We are back.
Marie, and Jennifer, and I had a great time. We visited The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Dublin Horse Show, Marie’s ancestral home in Donegal, Storytellers Channels’ other Founder John Whitworth, and his wife, Benedicte, in Wokingham, England and managed to visit London and Windsor as well.
I have stories to tell. And I will.
Still Looking for a Name
I will be telling my version of Moses’ story at our parish, The Church of The Holy Comforter (Episcopal), here in Richmond in the Spring.
I’ve flirted with calling the presentation:
- Exodus – Stories of Moses
- Sojourn – Stories of Moses
- Out of Egypt- Stories of Moses
- Straight Outta Goshen- Stories of Moses
- Moses: Part I – From the Bullrushes to The Burning Bush
- Moses: Part II – From The Reed Sea to The Jordan River
- Moses: Part II – From Sinai to Pisgah
I’m meeting with the creative team to begin developing the marketing communications materials this week.
I’ve asked for suggestions, and I continue to be interested in what y’all may suggest. Send your suggestions to [email protected]
National Storytelling Festival
Friday, October 7th through Sunday the 9th
Some of the world’s greatest storytellers come to the tiny town of Jonesborough, TN and mesmerize audiences of all ages. Hosted by the International Storytelling Center, it’s an event that belongs on your bucket list. Marie and I will be there. We’ve been tent hosts for years and we look forward to welcoming you to this delightful community.
“I’ll tell you a secret. Old storytellers never die. They disappear into their own story.”
– Vera Nazarian, author
We Are Back
We have a lot of stories from our trip. Today, I want to sing the praises of one of the shows we saw in Edinburgh.
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World is a musical developed by the same company that brought us Six, the current Broadway smash musical about Henry VII’s wives.
It was presented in an arena style theatre seating over 600 people, The Grand at The Pleasance Courtyard theatre complex.
The story is about an 11-year-old girl who gets separated from her classmates in a museum. She is wrestling with feeling unseen and a sense that she needs to do more with her life. She is befriended and counseled by assorted great women from history.
The score is relentless, rocking from number to number. The set is big, bold and serves the action well. The cast was engaging, vibrant, and bursting with energy.
While I couldn’t hum one of the songs if my life depended upon it, I was enchanted by the young actress who played the little girl. Unfortunately, there was no program, so I’m unable to tell you her name. But, I wasn’t the only one enamored of her. The audience showed their appreciation and everyone reveled in the empowering message.
Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World was Marie’s favorite show at the Fringe and one of the top two best productions we saw.
The lack of programs was the biggest downside of the festival. I was prepared to become a follower of many of the performers, but their names were nowhere to be found.
The production companies were listed and I’m reaching out to find out the names of some of the actors, so I can profile them here.
Sidenote
J.R. Tucker High School in Henrico County, a suburb of Richmond, VA, was represented at The Fringe by the Shoestring Players with an original production called, Mortal.
They were there because they won the American High School Theatre Festival. I think this is the 3rd time Tucker has sent a show to the Fringe.
I’m mightily impressed.
I’d Love to Hear from You
I need your ideas for the title of my show.
I look forward to your ideas.
Til next time,
Gayle Turner
Executive Producer