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.