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Mon, 15 June 2009  "The Brave Little Tailor" is a tale popularized by Disney, who rather appropriately cast Mickey Mouse in the title role. Disney got it from the Brothers Grimm, who got it from several European folk traditions. It's an inspiring story about how a little guy can defeat a mighty giant (or even several of them) with cunning and courage, as well as a cautionary tale about the dangers of tooting your own horn. It will be one of the stories featured in our new production "Triumphant Tales; Stories of Creative Conquest". This version is specially edited for the podcast, and features the guest voices of our nephew Joey (age 15) and our niece Jenny (age 12). We hope the end result leaves you in stitches.We also talk about our recent drive and bicycling adventure down the Pacific Coast, traveling from Seattle through Oregon and past California's own giants, the monumental redwoods. You'll hear us make a reference in the podcast to working on our set in the garage; but no, no, no that does not mean that we have a house somewhere. We're still on the road fulltime, just as we have been for the past 17 years. But we do know other people who have houses, including Kimberly's parents. And it's their garage where we typically have our marathon production week every May/June. Now we're off and running on our 21st summer season. Beginning June 11 in Monterey, CA, we literally tour from coast to coast this year, ending the season in Medford, MA. We hope to catch you somewhere along the way! Happy Listening! Dennis (Narrator, Giant), Kimberly (Tailor), Joey (King) and Jenny (Giant) Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436. Links:   Comments[0] |
Fri, 15 May 2009 "Trittil, Littil and the Birds" is a story from Iceland about an adventurous young man who outwits a troll, and of course wins his good fortune. There are many trolls living under the bridges and in the caves of Nordic folklore, but in this case the troll is female. Which is entirely appropriate, since we have two female guest performers returning to join us. We were inspired by the famous troll lurking under the Aurora Bridge in the Femont District of Seattle, where we were able to spend a few days showing our guests the sights, including the Experience Music Project, Pikes Place Market, the Chittenden Locks, and Elliot Bay Book Company. None of us got eaten by a troll, but we did get almost dissolved by the rain. Happy Listening, Dennis (Narrator, King, Father), Kimberly (Mother, Trittil, Littil, Princess), Libby (Young Man), and Eddy (Oldest Brother, Troll) Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436. Links: Comments[0] |
Fri, 17 April 2009  “When April Went to Visit March” is a story from the Ukraine about the seasons, or rather about one season, and how it can be unseasonable, especially in a chilly climate like the Ukraine. The months of spring are appropriately personified to reflect the weather that typically accompanies them: harsh March, airy April and mellow May. Except sometimes May may show the traits of March, so this tale offers a fanciful explanation. We come to you from Sacramento, California, where we are doing a series of library performances for National Library Week. And we're doing stories especially appropriate for Earth Day, which the Sacramento County Library System is commemorating with a green theme. And speaking of spring, we recount our recent visit to Saratoga, WY, which has a hot mineral spring that anyone can bathe in free at any time, year-round. But while we were there, we encountered some snowy weather, as we did during the entire month of March, which seemed to be anticipating the venting of a great deal of wrath toward May. Happy Listening! Dennis (March, Narrator) and Kimberly (April, May, Wind) Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436. Links:
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Sun, 15 March 2009  “The Boo Brothers” is a story of sibling rivalry, virtue triumphant, and unorthodox horticulture from Korea. It parallels many stories, including one from the Appalachian region of the U.S. sometimes known as “Gol Golly Gee”, involving one or more individuals who refuse to help someone in need and then meet their downfall, as contrasted with a more noble person who takes the time to be of help, and is rewarded with riches and having a folktale named after them.We come to you from Colorado City (in Colorado, natch), after having driven from Florida in a very short time. Along the way, we stopped in Mobile, AL to attend part of the Mardi Gras festivities. Many people don't realize it, but Mardi Gras has been celebrated in Mobile even longer than it has in New Orleans. The festival in Mobile dates back as far as 1703, and the tradition of a parade dates back to about 1830 when one particular merry fellow got one going spontaneously, and the other folks in the community decided it was too much fun not to repeat. This year's celebration actually got underway last year, with events held back in November. But the party began in earnest in January, a month before Mardi Gras itself. And during that month, there were no fewer than FORTY-TWO parades. We missed forty of them. We also spent some time in Taos, NM, in the heart of ski country. The town of Taos is rich in history, being among other things the home of legendary scout Christopher “Kit” Carson—the house he lived in is now open for tours. But even more historic is the home of an entire tribe of Native Americans: the Taos Pueblo, which was built at least 600 hundred years ago, and quite possibly 1000 years ago. It's still home today to about 150 tribal residents who still live, as their ancestors did, without electricity or running water. Like the Pueblo, the entire town of Taos is constructed of adobe buildings. It was a fascinating place to spend a weekend, but we're relieved to be out of the snow. Happy Listening! Dennis (Narrator, HungBoo, Monsters) and Kimberly (Narrator, NolBoo, Wife, Bird, Monsters) Comments and folktale requests 206-426-0436. Links: Comments[0] |
Sun, 15 February 2009  Long before Marvel Comics created Spiderman, a spiderman was created by the Ashanti tribe of western Africa. The frequent trickster (and sometimes victim of other animals' tricks) has appeared in many aliases, and in many other parts of the world, including the Caribbean, Central America and the U.S. Sometimes he appears as a spider, sometimes a man, and sometimes both. In the Southern U.S., “he” sometimes turned into Aunt Nancy. In our story for this month, he retains his original name and gender, even though he has been transplanted to Jamaica, mon. And alas, it's another one of those cases (like “Anansi Goes Fishing”, which we're currently performing on tour) where he ends up on the short end of the storytellers' stick. We thought an Anansi story would be particularly appropriate for Black History Month, otherwise known as February. (In Great Britain, it's celebrated in October.) The month, which was originally just a week, traces its roots back to 1926, when prominent historian Dr. Carter Woodson began crusading to remedy the way his fellow African-Americans had been neglected in the history books. February is also the anniversary of the Fifteenth Amendment granting African-Americans the right to vote, and the swearing in of Hiram Revels as the first African-American member of the U.S. Senate. And February contains the birthday of the early civil rights leader W.E.B. DuBois, who along with Dr. Woodson, helped found the NAACP in 1909—during, would you believe it, the month of February. And you thought this month was just for presidents, groundhogs and chocolate. We come to you from Western Florida, a state in which we've been sojourning for the past couple of months. But we're on our way north and gradually back to the West Coast, to the region where we started. We hope you do your share of reading during Read Across America Week, the first week in March. Happy Listening! Links Mentioned in this Podcast
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