The Storyteller’s Instruments: First Friday Storynight at BLTC
Nov 2, 2012 – 7-9pm
Better Living Through Coffee – 100 Tyler St., Port Townsend, WA 98368
$10 Suggested Donation; no one turned away
So often, in times of old, the Storyteller, Bard, Musician and Singer all had similar roles and were usually the same person – entertaining, educating, offering medicine and wisdom of the ancients through the playing of instruments and the telling of tales. In this holy tradition, the Mythsinger Foundation and host Brian Rohr invite you to come celebrate with us this use of instrumentation connected with the sacred art of storytelling at this up coming First Friday Storynight @ BLTC.
– The featured teller for this month’s event is Whidbey storyteller and flautist Carlos Xavier, who will offer the Port Townsend community the delight of his expert use of his flute combined with fables.
– Guest teller Mara Grey will share a tale of “The Stolen Babe” while playing the musical and magical harp.
– Host Brian Rohr will offer his usual tellings of the old stories – the myths, folktales and fairytales – of long ago, while playing the drum to create a percussive trance state in the listener.
As is our tradition, we will also host an open mic section, so please bring your own short story, song, dance, poem or some other performative form to share… only rules are it must obviously be a story and no reading, everything must be shared in the ways of the oral tradition. Especially invited are those stories that are told with an instrument of some kind!
About the Artists:
Carlos Xavier began storytelling as a tour director on a moving bus, winding tales and legends on the roads and highways of New England and Canada, the Pacific Northwest, and Europe (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Switzerland). In between tours he joined Stagebridge, in Oakland, CA, an organization dedicated to bridging generation and social gaps by bringing stories to inner city youth.
Upon moving to the Olympic Peninsula, WA, in 1999, Carlos told stories weekly to K-3 for over eleven years. On many occasions, he worked with other tellers and writers composing and improvising music to accompany their stories and productions. In 2006 Carlos founded the storytelling duo, A Fable for Two, with Jan Yates from Port Angeles. Their goal was to add to individual story narration the dimensions of staging, character interplay, and a live musical interactive voice. In addition to schools, Carlos has performed at festivals, churches, libraries, organizational meetings and parties, senior centers and other venues.
Carlos’ stories include fairy, folk, ethnic, and grown-up tales and often incorporate (flute) music played live for that flair of melodic authenticity. When appropriate he uses interactive stories, riddles, and games for variety.
Carlos earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music (classical, jazz, ethnic, and liturgical) and continues to perform as a professional musician.
He is also a member of the National Storytelling Network (NSN), the Seattle Storytellers’ Guild, The Story People of Clallam County, and the Story Circle of Whidbey Island. He is a past member of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). http://www.fableandflute.com
Mara Grey has been a writer and Celtic harper for over twenty years and is adding stories accompanied by music to her repertoire.
Brian Rohr is a storyteller and healing arts practitioner living here in Port Townsend, WA. Having moved from Chicago in 2007 to study with local master Storyteller Daniel Deardorff, he has since shared myth from different cultures to national and international audiences. Locally, Rohr first began hosting a bi-monthly Storynight at the Boiler Room in 2009, before moving it to its present monthly format at Better Living Through Coffee for the past 23 months. He is an active Board Member of the Mythsinger Foundation and fully believes that the old stories are alive, vital and can inform us on how to live our lives as authentic human beings.
About First Friday Storynight
This monthly event explores the art and ritual of the oral tradition: sharing the old myths, folk tales, and fairy tales along with more modern stories and personal sharings. Showcased will be local and visiting storytellers, musicians and weavers of magic with words. Each month, there are two to three featured tellers, and space for guests in the audience to share a story or two during the open mic sections. First Friday Storynight is supported by the Port Townsend Arts Commission.
BLTC is a family owned and operated coffee house located in Downtown Port Townsend.
For more information on this event, please call: 360.531.2535 or visit www.brianrohr.com