0yZRVPlTF

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• Who Wants To Be a Millionaire Embarrassed? (abovethelaw.com)
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• Who Wants to Change a Millionaire? (bbc.co.uk)
• Meredith Vieira is making no predictions as to where she'll be next year (hollywoodnews.com)

I nearly forgot how much I love to paint,sing and tell stories...

massmouth's Bridge to Haiti was a fun idea. But the weather and other commitments conspired against me until I was left with just 12 hours, in which to paint, load and deliver  enough cardboard to make a scene on the Weeks Memorial Footbridge. Man, that is one big-assed bridge.  Sheila Leavitt helped enormously by creating HUGE cloth banners for both sides.  Amazing. Adriane Spunt and Andrea Lovett worked in 90 degree heat to prime one side of the cardboard. But in the end,  it was me and big ideas that was left to do the rest. Not the ideal conditions for painting.  So humid. Nothing would dry. Hard to cut damp cardboard. Cramped apartment. Moving from boiler room to bedroom, tip-toeing around and through the sleeping family. Setting up a dehumidifier, and moving 16'X 6' wet cardboard boxes from room to room is just as crazy making as it sounds.  At about 3 AM some cardboard had dried enough to be cut and painted.  It was then that I started to have fun. I looked up flora and fauna of Haiti. I learned how to draw a hibiscus, the unofficial flower of Haiti. I was just hitting my stride when it was time to pack it all up and get it to the River Festival. *sigh*  Stu just uploaded a tom of pics and some of the little decorative pieces I made for the Bridge to Haiti. It was so much fun that I am itching to paint more. 

 
Find more photos like this on massmouth The Power of Story

But,  in the "cobbler's children have no shoes" mode, instead,  I am in a show coming up that I have not had a moment to personally promote.  I did find time to steal a frog and design a poster for the event ( above).  Here is some additional information:

An evening of personal narratives tall,short and otherwise

 some are stranger than fiction but all are true. by massmouth storytellers. 

organized by H.R.Britton of Overcoat Theater •  Tickets at the door - $10 dollars 
1353 Cambridge Street in Inman Square Cambridge from 7PM – 9:30PM

HR Britton’s most recent monologue, From Madison to Madurai: 134 Days in Mother India is a humorous and sometimes sobering look a Britton’s four-and-a-half month stay in India. Andrea Lovett telling “Grilled Underpants” and other personal favorites. Norah Dooley tells all in “Charter School” is English word for ‘gulag”   Tony Toledo  has been telling stories to pay the rent since 1990.  Elizabeth  Appleby Elizabeth Appleby advises you fasten your seatbelt  as she tells  

 If you lived here, you’d be home^DEAD now.

The storytellers:

H.R.Britton is new to Boston.  His new monologue about his time in India, “Melting in Madras” opens at the Piano Factory Theatre this Tuesday. Andrea Lovett is a founding member of massmouth, stoyteller, teacher, and has kissed a lot of frogs. Not complaining, just saying. Norah Dooley,  also a founding member of massmouth is a storyteller, author and educator. She has swallowed many flies.  More at: www.norahdooley.com Tony Toledo tells tales to elementary students, senior citizens and preschoolers, though usually not all at the same time. Elizabeth  Appleby is a performer, writer and educator. Her one woman show Fritz Perls Is My (tor) Mentor was produced at The Marsh in San Francisco.  Early on, she labeled her life a living joke.

Much as I love the short form of 5 minute stories, I am really looking forward to the chance to tell a longer story at this gig. Painting will have to wait. Again.  Speaking of things I have waited to do, Rosie and I sang again with the Mystic Chorale this weekend after an 8 year break. It was pure joy to sing with 250 other people in Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA. We did two shows and it was so much fun to work with the guest conductors, Jonathan Singleton and Dr. Phillip Woods in particular.  Here is an article from WBUR - FM

Nick Page (center, behind the piano) leads his Mystic Chorale through a recent "sing" in Arlington. (Andrea Shea/WBUR)

Get Out Of The Shower: Mystic Chorale Says ‘Everyone Can Sing’

BOSTON — This story is about a potentially embarrassing topic: Singing. Where do you belt it out? If you’re like a lot of people, you might feel safe singing alone — in the shower, or maybe in your car. But Boston conductor and composer Nick Page thinks everyone can sing — and should — with lots of other people, in-tune or almost in-tune...He’ll be doing that this weekend in a concert with his posse, the 250-member Mystic Chorale....More than 200 singers gathered for a recent rehearsal at a church in Arlington. Page is the chorale’s founder and fearless leader.
“The trick with adults is to give them the emotional permission to let it out,” Page said. “Most adults who don’t sing sing at the same level as when they stopped singing. I got that from that book, ‘Drawing (on the) Right Side of (the) Brain.’ It says that people who take up drawing as adults start at the same level as when they stopped. And the same is true of singing.” Page lives by the mantra: “Everyone can sing.” There are no auditions for the Mystic Chorale. Some members are totally green. Others have been singing their whole lives.

The conductor is a big man with a big heart. He commands a hulking, playful, supportive presence. Barefooted and wearing a head band, Page works with the group through a song he wrote called, “I Found My Voice.” The chorale group’s affection for him is palpable. Page — a classically-trained musician and self-described “folkie” — formed the chorale 20 years ago. It started with much smaller, casual, community “sings,” as Page calls them. Open to all, they were inspired by Dr. Ysaye Barnwell of the African-American a cappella group, Sweet Honey and the Rock. She’s organized community sings all over the world, with a focus on teaching the art of song in the oral tradition. Over the years, the Mystic Chorale has grown organically as people in the audience sang along, got hooked and signed up... more here