Time for the annual January storytelling workshop with Donald Davis. It is held at Susan Gordon's warm and wonderful home in the Maryland countryside. This is my tenth year at Susan's with Donald and storyteller friends. For me, this is where real storytelling lives.
Donald is a master storyteller, yes, absolutely - and - he is also a masterful listener and guide into the heart of your story. I have learned over time not to waste this chance by telling a polished story - I come with a seed of an idea or a story-in progress and walk into the process of story making - that way the story benefits from Donald's insights and experience and also the feedback of the other storytellers gathered there. Its powerful! And dynamic. After my turn as teller - I join the group as "listener" while others put out their stories.
If you want to taste the process in action watch We All Have a Story as Donald guides a group of 14 in story making. In 1999 a workshop with Donald Davis changed my life - this film could trigger a change in yours.
Saturday evening Telling Moments Theater presented Donald in a Storytelling Concert - a special concert in memory of Donald's good friend Sherry Geyelin.
A FINE evening of stories Sherry loved. He told the ever wonderful L.S.M.F.T, a delicious story about his mother, and the deeply moving story, Joe Wheeler.
The emotional arc of the stories fit together perfectly.
Donald Davis never disappoints an audience. They expect a peak performance .... and he delivers it.
The Writers Center is located in Bethesda, MD. I talked to people from New York, far away Southern Maryland, Baltimore, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.
It is always worth the trip to hear Donald Davis tell stories!
The Writers Center is located in Bethesda, MD. I talked to people from New York, far away Southern Maryland, Baltimore, West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.
It is always worth the trip to hear Donald Davis tell stories!
In closing, Sherry Geyelin was a charming storyteller, an accomplished woman who was a passionate supporter of storytelling and storytellers. And, she was a regular at the annual workshop at Susan's and at the summer Ocracoke workshop you see in the film. She was a friend to many of us.
1 comment:
This sounds wonderful, Ellouise. Do you know when this will be held next year? I can write a professional development grant to go, but I would have to get it done by January 31. Where can I find information about the weekend?
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