FSA has been actively working to

create a house concert network

throughout Florida. As a result,

we are fast becoming an attrac-

tive place for noteworthy story-

tellers as well as rising talent to

visit and perform all year long!

Since January, we have hosted

successful house concerts with

storytellers Kim Weitkamp, Andy

Offutt Irwin, Josh Campbell and

Regi Carpenter. The audiences

in each case consisted of a won-

derful mix of fans and newcom-

ers.

As we continue to shape this

model, we hope to use this easy,

informal format to bring storytel-

ling to a broader public audience

as well as our current storytelling

guild membership. Presently we

have hosts in Orlando, Mel-

bourne, Tallahassee, and Ft.

Lauderdale. If you are interested

and would like more information

about how you can host a house

concert with FSA, please email

me at robinstales@gmail.com.

Jackson Gillman is coming to

Florida in November and Megan

Hicks will be here in January. Both

will be performing at house con-

certs around the state. Check out

www.FLStory.com for all the de-

tails and plan to attend one near

you for an up close and personal

evening of storytelling!

Let’s Grow!

Robin Schulte

FSA President

Story Slam! 2

A Note of Thanks

2

Mt. Dora C of C 3

FSA at NSC 4

Marketing Tips 5

FSF History 6 & 7

Inside this issue:

A Letter from the President

The StoryTimes Autumn 2015

Autumn 2015 Edition

Regi Carpenter performed at three house

concerts, and led a workshop in Florida

this summer.

A Musing 8

Kids Tell All! 9

Storytelling Round-Up

10

FSA Members on the Move

11

A Poem 12

Wanda Violet, a Madison, FL storyteller and Tellabration!™

producer was the National Storytelling Festival’s Story Slam

winner for 2015.

The theme, “Thanks A Lot” prompted her to craft a story about

Charmaine, her husband’s first wife, who died too young, but

not before leaving a message that urged her husband to build

a new life and seek out a new love.

Wanda says she was grateful for and impressed by a suppor-

tive audience. And, she states, “It was marvelous to share the

stage with five other storytellers, all of whom were gracious

and talented.”

Florida storytellers now have two consecutive wins, Orlando’s

Robin Schulte was the 2014 winner.

Congratulations to Wanda Violet! Photo by Robin Schulte

A SPECIAL THANK YOU to Herrick and Barbara Jeffers whose generous donation of books (a wondrous collection!) made our festival Story Store a success this past March. Because of the thoughtfulness of these longtime members and their desire to keep FSA and our art alive, we didn't simply make a profit, we enabled newer storytellers to learn from some of the classic books that have educated us all along the way. Many were out of print and/or simply no longer available. If other folks are downsizing, as the Jeffers were, or simply full to the chin with storytelling knowledge, are similarly inclined, please contact Melinda at mmunger@yahoo.com or 305-948-8988. I'll do my best to make it an easy process.

Photo by: Flickr User Steven Guzzardi

Florida’s Wanda Violet Takes First Place in Jonesborough Story Slam!

Page 2 The StoryTimes Autumn 2015

The business owners/members of the Mount Dora Chamber of Commerce were treated to an introduction to storytelling by Robin Schulte and Madeline Pots, who have been working to connect with the business community through their participation in Chamber events. In Sep-tember they were the featured presenters, on behalf of FSA, for the Chamber’s monthly meeting.

To illustrate the scope of storytelling, Robin told a fable and Madeline did a personal story. They talked about our 2016 Festival and how the business community can sponsor, participate, and reap the benefits of advertising in our program.

A basket of story CDs and edible treats was raf-fled off and was fortuitously won by the admis-sions counselor of a local school who intends to bring the CDs to the classroom. Everyone left smiling. It was a good morning for Mount Dora and FSA.

In the coming months, Kaye Byrnes, Florida Storytelling Festival director, and board mem-ber Schuyler Ford will meet with hotel and bed and breakfast owners to offer discounted batches of guest tickets and discuss promo-tional ideas that will benefit business owners, guests, and the Florida Storytelling Festival.

Charming the Chamber: Your Board at Work By Madeline Pots and Schuyler Ford

Page 3 The StoryTimes Autumn 2015

National Storytelling Conference 2015 in Kansas City was five days jam-packed with all things story and storytelling. Wednesday’s preconference programs were hosted by the Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and covered topics including Healing Stories, storytelling for Organizers, Organizations and Youth Educators. Thursday’s master classes were led by the best of the best; Carmen Deedy on writing and pub-lishing, Bill Harley on stage presence, John McCutcheon on music and Gene Tagaban on Wellness. Donna Washington gave the first keynote address. She touched our hearts and our funny bones. Kendall Haven piqued our interest with his research, Your Brain on Story: What Adventures in Neural Science Reveal that Benefit Every Teller. To get a glimpse of the information Kendall pre-sented, go the NSN website and follow the link on the first page. The conference was a buffet of learning opportunities mixed with listening, telling and camara-derie. The variety of workshops was impressive, from group coaching and practical practices to discussions on ethics and theory. It was difficult to choose which workshops, story swaps and fringe performances to attend. There were story swaps at all times of the day and night. Damn this body for needing food and sleep. Some unexpected highlights: · Elizabeth Ellis organized a cane and walker race down the conference hallway. · Pat Nease outbid the rest of NSN attendees for a song by Bill Harley written just for Pat! · Seeing the Next Generation Tellers on stage revealed the future of storytelling. If you’ve been to the Florida Storytelling Festival in Mount Dora your next step is the NSN Con-ference 2016 in Kansas City. Yes, the conference will be in Kansas City again. Hip-hip-hooray! I’ll tell you why: The conference location was excellent. A short downhill walk to the Plaza offered enough shops and restaurants to fill your every need and, or desire. Right behind the conference sight are two first class museums the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and its sculpture gardens. They are both free and open to the public. Nearby you can find the National World War One Museum, University of Missouri – Kansas City, and Kansas City Art Institute. Visit museums, eat, shop, listen and tell but don’t plan on sleeping. Come see for yourself. July 21- 24, 2016 Mij Byram

Page 4 The StoryTimes Autumn 2015

So you know you can spin a good tale, and you want to make a living doing it. Fair warning: It will not be

easy. Taking simple steps, however, can get your to where you want to be, if you are willing to spend the

time necessary. Based on my 27 years of experience, these are some of the strategies that work for me.

More will follow in future issues of this publication.

Have a good product. If you want to make your living storytelling, you must have polished stories

to market. Ideally, you should have a solid 45-60 minute program of good stories geared to a spe-

cific market. Your stories should be unique, and they should be stories that you love. You should

have chemistry with your story, just as romantic leads have chemistry with one another in a

movie. If the story makes you go "ah", it will have the same effect on your audience.

Unless you have saved enough money to support yourself for at least two years, or have a partner

who is willing to support you, DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB UNTIL YOU HAVE STEADY INCOME

COMING IN ON A REGULAR BASIS FROM YOUR STORYTELLING ENDEAVORS to cover your needs!!

It takes time to build a fan base that is large enough and diversified enough to support your mak-

ing a living at storytelling. Don't allow yourself to be seduced by the sporadic lure of accolades

and applause into putting your financial well-being on the line. This is not a get rich quick busi-

ness.

Set up a professional website. It should include photos, your biography, the benefits that your

stories offer to your target audience, a summary of your programs and workshops, good videos of

you telling your stories, and accolades that you have received from others. If you cannot create a

website that looks professional, hire a professional to do it for you. You URL should be something

that the public will readily associate with you (your name, your brand, etc).

Craft your elevator speech; a brief, persuasive speech that you use to spark interest in your story-

telling. A good elevator pitch should last no longer than a short elevator ride of 20 to 30 seconds.

Storyteller for Hire: Marketing to Build Your Storytelling Business

© Linda Goodman 2015

Page 5

Storyteller and marketing whiz Linda Goodman hails from Waxhaw, SC.

She is well-known for her warm and wise personal family stories.

Linda was the 2nd place winner at the 2015 National Storytelling Festival’s

story slam.

This is the first in a series of three marketing articles she will share with us.

We will continue to offering quarterly marketing from storytellers

around the country

Plans are unfolding for yet another great weekend

at the 32nd annual Florida Storytelling Festival,

March 31-April 3, 2016 in Mount Dora. Many read-

ers know the history of the wonderful event, but for

those new to our storytelling community, here’s the

story!

It began as Florida StoryCamp in 1985 at Lake

Moon, a small rustic campsite in central Florida.

There’s still a handful of FSA members who fondly

remember those early years. It was a small, very

informal gathering of folks that came together in

their love of storytelling. Annette Bruce and Jennifer

Bausman were the driving forces that organized both

the Florida Storytelling Guild and the StoryCamp.

For better accommodations and hot running water,

“camp” was moved in 1995 to the Lake Yale Baptist

Conference Center just outside of Eustis. Here there

was a conference building with rooms for work-

shops, an auditorium for storytelling concerts, motel

type lodging and a dining hall offering three meals a

day. For over two decades, the Florida StoryCamp

hosted the best tellers in the nation and grew as

more and more people discovered the art of story-

telling.

When the recession hit in 2008, “camp” began ex-

periencing hard times. Attendance began to drop

as schools and libraries could no longer fund their

employees and people opted to forego the cost of

attending. Located in a very rural setting, it was

next to impossible to bring the general public out

for concerts. For the first time ever, the event was

losing money that FSA could not afford.

In 2011, the City of Mount Dora along with the

Mount Dora Chamber of Commerce, Visit Mount

Dora, Inc and Lakeside Inn, contacted the FSA Board

of Directors to propose moving the event to Mount

Dora. Known for their robust schedule of festivals

and events, Mount Dora seemed like an enthusias-

tic partner and a great opportunity to push the reset

button on “camp.”

The move was brought before the FSA membership

at the 2011 StoryCamp and the first festival was

held in Mount Dora in the summer of 2012. Re-

branded as Florida StoryFest, the new venue of-

fered an opportunity to engage the general public

on a much broader scale through unprecedented

performance, educational, and participatory experi-

ences promoting active involvement in our art.

Every year since, we have worked to improve the

logistics and the content of the weekend. Feedback

from participants and our Mount Dora partners

guides us in our planning.

The move was brought before the FSA membership

at the 2011 StoryCamp and the first festival was

held in Mount Dora in the summer of 2012. Re-

branded as Florida StoryFest, the new venue of-

fered an opportunity to engage the general public

on a much broader scale through unprecedented

performance, educational, and participatory experi-

ences promoting active involvement in our art.

Continued on page 7

Florida Storytelling Festival: A History Lesson By Kaye Byrnes

Page 6 The StoryTimes Autumn 2015

(Continued from previous page)

worked to improve the logistics and the content of

the weekend. Feedback from participants and our

Mount Dora partners guides us in our planning.

In 2015 we rebranded the event yet again and

hopefully for the last time. We now have our

Florida Storytelling Festival and the goal is to be-

come a premier event that draws thousands of

people…a mini-Jonesborough! This will take

time, determination and funding.

We can provide the time and determination but

funding needs to be pursued. We’ve received

grants from Lake County and the Florida Division

of Cultural Affairs. New funding sources are in

the pipeline and hopefully will bear fruit. We

reduced the individual registration fee to make

the weekend affordable and hope to make up

the difference in quantity, so tell a friend and

bring a friend.

The weekend kicks off on Thursday, March 31

with a storytelling concert in the big tent. Work-

shops are scheduled for Friday and Saturday

with concerts again in the evening. In conjunc-

tion with our adult workshops, Saturday is also

Youthful Voices and Family Fun Day. A whole

separate schedule of activities is planned for chil-

dren that want to explore the art of storytelling.

Saturday evening is the Storytellers’ Ban

quet and Sunday morning we wrap up the week-

end with a Sacred Songs and Stories From the

Heart concert, followed by the StoryCruise on

beautiful Lake Dora.

If you want to tell a story, there’s a swapping

ground throughout the festival, available to any-

one with a tale to tell. On Friday and Saturday

afternoon, the Swapping Ground Competition is

open and the top two tellers are chosen to open

the Saturday evening concert. Just bring your

story and put your name on the list.

Information on the tellers, workshops and regis-

tration will be posted at the FSA website,

www.flstory.com so go there for all the details.

We’ll be keeping folks posted through the FSA

Facebook page, festival newsletters, and mem-

bership emails. You can help by spreading the

word to the folks in your world.

Questions? Contact Festival Director Kaye Byrnes

at kayekbyrnes@gmail.com.

The StoryTimes Autumn 2015 Page 7

As storytellers we often find

lessons and inspiration in the

stories we tell. But we can

never assume that an audience will reap the same

lesson. Different lives, lead to different points of

view.

For example the ancient fables of Aesop’s, who

knows what a slave from 620 BCE meant to com-

municate through his stories of animals with hu-

man characteristics. We must also consider the

2000 years in which countless people have retold,

translated, published, illustrated, animated and

added morals to stories credited to Aesop. Each

one has had their finger in the pudding of fables.

So, who are we to tell an audience what to think or

feel?

I am always curious about the unique perspective

of young children. After I tell a story I try to peek

into their imaginations by asking open ended ques-

tions and giving them time and space to respond.

Then I listen and learn. These are a few of the sto-

ries and responses I’ve gotten.

Ants and Grasshopper - "Those ants didn't do a

mitzvah" (obviously told at a Jewish preschool)

The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg -I asked, Why

do you think the man killed the goose? ”He was

hungry and he couldn't eat the eggs", (told at a

child development center where kids arrive hungry

and get breakfast and dinner)

The Tortuous and the Hare - "The Hare probably

knew there was no prize." (told at a high-end prep

school)

Boy Who Cried Wolf – The children were acting it

out and when the towns people ran to the shep-

herd, they all clambered, "Why did you do that?"

the reply was "Ha-ha, I punked you!" I cracked up.

The Sun and the Wind - turned into everyone acting

like the wind, running in circles and spinning around

(hurricane season) “How do you act like a sun any-

way?”

Mouse and Lion – I tell this story with a mouse pup-

pet and a parachute as the net to capture the lion.

The children are far more interested in playing with

the puppet or be under the parachute than in the

friendship that is formed between the characters.

*The Butterfly Friends- (see source notes) This is a

story that you or I would identify as being about di-

versity and inclusion. But for young children it is

about color matching because that is what they are

taught to do; put the red blocks in the red bin.

These honest responses bring us back to know and

respect your audience regardless of age or lifestyle.

Let them take what they will. Let us continue to of-

fer without judgment or lessons.

*Source - I found “The Butterfly Friends” in Once

Upon a Time…Storytelling to Teach Character ad Pre-

vent Bullying by Elisa Davy Pearmain.

The two sources cited by Elisa Davy Pearmain were:

“The Three Butterfly Brothers” in Easy to Tell Stories

for Young Children by Annette Harrison

(Jonesborough, TN. National Storytelling Press 1992)

“The Three Butterflies” in My First Story-book, by

Richard Bamberger, translated by James Thin

(London: Oliver & Boyd, 1960)

Editor's note: A Musing will feature reflec-

tions, insights and musing by Florida storytell-

ers each quarter. If you would like to submit a

piece for consideration, please email it to

Linda "Schuyler" Ford at Stories-

Heal@gmail.com by the 15th of December for

the Winter issue.

A Musing By Mij Byram Page 8

Do you know a promising young storyteller?

Record your finest young storytellers in grades 1

through 12 for the Florida Storytelling Associa-

tion’s Youthful Voices Storytelling Contest.

Three finalists will receive the Virginia Rivers

Youthful Voices Scholarship to attend the 32nd An-

nual Florida Storytelling Festival to be held in

Mount Dora, FL, March 31-April 3, 2016.

Deadline for submissions is January 18, 2016. Find

all the details and contest guidelines along with a

submission link on the Festival page

atwww.flstory.com!

Earlier this year, three of Florida’s own Youthful

Voices tellers went on to the National Youth Story-

telling Showcase, held in conjunction with the Tim-

panogos Storytelling Conference and Festival. This

event is the culmination of many hours of storytel-

ling and competitions for youth tellers from across

the nation.

Afterward, these talented youth represent youth

storytelling as Storytelling Ambassadors for the

next year.

Up, up and away!

Kids Tell All! By Robin Schulte

Page 9 The StoryTimes Autumn 2015

FSA applauds NYSS participants, including our own Shannan Adams, Mekeia Butler and Molly Ellis

The StoryTimes Autumn 2015 Page 10

The Bay Tellers/Panama City share these offerings: Creepy Tales and Local Legends, hosted by the Bay County Public Li-brary October 21, beginning at 6:30. Free. Fun. FiendishAnd, on Friday, October 30th, the Bay Storytellers present the 4th annual Robert’s Halloooooweeeeen, an evening of spooky stories for grown-ups, told in the newly renovated historical Robert’s Hall, 831 Florida Avenue, Lynn Haven, FL. Stories begin at 7:00; refreshments available. Suggested donation of $5 benefits Robert’s Hall. Lastly, Tellabration!™on Friday, November 20th, at St. Andrews Episcopal Church beginning at 7:00. This event is free; donations are appreciated and go to the church. Boca Raton/The Palm Beach County Storytelling Guild will be presenting their annual Tellabration!™ on Monday, November 16 at 2 PM at the Glades Road Branch Library in Boca Raton. The program is open to the public free of charge.

Story Central: Performance Series at Boca Raton Downtown Library, 400 NW Second Ave, 3 p.m. Free, but registration online is requested. On October 18 featuring Melinda Munger in "Boo! A Story Scare-abration". This presentation will con-sist of two 45-minute sets with an intermission. November 22, Chris Kastle presents Tales and Sails: Songs and Stories of the Sea. December 13 features Connie Regan-Blake’s “Finding Your Way Home: True Life Adventures and Mountain Roots”. The series winds down on January 17 with Jim Gregory sharing stories from his award-winning CD, “The Hanging of Tom Brown: A White Man’ Journey”.

In Fort Myers, Mary Lou Williams, Lisa Leonhardt and Marilyn Graham will present a storytelling workshop for teens on October 17 from 1:30 to 3:30 PM at Lakes Regional Library located at the corner of Bass Road and Gladiolus Road. The workshop is titled "In the Spotlight: Create and Perform a Story for the Stage" for sixth grade and up. It is a library sponsored program. The work-shop will include competition where two participants will be chosen to receive an invitation to perform at the TTT Tellabration!™ to be held on Saturday, November 21 at 2 PM at Lakes Regional Library.

Madison County’s 2nd Annual Tellabration!™ will take place at O’Toole Herb Farm, 305 NE Artemesia Trail, in Madison, Novem-ber 21, 2:00 pm. Tickets are $5.00 at the door, Children under 12 with parent are free. Featuring Pat Nease, Holly Benernitz, Wally Davis, Deloris Jones and Wanda Violet.

Orlando’s Tellabration!™ Fiasco: An Evening of Crafted, Entertaining, True Stories Saturday, November 21, 2015 7:30pm at East End Market 3201 Corrine Dr, Orlando, $12 in advance or $15 at the door More info: storytellerscf.org

In St. Augustine, you can enjoy a storytelling open house at DOS Wine and Coffee, 300 San Marcos Avenue, October 11th, from 2:00-4:00. And, on October 30th, their annual “It Was a Dark and Stormy Night” concert will be help at the Flagler County Library in Palm Coast, at 2:00 p.m.

Tampa Bay Storyteller’s Guild will be sponsoring its fifth “Tellabration!™: Gift of Gab Storytelling Jam” on November 5, at the Town N’ Country Regional Library located at 7606 Paula Drive in Tampa, Florida. “Gift of Gab” showcases youth tellers from around the Tampa Bay area. The activities begin at 7:00 p.m., and it is free to the public. It will definitely be a family oriented event.

TELLABRATION!™ 2015 and Silent Auction "Stories Connect Us All" Cathedral Church of St. Peter 140 4th St N. St Peters-burg, FL 33701. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. $5 cash donation per person is suggested to benefit scholarship to the FL Story Festival and programs for guild members. For more information call Maureen B. (727) 736-6466 http://tampabaystorytellersguild.net

SEE THE FSA CALENDAR FOR MORE EVENTS, MORE DETAILS!

FSA MEMBERS IN ACTION

The StoryTimes Autumn 2015 Page 11

Above: Carrie Sue Ayvar, Robin Schulte, Pat Nease, Mij Byram and

Jessica Spence Wall Mccune at NSC in Kansas City

Below: A bit of silliness during Regi Carpenter’s retreat/workshop

in Tallahassee

Above: Madeline Pots’ new performance space opens with

Regi Carpenter

Below: Robin Schulte’s fringe performance “My Mother’s

Daughter” at the National Storytelling Conference

Andy Offutt Irwin’s Orlando House Concert

Raconteurs

N Wayne Garrett Panama City, Florida

A man called me a raconteur,

So I called him a possum.

I said, “You ought not go round calling folks names, You pointy nosed onion blossom.”

Where upon, he said:

“If you had a mind to go with that lip,

You might understand what I said. Words mean things is something you'd know,

If you had a brain in your head.

A raconteur is not a ring tailed critter, With a bandit’s mask for a face.

It’s a teller of tales; a sagacious sage, Spreading stories from place to place.

To entertain is their foremost goal,

Imparting knowledge is always a plus, To give folks a laugh or a ponder-able thought,

To brighten the everyday toil and fuss

A smile is often their only reward, Sometimes, a bit of applause.

Or a silence when a poignant close, Has given their audience pause.

But it’s not really, for a reward, Their talents, raconteurs share,

Look deep down in and you will find . . . They do it because they care .”