What an extraordinary storytelling year this has been!

(And yes I know I am repeating myself from my last post - but truth is worth saying twice!)

As I write this in the last few hours of 2010, I am amazed at how many doors have opened this year, how many new friends I have made and how many soul stirring as well as absolutely hilarious stories I have heard. 

But I have been lax of late. 

I haven’t mentioned two events that meant much to me and I don’t want the old year to die without shining a spotlight on them.

The first was participating in the Lower Brandywine Storytelling Festival at the Lower Brandywine Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Delaware on November 5^th and 6^th and the second was winning an award for this blog!

The Lower Brandywine festival was an absolute delight filled with an abundance of the best storytellers in the nation, including Willy Caflin, Milbre Burch, Bill Harley, Andy Offutt Irwin, Bil Lepp, Kim Weitkamp, Ed Stivender, Doug Elliot and Slash Coleman.  It was an honor to participate, and great fun to attend with my cousin, Vivienne Jones.

The festival was held in the sanctuary and the grounds of one of the oldest churches in the nation (founded on October 15, 1720.)  A tent with clear sides had been erected at the edge of the ancient graveyard and at night the light shone out and could be seen for miles.  National Storyteller Bil Lepp described the scene superbly when he said that the tent looked like a giant snow globe waiting for the hand of God to shake it!

It was a memorable weekend filled with laughter and wonder!

Then just a few days ago I got a chance to relive the whole event. 

Michael Wright, the director of the festival, sent me a copy of a letter that he had written to Susan O’Connor at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee.  

He talks about his festival and then mentions me, saying:

“What a wonderful woman.  I could listen to her tell stories all day!  She is hysterically funny, engaging, and really bonds with those in the audience.”

To say I was a delighted was a complete understatement!  I was absolutely thrilled!

What a wonderful compliment! 

Be still my beating heart!

Shrink back my fast-growing head!

Thank you Michael!

Secondly, I received an award for this blog.  It is a Masters Award for Storytelling.  What an unexpected honor.

And I am in very august company!  Many fine storytellers and brilliant blogs were listed. 

Oh happy day!

Let me end 2010 with an extract from a poem that I love.  Called At The Gate Of The Year it was written by Marie Louise Haskins (1876-1957) and it was quoted by King George Vl in his Christmas broadcast at the beginning of the Second World War. 

It is both comforting and encouraging.

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year,

“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”

And he replied:

“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God.

That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

Happy New Year everyone!  May 2011 be a wonderful one, filled with love, grace, health, success and laughter!

The land of once-upon-a-time has surrounded me this extraordinary storytelling year!

Rediscovering many old childhood favorites, I have inhaled fairy tales and folk tales by the bookload as I climbed a steep story-world learning curve.  So it seemed perfectly natural to find that the theme of this year’s Frederick’s 72 Hour Film Fest was fairy tales and fables reinvented.

On September 30^th at a costumed launch party, forty three teams of film makers were randomly given the names of a well known fairy story or fable together with a “poisoned apple challenge” such as having to include an overturned chair or a ticking clock in their movie or having 30 seconds shaved off an already tight production time.  From that moment the teams had 72 hours to make a five minute film – 6 minutes for professional entries -  and all the creations were shown at Frederick’s Weinburg theater the following weekend.

I am delighted to tell you that the company that created my website, recorded my CD and designed my storytelling publicity material – Connectivity Group – won the best of show for the second year running – together with a slew of other awards.

Connectivity Group LLC (whose core team is brothers John and Alan Saunders and their father Bruce Saunders) were given the challenge of creating a film around the theme of Tom Thumb – be careful what you wish for – and their poisoned apple challenge was losing time.  Their entry, Wish, complete with an original music score, oozes with the creativity and professionalism that sets the company apart, and it also manages to have the dark, sinister edge of original fables.  See it here.

Congratulations to the Saunders and Connectivity Group! 

Although you were up against some excellent film makers and other spectacular entries your victory was very well deserved!

As we would say in England – home of so many fairy stories and fables…

Wish was wicked!

Just before Thanksgiving I received a wonderful greeting from Mirielle McKell on Facebook wishing me joy and family delight during the upcoming festivities.

Mirielle is one of my many new storytelling blessings in this wonderful year that has been awash with stories.

She is the mother of Bill Mckell, the director of my first Storytelling Festival, the Southern Ohio Storytelling, Arts and Music Festival, held every year in Chillicothe the weekend after Labor Day.

After signing the contract in May to perform in Chillicothe September 9th -11th, I looked up the city on Mapquest and saw that it was fifteen and a half hours away. 

I’d need to get a flight.

Wonderfully organized Bill McKell sent a letter to the tellers saying that if we were flying, Columbus was the nearest airport, it was an hour away whereas the next closest was Cincinnati – two hours away.

The cheapest direct flight I could find was in to Cincinnati.  I booked my non-refundable ticket.

Then a friend phoned and asked if I was driving.  “No!”  I said.  “It is over fifteen hours away.”

“Never!” he said.

“It is!”  said I.

We both dove for our computers to get to Mapquest.

He was right.

I’d put in the wrong Chillicothe!  It turns out that there are five places called Chillicothe in the US.  The furthest away is in Texas and the closest is Ohio.  Clearly the Chillicothe I had originally looked up was in Indiana, which was indeed fifteen and a half hours away from Frederick, Maryland.  The Chillicothe in Ohio is just over six. 

Thank goodness my flight was landing near the festival!  I could have been in Texas!  Or Missouri! 

If I had known the correct distance I would have driven – but then I would have missed out on two delightful treats that happened on the way to and from the airport.

The first was meeting Bill’s sister, Nancy Mckell Gomez who picked me up from the airport. 

She has just published her first book – a sweet, inspirational story for children called Little Sylvia Seagull in which a seagull that is teased and bullied becomes a heroine when she leads her persecutors home through unexpected stormy weather.  For the whole two hours we talked publishing, books and shared our life stories.  It was instant connection – always a treat!

The meat in the sandwich was the festival itself.  Held under a tent in Yoctangee Park at the Pump House Art Gallery it was intimate, with an appreciative audience and a wonderful line up of tellers.  Knowing that it was my first storytelling festival, National Tellers Bil Lepp, Andy Offutt Irwin and Lyn Ford very graciously tucked me under their wise wings, showed me the ropes and poured out advice.  Together with fellow tellers Adele Brown and storyteller and musician Joseph Helfrich they wove powerful spells with words and music until the late summer air sizzled with creativity, inspiration and laughter.

And I was thrilled with Bill McKell’s statement about my performance:

“It was wonderful having Geraldine share her delightful tales at the Southern Ohio Storytelling Festival.  Her fascinating stories, British charm and animated wit had our audiences enthralled.  We eagerly look forward to her return.”

Is that sound I hear my head swelling?

On Sunday morning, on my way home, I was invited by Mirelle Mckell – Bill’s absolutely lovely mother - to visit her and her husband Tom's hundred and fifty year old home where she showed me their very own secret passage that has been built into the fabric of the house.  Be still my beating heart!  (One of the stories in my CD Destination?  Slammer! reveals my childhood love of secret passages…)

All the way to the airport I channeled Nancy Drew and pretended that I was tossing long titian hair,charging ahead in a blue sports car and reveling in another mystery solved!

Seeing Mirielle’s Thanksgiving greeting brought all the delicious memories back.

Happy Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas dear Mirelle – and to all the Mckells.

It is people like you who help make the storytelling world magical.

Thank you!

This has been a season of firsts! 

In the past months I have experienced many storytelling firsts – but the most thrilling of the lineup was going to the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough Tennessee.  

This festival began in 1973 when 60 people sat on hay bales to hear Appalachian tales told from the back of a hay wagon parked beside the town courthouse. 

It was so successful it became a yearly event - and grew!

Now about 10,000 people pour into Jonesborough for three days over the first weekend of October every year to hear the best storytellers from America and around the globe tell riveting tales under huge tents that are dotted throughout this lovely town – the oldest in Tennessee.

 I first heard about the festival ten years ago. 

After completing a week long residential storytelling course in England I went to the Greenbelt Arts Festival with my friend, storyteller and cinematographer Shan Stevens. We met some tellers  from the storytelling graduate program at East Tennessee State University at Jonesborough who told us about the National Festival. 

I started salivating – I wanted to go. 

But it has taken a decade for that sown seed to sprout.

This year was harvest time – not only was I going but I knew several of the featured storytellers – which made everything even more exciting – if that were possible! 

Friends Kim Weitkamp and Suzi Whaples were featured “New Voices” – and they both did superbly. 

Each received well-deserved standing ovations at the end of their main one hour sets. I thought my heart would burst with pride on their behalf!

Friends Bil Lepp and Andy Offut Irwin also were telling – and they were as wonderful as usual. 

In his main one hour set, Bil took a break from his normal tall tales style – he is a Champion Liar – a five time winner of the West Virginia Liar's Contest – as well as an ordained Methodist Minister.  He told a true World War ll story, "The GOYA’s, 551^st Infantry Parachute Division," in the voice of Suzi Whaples' father whom he had interviewed some years before. 

Bil was utterly believable and so, in spirit, we followed the 18 year old West Virginia serviceman through boot camp, invasion of France, Battle of the Bulge and post war occupation in a tale that was humorous and harrowing and made history live. 

It was an amazing, moving, tour de force. 

Then there were more glorious, glorious words and images from superb storytellers such as 92 year old Kathryn Windham, Donald Davis, Carmen Deedy, Kevin Kling, Eth-Noh-Tech and a host of others.  On Saturday there was a fabulous midnight cabaret with Bill Harley and a group of his musician friends.  (All were new to me except for Donald Davis whom I had seen perform in Williamsburg two weeks previously.  I snagged a seat on the front row.  I was close enough to see his nose hairs!  Glory!)

The only difficulty was deciding what to see because going to hear one teller meant missing someone else.  Decisions!  Decisions!  I was in the tents first thing in the morning and had to be outed with a crowbar as the last word of the night was greeted by applause.  Oh such delicious hours!

Jonesborough is a word lover's paradise - and I am in love with words and stories!

On late Sunday afternoon, after it was all over, a friend of a friend, Sarah Keplinger Hughes, who I had met once before ten years ago, whisked me away for a delicious steak dinner (thank you Sarah!)  I ended the evening in Storyteller Connie Gill’s magnificent saltwater pool and freshwater Jacuzzi, reliving  my recent firsts and reminiscing about the weekend.

Of all the jewel like moments strung together to make a glorious storytelling necklace – one particular event stands out.

The day before the festival started I had gone to get my patch of material that serves as ticket.  When the volunteer with the kind eyes heard it was my first Jonesborough festival he said:

“Welcome Home!” 

Then he got out his wallet, took out three dollars and bought me a lanyard with a clear pouch hanging from it so that I could wear my entry patch with ease. 

It was an unforgettable gesture!

I felt I had indeed come home. 

I had found my tribe.

And when that happens, you know you’ll be back.

Last week I stepped into a living fairytale.

Or that’s what it felt like when I went to a house in University Park, Maryland that resembled an illustration for a children’s story.

In my mind this is how the tale started.

"Once upon a time there was a cottage on the edge of a big city that was made out of decorated gingerbread.  It belonged to a puppet maker and his wife.  Ten years before, the puppet maker discovered he was a wonderful painter and his vibrant artwork was now displayed throughout the house. 

People were amazed when they saw the paintings because they were so beautiful!

The puppet maker had a mobile puppet theater and he went round to schools and libraries, churches and country clubs putting on shows.  His theater became so successful that he hired other people and formed teams so that he could reach more children.  He loved his job because he really enjoyed making children happy. 

In his spare time the puppet maker created a giant xylophone made out of recycled materials that sat in his garden so that the neighborhood kids could come and make music. He and his wife loved to hear the children laughing and creating new songs right outside their kitchen window…."

 Do you see what I mean?  It sounds like the beginning of fairytale – but it happens to be true.

I met Michael Cotter, puppet maker and owner of Blue Sky Puppet Theater and his wife Judith at SpeakeasyDC, the storytelling club that I love in Washington DC. 

He very kindly offered to pass on his knowledge of the business side of an arts venture both to me and to author and fellow storyteller Julie Kraut , who is also a SpeakeasyDC regular.

I had seen one of Michael’s productions on a hot July day under a tent at the back of Strathmore Mansion.  It was the “Barker of Seville”, and I had been entranced by the creativity of the show and the enchantment on the face of the children in the audience. 

So I was delighted to take up his offer of an intense learning experience at his University Park home. Over the almost three hour seminar Michael poured out the lessons and secrets he had gleaned from twenty five years of running his puppet business that has been successful enough to provide a comfortable living for his family and to put three children through college.

In a nutshell the information mirrored the story of the rich Greek farmer who on his death bed passed on the secret of his great success to his sons.  “Every day you must walk over the land because the owner’s eyes must see everything.” 

For a puppet master, and a storyteller, that translates to - balance the creative side with the business side.  If one is to thrive they both must thrive.

By the end of the session I was enormously impressed with the professionalism, precision and creativity that Michael uses in running his puppet empire.  All the shows are primarily excellent entertainment as well as being a first class educational tool. 

And  they are fun!

The company travels regularly to a two hour circumference around University Park (which is near Washington DC) and goes further on request.  So if you need a fabulous puppet show, contact Blue Sky Puppet Theater.

 I left with facts, figures and strategies swirling around my head and encouragement warming my heart. 

What a gift!

Thank you Michael for so generously passing on your knowledge!

I was proud of myself when leaving the house for two reasons.

• I successfully resisted the urge to bang on the outdoor xylophone.
• I didn’t break off a gingerbread shingle and nibble on it all the way back to Frederick.

 I’m saving both those pleasures for my next visit!

In storytelling things go in threes it seems - three blind mice: three wishes: three bears. So I shouldn’t have been surprised that I was strongly impacted by three things last week.

 First

On Thursday and Friday I went to the two-day Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit where a yearly changing roster of innovative, exceptional business and church leaders are invited to share their story and insights at the Willow Creek Church campus in South Barrington, Illinois.  The event is telecast to hundreds of host sites throughout America and the world.

I attended a satellite center in the Baltimore suburbs.

The speakers included luminaries such as:

• Jack Welch, former Chairman and CEO of General Electric:
• Blake Mycoskie, Founder of TOMS Shoes, Inc, a company famous for giving a new pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair sold:
• Jeff Manion, Senior Pastor of Ada Bible Church in Ada, Michigan which for years hovered around fifty members but has recently exploded to over 6,000 attendees.

Although the other speakers were excellent, it is Jeff Manion’s words that are still reverberating within me.

He talked about finding God in the aftermath of crisis - where life as you knew it has changed whether because of unemployment, foreclosure, illness, family tragedy, heartbreak – we can all fill in our own blanks – and the future has not yet solidified.  

He calls this place “the land between” – where life is not as it once was, where the future is in question.

In a perfectly pitched presentation filled with the wisdom gained by experiencing his own extended dark night of the soul, Manion laid out the proposition that it is our response to “the land between” that will decide whether our journey through the desert will result in deep, lasting growth or prove as destructive as acid on plastic.

The pivot point is trust.

Will we choose to trust the One who has been proven trustworthy?

 It could have been trite, but it wasn’t.

It was gut-touching, thought provoking stuff presented with sensitivity and humor.

 I left clutching Manion’s recently published book “The Land Between: Finding God in Difficult Transitions,” hoping it would live up to his lecture.

Second

Getting home from the two day juggernaut of rich ideas and concepts I was delighted to find a book I’d ordered had arrived. 

Ripping open the packaging I immediately started inhaling “The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness” by Storyteller Joel ben Izzy reading until dawn approached and continuing the moment I could pry open my eyes.

This small, powerful work, a true tale, is a cross between Mitch Albom’s “Tuesdays with Morrie,” and an anthology of the finest stories from around the world.

From the first page the reader travels close alongside Storyteller ben Izzy, going from a dark place of unwanted transition after losing his voice, through a series of meetings  with his eccentric but wise old teacher, to a realization that the desert time was an unlikely gift that brings transformation as great as any seen in the ancient folklore that weaves in and out of the book.

Third

My head was still awash with a world of beggars and kings, monks and tigers, hope lost and restored when – on Saturday evening - I went to a concert.  The Scott Day Band were playing at Redeemer International Family Church, temporarily turned into a dinner (well a dessert) theater complete with draped tables and dramatic candles.

The Scott Day Band’s music is soaked in prayer and an otherness that transports listeners to a place of healing and peace, a place where fears are calmed and equilibrium restored. 

Their message is - trust.  

We are deeply loved. 

In times of darkness God will send moments of illuminating, strengthening grace.

The only way out of the swamp is to take His hand and let Him lead us on the journey from despair, through the wilderness, to a place of praise-filled fulfillment.

It was a moving concert – in part because it provided the perfect vehicle to sift through the lessons that had been surrounding me that week. 

Different mediums, same message.

Three times within three days.

It feels like I’m inhabiting a folk tale and the Great Storyteller is speaking.

And believe me, I’m listening as closely as I know how.

This evening, at the Germantown, Maryland library, I experienced another side of Storyteller Nick Newlin as he brought to life his alter-ego Nicolo the Jester. 

And what fun he was!

The room was heaving with dozens of tiny toddlers, their older siblings and watchful adults and Nicolo kept them all entranced with his juggling, his audience participation stories, his vivid costume, his poetry and his delightful joie de vivre. 

Although I don’t normally like someone telling me what to do from the stage (a stubborn reaction from too many years of preacher’s saying “turn to your neighbor and tell them…”) I found myself joining in all the silly songs, and every “repeat after me” – and what’s more thoroughly enjoyed doing so! 

Perhaps the difference was that Nicolo didn’t take himself too seriously – and that he didn’t talk down to his predominantly pint-sized audience. 

For one glorious hour we were all equal citizens of Never Never land where anything was possible – little girls became queens, seven year old boys became princes and all volunteers were awarded temporary custody of glorious hats denoting nobility in the kingdom and were instantly able to juggle!

At the end of the evening Nick knelt down and became the Pied Piper as children swarmed him. 

They asked him questions.  They posed for pictures taken with him by doting adults.  He gave each one focused attention and shook their hand.   

The evening was a delight! 

If you need a juggler or a jester for anything – especially a children’s event – choose Nicolo.

The children left with magic in their eyes.

And so did this adult.

I am delighted to report that the recording of my one woman story show “Destination? Slammer!” on Sunday evening was a great success.

Thank you to all who came out.  Thank you to all who prayed. 

Thank you Lord for answering those prayers!

Beans in the Belfry, a defunct Brunswick, Maryland church, now a delightfully quirky coffee shop was the perfect choice for the venue.  The place oozes with character and on Sunday it was packed with people and the applause and laughter were loud and frequent.

Three days after the event I am only just landing after being afloat in a bubble of “once upon a time” delight! 

My euphoria was enhanced by the comments of attendees.  Bruce Saunders, a friend and excellent professional communicator who attended the show with his family, wrote on Facebook:

“Not many people can use words effectively – you are a masterful story teller. I think all in the room ended up on your magic carpet, taken to other times and experiences.  Really loved the wry and gently humor and the way you brought things back around to points of growth and life lessons for each vignette.”

Another review was written by Chuck Tressler, the founder of the North Eastern Storytelling Festival, He wrote:

Buckley A Hit! 

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Approximately 20 members of Redeemer International Family Church and dozens of others experienced the taping of Geraldine Buckley's first CD at Brunswick's Beans in the Belfry coffee house Sunday evening, the 25th.

In a word, Geraldine was sensational.  Thoroughly entertaining...in not only words, but in her gesticulations and presentation as well...she regaled the audience with stories of an incredibly varied and altogether fascinating life.  A life that spanned Nancy Drew-style capers in Catholic boarding school to serving sangria to nuns in Spain to suppers with Lady Bird Johnson (yes, the President's wife) to years in prison (buy the CD and find out what that means!) Oh, and her British accent added to the charm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enough! 

Enough tooting of my own horn! 

It is back to reality...

Editing and packaging are the next tasks.

I am hoping that the CD’s will be ready by the beginning of September.  I will let everyone know as soon as they are available.  Indeed you might not need to have access to this blog, Facebook or your email to receive the news.

If you listen carefully you might well be alerted to the arrival of the finished product by my nation-spanning squeals of delight!

Yea God!

The last ten days – all oppressively hot - swirled past me crackling with creativity.

A SpeakeasyDC open mike; as many Capital Fringe shows as I could stuff into my schedule; rehearsing my upcoming show “Destination? Slammer!” and discussing plans for another show, a possible collaboration with Storyteller Ellouise Schoettler, have kept me deliciously immersed in the creative process.

Followers of this blog will know that I am a sold out fan of the Washington DC biographical storytelling organization, SpeakeasyDC – so it was a joy to be part of the lineup for their monthly gathering on July 13th. 

The theme was “Lonely Planet: Stories About Road Trips, Travel And Being Away From Home” and the tales were gripping – each one a gem. 

Top notch storytellers told tales that ranged from reaching international accord on the ice flows of the Artic, discovering a true calling while at a Grateful Dead concert and a malaria-induced change of philosophy. 

I shared about going away from home at eleven to attend a convent boarding school, longing to have a midnight feast and the subsequent ensuing adventures.

The audience loved it and I had such fun in the telling! 

Part of SpeakeasyDC’s success is having Education Director, Stephanie Garibaldi, give each participant a compulsory one hour telephone coaching session before taking the stage. As always the finished result was an excellent evening.

The Capital Fringe ends on July 25th and I managed to see six shows (next year I’ll plan to attend many more.)  One of those I saw twice and three were packed into the same day! 

Besides Ellouise Schoettler’s “Pushing Boundaries” I particularly enjoyed Slash Coleman’s thoughtful one man show ‘Chaidentity” where Slash, a Holocaust survivor’s son, learns to embrace his religious and creative heritage.  (His maternal grandfather, originally a performer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, became a Resistance fighter after Hitler banned Jews from participating in any creative activity.)

On the opposite end of the seriousness scale was the sold out show “Logic, Luck or Love,” where two men and two women explore the thrills and heartbreak they encounter along the road to find true love.  It received a standing ovation on its opening night and garnered a fabulous review – all well deserved.

So now I am awash with glorious words! 

And I’m loving every syllable!

I raced back down the road yesterday evening to see SpeakeasyDC’s Capital Fringe entry, “Showcase Showdown.” 

Before leaving, absorbed in an article-writing. word-induced haze, I was oblivious that I had long passed my planned time of departure. On seeing the clock I hurled myself into the car, praying furiously.

Fringe shows advertise that no one will be allowed in after the start of the performance and it would be a minor miracle if I made the deadline.

I’ll have you know I did the Saturday evening trip from my front door in Frederick, Maryland to the Navy Memorial near the Washington DC Convention Center in 80 minutes (if not a world record then certainly my personal best.)  

And no I wasn’t speeding – the traffic parted by prayer power.

Five minutes before show time I abandoned my car at a valet parking sign in front of an up-market club steps from the venue.  Blessings and thanks to the young man who took pity on me and bent the patron-only rules so that I wouldn’t miss the show. 

I knew the car would be safe with him.  His name was Emmanuel – God with us!

In the foyer I ran into fellow cast members Kriya Kaping and Laurie Frederik Meer from SpeakeasyDC’s Father’s Day show “Who’s Your Daddy?”  With moments to spare, and with me muttering thanks to the Almighty, we slid into our seats in the beautiful venue – the Burke Theatre in the Navy Heritage Center.

Directed by SpeakeasyDC director Amy Saidman, the show was worth the nail-biting journey. 

Based on game shows of the last few decades, with much audience interaction, a contestant’s row, spoof prizes and ancient commercials, Showcase Showdown’s talented cast spun stories with alternative endings, told truth or lie tales, and generally mimicked the game show genre. 

And it worked! 

The audience loved it.  I loved it – even though I missed many of the nostalgia references.

Part of cultural consciousness is the shared bond of television shows watched in youth.   Being British born and not owning a television set I was an alien awash at times - but delighted to be in a crowd of people who were reliving days spent in family dens long ago and far away.

Known for its sold out, excellently conceived and executed shows - SpeakeasyDC did it again! 

Kevin Boggs was hilarious as the slightly smarmy contest master resplendent in a double breasted black velvet jacket who had a frozen, full-on smile as he accompanied contestants back to “the listening lounge.”

Stories that stood out were SpeakeasyDC’s Education Director, Stephanie Garibaldi sharing an hilarious incident that happened while working for Seargent Shriver; Regie Cabico narrating a paranormal event that freaked a friend; Christopher Love talking about a startling roommate and Sheldon’s Scott’s description of a childhood spelling bee.  All were rich in images and humor and there was enough depth in each story to capture the imagination and leave you laughing and thinking long after the show was over.

Which was useful as an accident blocked 270 causing a two hour trip back to Frederick.

The Fifth Capital Fringe Festival has begun! 

132 shows will take place in the last three weeks of July!

The excitement has been palpable.  And now, like much anticipated rain after a long hot dry spell the Fringe is flowing theater into the streets of Washington DC.

Many of my friends are performing and I will be spending time racing down the road from Frederick to see and experience as much as I can while rushing back to rehearse my own show, “Destination?  Slammer!” which will be recorded in front of live audience on July 25th.

Although the Fringe official opening night was July 8th my first taste of the action was the following evening as crew for Ellouise Shoettler’s production “Pushing Boundaries” on the very plush mainstage at the Goethe Institut at 812 Seventh Street NW. 

For the second time in a week the Almighty provided a surprise soundtrack!

Ellouise was doing a one woman performance explaining how she stumbled into national politics as a mover and shaker in the second wave of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) movement of the 1970’s.  It is an important story, for though the bill was three states short and so was never passed, the groundwork that was laid by those pioneering women has enabled present-day women in the US to rise to heights unprecedented in previous generations.

Ellouise told her story superbly. The ending was unintentionally yet wonderfully dramatic. Ellouise had just said: " seeds that were sown then are coming to fruition now..." And the fire alarm went off !  As though a message was coming from the heavenlies -"and the candles that were lit then have turned into a modern day firestorm!"

I love the Lord’s sense of humor!

While we were waiting to discover that the alarm was a false one, tripped unintentionally by the next door restaurant, Ellouise, cool, calm and collected, regrouped everyone on the sidewalk and carried on.  And the audience was so with her and so involved in the story that they all stayed listening intently in the heat of a DC night, sharing their own stories and memories.  It was a brilliant ending to a wonderful evening.

And Ellouise scored a fabulous, well deserved review.

Icing on an exceptional cake! 

I have had a lovely time playing with Storyteller Ellouise Schoettler this week.  Every first Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm she hosts a Story Telling Salon in Kensington Row bookstore not far outside Washington DC.

Last Wednesday was my first visit and as I drew up outside I fell in love with the venue and the feeling increased as I crossed the threshold.  The bookstore is magical - the shop that time forgot - a movie scene in the making – 84 Charing Cross Road moved to Maryland:  Truly a perfect setting for a storytelling evening.

The tellers were Cricket Parmalee and Nick Newlin.  Cricket told three creation stories and the audience was entranced. 

The first, the closest to my heart, was the biblical version from the very beginning of Genesis.  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…” 

As always, I melted on hearing those verses.

Clearly the Almighty did also.

As Cricket got to: “And God saw that the light was good…” a train roared past on the nearby tracks blasting its whistle enthusiastically for all the world like a divine soundtrack.

Another of Cricket’s stories, this time from the Hindu tradition, was particularly haunting. It was a healing tale, both beautiful and profound, describing how day and night came into existence so that grief could become more bearable as the progression of time dimmed its pain.

Nick told well crafted biographical stories that shed light on how a Harvard graduate became Nicolo, a full time professional juggler, married a high wire performer – Joanne, the delightful “Queen of Whimsy” - and years later emerged as a Shakespeare scholar. 

It was a wild and fascinating ride beautifully told!

Besides being a juggler and storyteller, Nick is a teaching artist at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC and has just written a series of books called “The 30-minute Shakespeare” which enables students of all levels to be able to quickly grasp, perform and grow to love the Stratford Bard’s classics. 

At the end of the telling Ellouise skillfully led a question and answer session that gave a window into each performer’s world.  All fascinating stuff!

The salon takes a summer break in August and will resume on September 1st when Ellouise and I will be sharing the program.  I am looking forward to telling and hearing stories in this wonderful venue – a book-aholic’s dream.

Do come and join us!

This is my fourth July fourth as an American! 

 To my great delight I was naturalized on January 5th 2007 and spent my first Independence Day as a citizen while staying with a wonderful friend, Liz Carpenter - which I thought was very appropriate.

 Over two decades ago when I was new to the US and renting Liz’s guest house in Austin, Texas, Liz threw me a 25th birthday celebration, (my first on American soil) hung bunting and called it “the Americanization of Geraldine party!” 

 Twenty five years later her prophetic gesture became a reality.

 Liz was soaked in politics. She was one of the three women to start the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), was Press Secretary to Lady Bird Johnson in the White House and was appointed to positions of influence by six presidents. 

 Although Liz was horrified that I have sustained a life-long disinterest in politics we shared a love of many other things including Vera Lynn torch songs, impromptu parties and poetry.  Indeed during my stint living in her guest house I read her a poem I had recently discovered which had quickly become one of my mother’s favorites.

“Never mind your mother”, cried Liz. “It’s now my favorite poem!”

She proceeded to put it in the book she was writing and quoted it in subsequent media interviews.  It was the Jenny Joseph poem that begins: “When I am an old Lady I shall wear purple…” which quickly developed a life of its own.

 Whenever I see a woman of a certain age decked out in purple and wearing a red hat I smile and remember Liz.

 Liz died this year, age 89, on March 20th 2010.  It was the first day of Spring – and she would have loved the irony – her code name during her White House years was “Springtime”.

 On July 4th it is good to remember all the blessings that come from being part of the great melting pot that is America.  And as for me, one of those blessings is having known, learned from and loved one of the all-time great American characters - my friend Liz Carpenter.