11th Annual Storytelling Festival

For Immediate Release: Thursday, March 19, 2015

Art of the Story at Washington County Libraries; April 11-18, 2015

Washington County Oregon: The Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) hosts the 11th Annual Storytelling Festival - Art of the Story April 11 - 18. The festival features five professional storytellers: Judith Black (Marblehead, Massachusetts), Sam Payne (Springville, Utah), Kuniko Yamamoto (North Port, Florida), Chetter Galloway (Tualatin, Oregon) and Brody Theater (Portland, Oregon).

Admission is free and the festival performances are designed for the enjoyment of adults. Several programs also welcome children ages 6 and up. The week-long storytelling extravaganza features 16 storytelling performances at the WCCLS member libraries, the Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center, Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club and the new Sherwood Center for the Arts.

The festival wraps up on Saturday, April 18 with a full slate of activities. In the morning Judith Black presents The Techniques of Telling Workshop at the Oregon College of Art & Craft (OCAC). A community-wide Story Swap hosted by the Portland Storytellers’ Guild follows the workshop at OCAC.

Also on the final Saturday, Chetter Galloway presents a mid-day performance at the Aloha Library. On the evening of the 18th, the Sherwood Library hosts the finale concert featuring performances by all five storytellers at the new Sherwood Center for the Arts. A reception precedes this concert offering a no-host bar with complimentary hors d’oeuvres.

The WCCLS festival is supported in part by grants from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, each of the local Friends of the WCCLS member libraries hosting a festival event, Umpqua Bank, Recology, and the Portland Storytellers’ Guild. Generous in-kind services have been provided by Pamplin MediaGroup, Friends of the Sherwood Library, Courtyard by Marriott, Sherwood Center for the Arts, Z100 Radio, KBOO Radio, Oregon College of Art & Craft, and Glenn and Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center.

2015 Storytelling Festival Events (www.wccls.org/festival)

NOTE: festival performances are designed for the enjoyment of adults. As noted below, several programs also welcome children ages 6 and up. Content in the programs requires attentive listening and may be too intense for non-school aged children.

For directions to the performance venues and additional festival details please visit www.wccls.org/festival or pick up a festival newsletter at a local WCCLS member library.

A high resolution picture and biography for each storyteller is available by request: [email protected]

Saturday, April 11
Beaverton Library: 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Story Slam Contest: Festival Kick-off (Adult program)
A Story Slam Contest is a competition within a set time limit placing emphasis on a storytellers content and performance. This contest features Amy Theberge, Lisa Miller, Jill Michaelree and Val Mallinson. Each story must be an original work. First person, real life adventures are expected. This Slam is judged by the audience. The winner receives a cash prize and the opportunity to tell a story at the Festival Finale.

Monday, April 13
West Slope Library: 6:30 p.m.
Once Upon a Story: Brody Theater (Adults & ages 6+)
(at Raleigh Park Elementary School 3670 SW 78th Ave, Portland 97225)
A series of improvised vignettes focused on who, what, where and why.

Tuesday, April 14
Walters Cultural Arts Center – Hillsboro: 7 p.m.
From the Top!: Brody Theater (Adult program)
(at 527 East Main Street, Hillsboro 97123)
A collection of improvised scene work focused on, beginnings, middles and ends.

Wednesday, April 15
Banks Library: 7 pm
Japanese Folk Tales and Myth with Mask: Kuniko Yamamoto (Adults & ages 6+)
Several short stories performed with audience interaction and participation. The stories portray the culture and moral perspective of Japan. The audience is encouraged to compare Japanese and American tales, arts and the cultural elements.

Wednesday, April 15
Forest Grove Library: 7 p.m.
Esau My Son: Judith Black (Adult program)
In a family of 'Jacobs' the intellectual inheritors of the tribe and tradition, what happens when you birth an 'Esau,' a hairy lover of meat and hunting? This very funny and poignant tale for parents, educators, and teens struggling to make meaning of their lives, is about the barbed wire of parenting, and how our children, if we listen and learn, eventually teach us who they are and how to nurture them. It includes 8 Broadway parodies, and appeals to the musical lover in all of us.

Wednesday, April 15
Hillsboro Library – Main: 7 p.m.
How the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy Survived the War: Sam Payne (Adult program)
Stories about getting out alive in spite of the odds.

Thursday, April 16
Garden Home Library: 7 p.m.
Sweet, Sour, and Sassy: Stories of Modern Womanhood Judith Black (Adult program)
What happens when the cars will no longer stop for you cross the street? You wait for a cute 19 year old before the traffic parts. From stories contemplating this status change to the deep stories of our eating disorders and fears in the tale HUNGRY, to a visit with a Senior Citizen super heroine who is fighting the pharmaceutical industry, and explaining senior sex, you will leave this evening having your heart, mind, and funny bone deeply touched.

Thursday, April 16
Tualatin Library: 7 p.m.
6 Steps to Become Wise Man: Kuniko Yamamoto (Adult program)
A Japanese boy wanted to become a wise man someday, but he did not want to wait for many years like his mother said. He found a way; the wise man in the village told him 6 steps to become a Wise Man.

Friday, April 17
Cedar Mill Library: 7 p.m.
Origami Tale: Kuniko Yamamoto (Adults & ages 6+)
Welcome to the infinite world of Origami! In Japanese, ori- means “to fold” and -gami means “paper”. Using origami, music and audience participation, Yamamoto provides a magical entry into Japanese culture. In her new show “Origami Tales”, mythological character masks and puppets, amazing flowers and a dragon–all made from origami–set the stage while the teller shares heartfelt stories.

Friday, April 17
North Plains Library: 7 p.m.
How my Elementary School Custodian Helped me Survive Camelot: Sam Payne (Adult program)
(at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, 12930 NW Old Pumpkin Ridge Road, North Plains, OR 97133)
Stories about first kisses, stage jitters, and learning to sing.

Friday, April 17
Hillsboro Library – Shute Park: 2:30 p.m.
Blooming: Folk, Fairy, and Original Tales to Grow On: Judith Black (Adults & ages 6+)
This program offers stories from all sources, but each one offers a model for growth and success.

Saturday, April 18
Aloha Library: 1 p.m.
Juba This & Juba That: Chetter Galloway (Adults & ages 6+)
(at 17455 SW Farmington Road, Suite 25B, Aloha, 97124)
A diverse collection of fun filled stories sprinkled with a little bit of African and African American seasoning!

Saturday, April 18
Oregon College of Art & Craft: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
The Techniques of Telling: Judith Black (Adults & ages 10+)
The wonderful thing about story telling is that it is a folk art rather than a fine art. Far from having to balance on your toes or hit high C, all one has to do is figure out how they tell best. During this workshop we will play with and stretch all of your potential assets for making a story you love come alive for listeners. From dramatic use of your voice, an expressive body, an imagination that creates images in thin air, to dancing fingers, participants will play with techniques. Ultimately, you will emerge with a broader palette of expressive tools to choose from in your storytelling.

Saturday, April 18
Oregon College of Art & Craft: 1 – 2 p.m.
Story Swap: with the Portland Storytellers’ Guild (Adults & ages 10+)
An opportunity for members of the public to tell a 5 minute story. Designed for both beginners to seasoned tellers interested in testing out new material. Meet and mingle with members of the local storytellers’ guild.

Saturday, April 18
Sherwood Library: 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. Festival Finale (Adult program)
(at Sherwood Center for the Arts, 22689 SW Pine Street, Sherwood, OR 97140)
6:30 – 7 pm = Storytelling Reception
7 – 9:30 = Finale Concert:

• Opening Story: Story Slam Winner
• Step After Step: Brody Theater - A quickly moving, wholly improvised single story narrative based on audience suggestions.
• The Story of Musa: Chetter Galloway - As he approaches his 18th season, Musa faces a challenge to earn his rite of passage.
• Fish out of Water: Kuniko Yamamoto - Kuniko's stories of coming to the United States from her native country of Japan.
• Move These Little Ones: Sam Payne - Stories about dancing from a guy with two left feet.
• Goodbye Mom: Judith Black - Some relationships take a lifetime to understand.

Call 503-846-3222 no less than 3 business days prior to a festival event to schedule assistive listening devices or sign language interpreters.

The Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) includes the Banks Public Library, Beaverton City Library (and Murray Scholls branch), Cedar Mill Community Library (and Bethany branch), Cornelius Public Library, Forest Grove City Library, Garden Home Community Library, Hillsboro Public Libraries (Main and Shute Park), North Plains Public Library, Sherwood Public Library, Tigard Public Library, Tualatin Public Library, West Slope Community Library, and the WCCLS Outreach to Homebound.

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