Behind the Label

In full flight - telling 'Tales from the Flyway'

WHEN: December 1st
TIME: 7.30 - 9.30pm
WHERE: Cromwell Studios 136A Cromwell, Street Collingwood
Bookings: HERE

I'll be one of a line-up of speakers talking about telling stories in schools and festivals and the complexities and delights of rummaging around in culturally complex spaces.  But the passion at the moment is in using my  skills to bring people closer to the natural environment. I'm a 'birdo' and live by the urban wetlands in Hobsons Bay where I work to raise awareness of the plight of the migratory shore birds.

I've also received a couple of gongs for my two children's books and adult short stories. That's another passion!

Behind the Label more info HERE

'Singing from Country' launched at the Maldon Folk Festival

It has been with pride and pleasure I have had a place on the Singing from Country steering committee representing Storytelling Australia Victoria. Any project that aims to deepen connection to the land through understanding is a winner in my book.

 Uncle Rick Nelson: Welome to Country

This event was the pilot project; the goal is to eventually roll the idea across Victoria. Almost two years in the planning, it was wonderful to see the hard work come together in a day of workshops and a powerful and joyous concert.

The pilot Singing from Country was launched on Dja Dja Wurrung Country  bringing together traditional knowledge holders, ecologists, naturalists, singers, songwriters and choir leaders.

Workshop: Rebecca Phillips, Djali Balag (Langugae Group on language and culture)
Two months ago, four of Australia's celebrated songwriters were immersed in full day of presentations and stories to assist them in the task of writing two songs each, to be arranged for community choirs.

Neil Murray (songwriter)
These songs were revealed at the Maldon Folk Folk Festival as works in progress (still to be arranged and polished) at the concert. I am still smiling and savoring the delight of the day. To hear a hall full of people singing about Allocasuarina, swathes of wildflowers, skin and bark, to hear a welcome sung in Dja Dja Wurrung - powerful and memorable. A wonderful beginning.

 Songwriter Eva Popov (left) with the help of friends
Hats off to the Dja Dja Wurrung,  Community Music Victoria, Victorian Aboriginal Corporation of Languages, Connecting Country  

So many people to acknowledge who have contributed to the project so far. I suggest you visit the Singing from Country website, join the Facebook Group and follow the journey.

Songwriter Kavisha 

 
Songwriter Carl Pannuzzo

'Tales from the Flyway': Sunday 27 November

click on poster to enlarge
Sarah and I will be performing some of our Tales from the Flyway during an exhibition curated by visual artist Kate Gorringe-Smith.  Kate shares the passion for migratory shore birds, their plight and the metaphor their epic journeys gives to our lives.

FROM A HOME TO A HOME: A STORY OF MIGRATION seeks to raise awareness of the migratory shorebirds that travel the  East Asian Australasian Flyway and their habitats and raises empathy for people who have migrated to these shores looking for sanctuary.

The exhibition includes works from seven of the twenty-three Flyway countries. Artist include: Kate Gorringe-Smith (Curating artist), Cui Xiao Hua, Kyoko Imazu, Nakarin Jaikla, Vicki Kinai, Andrej Kocis, Helen Kocis Edwards, Khue Nguyen, Minh Phan, Ema Shin, En En See, Pamela See, My Le Thi, Pimpisa Tinpalit, Haily Tran, Rebecca Young.



Exhibition details
FROM A HOME TO A HOME: A STORY OF MIGRATION
Friday 25 November – Thursday 8 December
Opening: Friday 25 November , 6.00–9.00pm
Brunswick Street Gallery, 322 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
Gallery hours: Tues–Fri 10am–8pm; Sat–Sun 10–6pm

Here's one of the Tales we may tell. Will be hard to choose, we love telling them all.
 

House Concert: C.J. Dennis The Songs of the Sentimental Bloke

Its been a quiet few months as I've been recovering from a broken arm. Miserable as it is,  I have been enjoying the chance to focus on writing. I love writing, once I get started, but if if the sun is shining I'm easily distracted. So.. not able to drive, ride my bike or work in the garden, one hand typing has been my thing for the past eight weeks.

I like to think I'm not superstitious but I do have a streak of superstitious caution when it comes to talking about projects that are still waiting for that contract that says - 'its a goer'. So I won't reveal too much, suffice to say I have been immersed in mid 19th century to early 20th century Australian English.

This culminated in a House Concert: C.J. Dennis The Songs of the Sentimental Bloke. My friends Alan and Dave Davies created a 30 minute piece around 4 poems from The Bloke a while ago, to celebrate the 100th Anniversary since publication. Dave has been memorising and reciting verse for over 60 years and his son Alan is a dab hand at the art form as well. The poems were linked by Australian Bush tunes, selected and played by Nicola Johnson. I had the pleasure of being 'The Narrator'.

My friend Alex Kharnam arrived with a truck load of camera gear and lights and filmed the event for posterity. The results will be available for all to enjoy.

Dave, Alan and Nicola are friends from the Newport Fiddle and Folk Club, a great caldron of creativity in Melbourne.

I love House Concerts and aim to host a few every year. They are a great reminder that houses are not just for eating and sleeping.

Celebrating the Edithvale Seaford Wetlands Bird Hide

One of the many things I love about storytelling, is being asked to deliver stories into places where they might not normally be heard.

Collaborator and musician buddy, Sarah Depasquale, and I were invited to bring our story of 'Tom, the red-necked Stint' to the re opening of this beautiful bird hide.

Right by a busy road, you step across a small wooden bridge, through the Melaleuca trees to a small two story wooden structure. The hide feels damp and dark, full of atmosphere; the strip windows allow shafts of light to piece the gloom and offer a magical view of the lake teeming with bird life.







The Friends Group have kept the handmade signs and information panels, so there is also a sense of the history of the hide.











There is access for for those using wheel chairs and walkers and a mezzanine platform for those who don't mind the stairs.
















I hesitate to use the word, as its not my sort of word - but this place really feels like a 'sacred space'.

Travelling the Western District with the Story Peddler

The idea of taking stories on the road, outside of mainstream venues and events is close to my heart. I remember reading about how in Shakespeare's day, plays might be performed on the back of carts and in courtyards. When I was living in the remote Central Desert and a circus found its way across hundreds of kilometres of sand, I was impressed. So being invited to travel about country Victoria with the Story Peddler, is a little dream come true.

I've worked with the The Story Peddler and his story tent before but this time and we were booked to travel to the Woolly West Fest, a festival in the Western District of Victoria that celebrates the wool industry with craft and art works, literature, films ... all things with a woolly theme.

Mr P. Eddler arrives in Hamilton. The weather was wet and cold so the tent was set up in school sheds and, in this case, a shop.















Mr P. Eddler (aka Patrick Verdon) has designed and built the tiny tent to pack away in a trailer which, if the destination is not too distant, he can ride to. Otherwise he loads the box and dice into a bigger trailer (like nesting dolls) and hitches it up to the car.
 
Clever Mr P has designed the tent so it has no central pole.


Within two hours the tent is ready and an old auto shop is transformed.


Mr P manages 'backstage': lighting, sound effects and music. He also likes getting up and joining in with the stories.



At each location the tent was positioned so when the children walked into what they thought was a familiar space, they were in for a surprise.

Penshurst PS


Filling the tent with stories.


I love the freedom of this kind of work, the independence; the need to to think on my feet and adapt  to the different set-ups; the sense that I'm working now from a reservoir of 20 years experience with the oral tradition. I love the fact I'm totally accountable for what comes out of my mouth, the stories I tell and how I tell them. I love the simplicity - no giant props, fancy sets or costumes, I like employing my agility with language, fresh words, not recited. I relish the challenge of quickly establishing a relationship with those who have come to hear the stories. I love the exchange of stories that happens on the journey, both inside and outside the tent.

A huge thank you to Jacinta Wareham and Naomi Turner for their warmth and vision. 

Huon Valley Mid Winter Festival 2016

How I ended up at the Huon Valley Mid Winter Festival is a long and convoluted story.
Suffice to say,  I got the job of coordinating the storytelling component.

The idea was to put storytelling into the heart of the Festival, not as an after-thought in a tent on the other side of the port-a-loos (as can happen at festivals).

The organisers gave us space in a tent well equipped with sound gear, a skilled and patient tech (Leith) and a bar at the back. We had prime spots in the program on Friday and Saturday nights for adult stories and on Saturday and Sunday afternoons for family sessions.

Friday crowds were treated to The Grimm, rehearsed readings of favourite tales with the remarkable Dean Stephenson accompanied by Kelly Ottaway and Julius Schwing.

 Saturday, mother and son storytelling team Emily and Ben Conolan captured the hearts of their listeners. Ben, at only seven, is on top of his craft and they are an inspiration to others to have a go. If Ben was the youngest storyteller at the festival, Phil Rush would have been the oldest. Illustrating his tales with chalk drawings, his tales are captivating.

On Sunday Phil was back with Tara Smith. Tara has a warmth and a way with riddles and soon had the children on their toes.


The big event we had been working on, was the Inaugural Huon Valley Storyteller's Cup. This took place on the Saturday evening with seven, very talented storytellers vying for the gorgeous hand crafted Huon Pine Cup (sculptured by Brad Moss).


Competitions aren't for everyone but they can up the ante and create opportunities in unexpected ways. On Saturday night, storytellers sang, chanted, spoke and animated, funny, poignant and whimsical tales.

The undisputed winner was Georgia Lucy who turned in a spectacular performance. Pictured here (left) with one of the Judges Kirsha Kaeshele.

The festival is held around the Willie Smiths Apple Shed and paddocks. The orchards are wassailed, the Morris Dances are let lose and the cider flows. We have so many festivals in Australia but this would have to be one of the loveliest. Well wort a trip to Tassie in Mid Winter.

Many thanks to Martin Jefferd my UK storytelling friend who suggested that storytelling be given a boost at the festival and for his faith in me to put the plan into action!

3rd Annual Australian Fairy Tale Society Conference

We have a few fabulous conferences in Australia that, one way of another, focus on spoken stories and the oral tradition. The Australian Fairy Tale Society Conference is one of my favourites for its mix of the academic and performative.

I was  thrilled and honored to be invited this year to deliver the keynote. It forced me to sit down, think hard and make logical segues between bunch of ideas that I'd had floating around in my mind for a while. The theme was Into the Bush: Its Beauty and Its Terror. (Lordy I had fun!)
 
I’m an urban person. For me, the bush can be, discombobulating. The beauty can take my breath away and the strangeness can overwhelm and confuse.  The rational lens through which I view the world has clouded at times when I've been in the bush.  And it’s in this vulnerable and heightened state that I’ve had moments where I’ve suspected that there is another reality: a mythic or magical realm in parallel. Especially when moving through country that is still active storied - like in the central desert. 

Its a pleasurable but rattling feeling to be tipped upside down and shaken by powerful 'mythscapes'. 

I enjoyed all the papers and readings but I particularly enjoyed Robin Floyd's presentaion: Stockwhip Wand and a Cabbage Tree Hat: Australian Identity in Australian Fairy Tales. I was intrigued by the fact that I could relate to the sensibility of the texts created in the 1800s and early 1900s.

These texts are available on line and well worth exploring. Olga Ernst's book has a story set at the end of my street by the mouth of the Yarra River. It's odd, but fascinating.

On a similar theme, Catherine Snell's presentation: Australian Fairy Tales and the Quest for Nationhood was thought provoking. 

I love these embossed book covers. This illustration is from a tale by Atha Westbury about a  Leprechaun who arrived in Australia inside a hat box. Whether this was on purpose or an unfortunate event, I cannot say, but I can say, I will be tracking down this story to find out.

Looking forward to the next conference already!

 

Sowing and harvesting stories in the RAW Garden

I have a deep love of gardens and gardening. Actually, its hard to say the order of preference; I think bike riding, bird watching, gardens and storytelling are all level passions.

Little wonder that Mariam Issa and I should have found each other.  Mariam is a lover of stories, language, good conversation and gardening. Mariam is the co-founder of the RAW Garden. The garden is her back yard but its open to the community who share in its bounty and hospitality.

These photos were taken on a cold winter's afternoon. My colleagues from Storytelling Australia Victoria have been telling stories on the first Sunday of the month. Today Clare Coburn began the session with stories as well as singing and reciting poetry.


Following Clare, Abshiro Farah presented Shah and Sheeko (tea and stories). Sweet spicy tea and cakes were just the beginning.

Abshiro is working on translating stories from her childhood into English and we were privileged to hear the first one.
These gatherings at the Garden only began this year and yet the friendships and creative alliances have formed quickly and are bearing fruit.

The garden is looking wonderful; the plants are mostly asleep for the winter, except the citrus which are laden with oranges and lemons. The chooks are as cheeky as ever.

Abshiro and I are going to work on her stories together. There is much I will have to learn about Somalian language to do the work justice.

World Migratory Bird Day 2016

There is no better way to tell the story for the day than with this short video.

Ballarat Heritage Weekend

Well ... life is busy and and the challenges varied and that's how I like it to be.
This weekend I headed up to Ballarat to deliver a story or two as part of the Ballarat Heritage Weekend. I love heading west out of town - it takes very little to persuade me.

There was a tweed thing happening as part of the celebrations, so I did my best to join in. Not hard to do. As I age, my wardrobe grows more brown and tweedy.

Arriving early, there was time to enjoy the action in the  Mining Exchange and and explore some of architecture; wonderful displays and performances inside buildings, along verandahs and in the streets.

The Old Colonist's Association of Ballarat building is a gem. However I have to admit I have an uneasy relationship with my settler/colonial past. That heart sinking feeling when I wonder what my ancestors may have done or chosen to ignore when Aboriginal country was stormed by gold seekers and sheep farmers. This building is evocative, it needs little explanation. The charming entrance is a delight - magical dimensions.

 
My task for the day (apart from enjoying the festivities) was to was to tell a few tales relevant to the Ballarart Heritage Weekend. I chose to share my story of the first of the large nuggets to be unearthed in Victoria in 1857. The new CAFS (Children and Family Services) premises has a fabulous new exhibition space and a spacious room, perfect for intimate presentations and performances. Many thanks to Neil Boyak and the staff who made it all happen and made me feel so welcome.

Port Fairy Folk Festival 2016

I'm a Port Fairy Folk Festival regular - a festival located in the prettiest town and on one of the most beautiful stretches of coast.

This year I had the fun of taking 'Tales from the Flyway' to Port Fairy with Sarah Depasquale. As well as the show we contributed a Selkie tale to 'Celtic Connections', a session hosted by Jim Haynes with Noel Stallard. In the spaces between I managed a little music and a walk around Griffith Island.

Jim and Noel are well-known in festivals as comediennes, storytellers, reciters of comic and bush verse. Jim is also a prolific author, broadcaster, singer ... you'd be hard pushed to find more entertaining company!
Jim Haynes


Noel Stallard

When I'm at the Festival, I usually help Jim out with the Pat Glover Memorial Storytelling Award; this is one of the few storytelling awards in Australia. Over the years, I've seen the standard grow. People are thinking hard about their stories, crafting them and delivering them with heart. This year the stand out was Kath Stewart's story of rebuilding life after the 2009 bush fires. She told her story with strength and courage. It is and will remain one of the highlights for me of Port Fairy. Superb!

L-R Rob English. me, Kath, Jim

Working with the Story Peddlers on January 26, a difficult date for many of us.

January 26 has been and gone. It a date that provokes thought and reflection. The City of Greater Dandenong hosts a magical festival for residents.

The residents in this Community come from over 150 countries. I’ve worked many times for the CGD  and over the years have come to know some of the remarkable librarians and event organisers. I’ve also been privileged to listen to the stories of migration, escape and refuge of some of the residents.

Amid the voices calling for a rethink of anthem, date, constitutional recognition of Aboriginal people, treaty … of which my voice is one, I heard another voice yesterday. She said, ‘I have no English today. I speak Dari. I am so happy’. And heart to heart we enjoyed a big hug. When the day was over, and home at last, I googled ‘Dari’.

Taking stories and music to the people: The 'Dog's Breakfast'

When my friend Sarah Depasquale and I developed our show around the theme of migratory shore birds, we hoped that we would find a way to compliment the work of the local rangers.  We conceived it so it so the story could be told in parts or as a whole, with the aim of being as flexible as possible.

 Ranger Libby our hi-viz roadie

While its wonderful to tell the stories to the converted (those who understand the plight of the birds) the real challenge is to get the message out there to folks who do not know about the situation or feel powerless to do anything about it.

This morning Sarah and I attended the annual Dog's Breakfast held at Altona, a short walk from the Point Cook Coastal Park and Cheetham Wetlands. Cheetham is recognized under the Ramsar Convention as being a significant wetland habitat.


We followed a list of speakers who talked about responsible dog ownership, snake bites, health and training tips. Rounding off the morning with the story of Tom the Red-necked Stint and his epic journey from Siberia to Altona in Hobsons Bay, we hope that we offered some kind of bridge of understanding for those who love to let their dogs run free but are yet to learn about the needs of the birds who are feeding up to make their journey back to the arctic tundra to breed.

Sarah an I both love and challenge. She is from a classical music back ground and I have a classical theatre background. Getting outside and taking stories and music to the people is the best!

L-R Ranger Andrew, Sarah, me and Ranger Libby