Updates
On Sunday 31 October, six Australian Storytellers were honored to represent our land in a Spooktacular Story event as part of the Federation of Asian Storytellers 2021 Festival - FEAST FEST. Four stories were new creations for the event, and Jill Webster brought our unofficial national anthem to life with a fabulous shadow puppet show and good old sing song….
Vale Pat Dargin
It was with great sadness that we received the news of our member Pat Dargin’s death. Pat died on 14th May 2021 after fighting dementia for a number of years.
Pat and her husband Peter were devoted members of our Guild. Peter was President and Pat was Treasurer during the early 2000’s. (2001-3) They also edited and published the national storytelling magazine Swag of Yarns……
The Storyteller’s Kit Box – how to create and tell spellbinding oral stories to children - is a practical how-to guide for parents, grandparents, teachers and carers.
It details the educational benefits of storytelling – from encouraging sleep, fostering curiosity, growing imaginations, developing language and concentration, strengthening relationships … to managing behaviour, relaxation and pure fun!
One of the bright spots at the end of 2020 was my attendance at Christine Carlton’s online workshop ‘Hidden stories – Do you see what I see’.
The workshop I went to was attended by people from all over Australia and two people from Indonesia and Norway. In a year where storytelling was adversely affected due to Covid, this workshop reminded me of the joys of storytelling.
The workshop was…
What is storytelling? I thought the answer to this was simple; reading or telling stories. Throughout my internship with the NSW Storytelling Guild, I learn’t how complex and intricate the art of storytelling really is. It’s in no way simply reading fairytales, and although performances such as comedy or film could be considered storytelling in a sense, it is much more distinct as an art form in its own right.
Working with the Guild has been an eye-opening experience that has altered my perspective on the art of storytelling and what it means to share a story. This internship has allowed me to become a storyteller and perform to an audience for the first time. The experience made me feel confident and self-assured and allowed me to….
The Sydney International Storytelling Conference Cancelled
The decision was made back in March to postpone the 2020 Conference due to the Covid-19 virus. We had hoped that the world would return back to normal and that the conference would go ahead in June 2021. However, since March much has changed globally and we have been challenged and invited to re-imagine a process for a virtual program. In doing so, it was decided by the organising committee that we could not just transfer the conference program with multiple workshops, performances and poster sessions to a digital event.
A Brand New Look for a Brand New Decade
2020 caused the world to stop, reflect and experience new ways of living. 2020 propelled us into more localised lives while simultaneously flying open a world wide web of digital communications and international opportunities. We began experiencing the possibilities (and challenges) of breakfasting at home then zooming into a storytelling event in another country, hemisphere and time zone, and back in time for morning tea at our own dining table. Meeting storytellers in other lands without jet lag or exorbitant flight costs holds much promise. Or is it an illusionary magic mirror that evaporates the visceral pleasure of mirror neurons ignited through oral storytelling?
“As a Bachelor of Global Studies student majoring in Business at UTS, initially, I had little to no idea about the wondrous world of storytelling and what it entailed. My first-day meeting with the Storytelling team and the UTS interns was a delightful experience where we spent hours together in an induction session where we interns were welcomed with open arms on Zoom. This time that was spent together brainstorming and researching on our first day got us all incredibly excited about what the possibilities could be for reimagining the Storytelling conference for 2021……
Ah, the best laid schemes of mice and men and the Australian Storytelling Guild, NSW. In an alternate, covid free universe, we are gathered around supping on soup, basking in the glory of another successful Sydney International Storytelling Conference at our AGM. Instead we find ourselves, alone at home, on Zoom. Yet still we remain connected by our mutual love of story and the internet.
