News and Events

The 2020 Annual Conference in Parksville, British Columbia, which was scheduled for May 27 to 31, is cancelled. 

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All artist biographies can be found here.

SET 4: 9:00 - 10:30AM

4A: Mariella Bertelli – Crankie Telling: A Story and a Box

A Crankie is an old storytelling art form popular in the 19th century, but with ancient roots in Asia. It is a long scroll (like a river!) with pictures. As it is unrolled, the storyteller tells the story. 

Mariella will:

• perform with the crankie

• talk about its history, making references to other methods of storytelling with visuals

• explain the process of making a crankie

• and finally, show how to make the story work with the mechanics of the crankie. 

4B: Jennifer Ferris: From Written to Tellable: Taking a Story Off the Page

To convert a written story to one suitable for oral telling is a difficult task. 

• Often the first hurdle is time; a much-loved version of a story may take 30 minutes to read but a teller may only have 15 minutes to perform. How does the teller choose what to say and what to leave out? 
• The second hurdle is language; what looks good on the page may not work well when coming out of the teller’s mouth. 
• The third hurdle is how to experience the flexibility of storytelling that is not part of a written story? 

This workshop will explore the exciting and exacting work of the first steps, the deconstruction and reconstruction of a story before the story labour of learning, practising, performing begins. The workshop will include approximately one third modelling and teaching, one third activities and one third discussion. 

SET 5: 11:00AM - 12:30PM 

5A: Louise Profiet-Leblanc: How to Listen to an Indigenous Story

In this day of Reconciliation, there are many opportunities for sharing across cultures. Indigenous peoples are excelling in the all facets of the arts and have begun to tell their stories far and wide. These stories are precious as many have only been shared orally to small audiences. Many of these stories are stories of resilience and strength and passed down by our ancestors. There are specific stories for specific conditions of the listener. I will explore this with workshop participants so that they begin to acknowledge and respect the story as a means of healing for all people but can only be done through the Indigenous voice, as a gift to the all people.

5B: Dawne MacFarlane: Embodying Story

Traditional oral stories from around the world are the most authentic sources of the holistic worldview that is essential for our future. They are powerful tools for changing our worldview and our way of relating to each other. Embodying sound, word, gesture, and movement in a story can expand our capacities for experiencing and communicating the depth of the story. Developing this vocabulary beyond words can enhance our spoken words. In this workshop, we will explore a traditional story from Scotland with creative exercises. These exercises are tools for tellers, listeners, facilitators, and educators to continue to explore.

SET 6: 9:00AM - 12:00PM

6A: Heather Whaley, Shayna Jones, Kim Michele, Cindy Campbell-Stone : Stories and Songs Across the Waters: The Art of Including Songs and Music in Storytelling

Come join Heather Whaley and Cindy Campbell-Stone with Shayna Jones and Kim Michele, storytellers who regularly blend songs with their storytelling programs and performances, in a fun and insightful SONG CIRCLE presentation about story songs from ballads, folk songs,classics, contemporary and singer-songwriter type songs that tell a story or compliment a story theme. We will discuss some of the stories behind songs and the importance of song in connecting to humanity and universal togetherness. Bring your voices for audience participation and the Q&A period!

Facilitators will share knowledge and experience,insights, and approach to the topic, and will be prepared to receive questions about story song inclusion. 

We will combine our delivery and content to achieve a feel good take away; hopefully provide inspiration and enjoyment -bringing us closer together! 

6B: Loren Niemi: The Double Helix: The Pairing of Plot and "Voice" in Stories

This workshop is a hands-on approach applicable to both oral and written narratives. It explores the relationship of the “paired DNA” of stories through 10 elegant and useful PLOT forms that structure narratives and can transform how you write or tell stories and the critical choices of “VOICE” – the choice of First person, Second, and Third Person Point of View in Past or Present tense that frames who is telling the tale.

6C: Hugh Lupton: Heightened Speech: The Poetics of Storytelling

When we tell stories, we operate in many different registers, from the colloquial to the incantatory. In this workshop we'll explore the ways we move from one to another. We’ll look at rhythm, refrain, formulaic ‘runs’, poetry, riddles, prayer, song, invocation and evocation. The workshop will be practical with plenty of opportunities to experiment.