What Snoo!
The Occasional Newsletter of Storytelling Empress, Megan Hicks
vol. VII, no. 1 -- Autumn 2011
Exciteder and Exciteder
That's my current state of mind, counting down to October 7, the day that marks the beginning of the 39th National Storytelling Festival and my first time onstage in Jo'bro, Tennessee. I'm trying to stay in Prep Mode, taking full advantage of a relatively empty September calendar to get ready. Here's the to-do list:
(If I knew how, I would insert a bullet here.) Time my stories, paying attention to where I can cut and where I can embellish so that I don't go over or under time. Think about it: synchronizing an event involving about two dozen performers on five stages entertaining several thousand people for three long days. It makes my brain hurt.
(another bullet) Get wardrobe and accessories in order, anticipating weather possibilities that include: heat, cold, precipitation, wind. Just going through the mending pile I found two whole outfits I forgot I had. And I found out you can make a fashion statement with coiled telephone wire, buttons, and those little plastic Cracker Jack prizes left over from the days before we gave much thought to "choking hazards."
(bullet) Press release -- the writing of which I look forward to in the same spirit as I approach appointments with my periodontist. Oddly, this morning I knocked one out in half and hour.
(bullet) Breathe -- Sometimes when I'm really excited, I forget.
(bullet) Sleep -- Sometimes when I'm really excited, I can't. Thank heaven for chamomile tea.
(serious bullet) And top priority on this week's to-do list:
Park my bottom in front of the keyboard and write the Autumn 2011 issue of What Snoo!
In this issue:
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-- #1 3 (count 'em!) new recordings
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-- #2 Where I've been
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-- #3 What's coming up
Before I go any further, let me acknowledge that there's bound to be a typo or two I've overlooked. Maybe a howler. I've proofed and reproofed and 100-proofed this text and layout, and I'm still finding an "oops!" now and then. So here's the deal: Rather than regard my inadequacy as a proofreader as cause for embarrassment, I'm going to "make lemonade" and turn it into a game. Be the first to e-mail me with a solid typo, and I'll send you -- absolutely free! -- a copy of my new CD, "No Tricks. Just Magic." Formatting errors are exempt, but grammar, punctuation and spelling all count. Except sentence fragments.
New CDs
 It was mid-March when the folks in Jonesborough invited me to join the festivities this year as one of four "New Voices." In the space of about 30 seconds I went from flabbergasted, to delighted, to "Ack! I haven't released a new recording in years! I need to beef up my 'merch.'"
Back story: In Utah at the Timpanogos festival in 2008, I was a new kid on a block populated by icons of the storytelling community. Now, I know the term "famous storyteller" is an oxymoron, and the superstars who make my heart race are people most of my relatives, neighbors and artist friends have never heard of. So you'll have to take my word for it: Among fans of storytelling in the U.S., Bill Harley and Kevin Kling enjoy almost universal name recognition. They've been writing books and recording CDs for decades. It's all great stuff, and they brought it all to Utah. Everything in the merchandise tent was laid out alphabetically by artist's last name: A mountain of Bill Harley merchandise; a mountain of Kevin Kling merchandise. And there, lost between Harley and Kling, a little anthill comprised of two CDs by Hicks.
This year in Jonesborough I fall between Harley (again) and David Holt, both of whom have won multiple Grammys. They will bring to the National Storytelling Festival their piles of CDs, DVDs, books, lunch boxes, action figures, beany babies... I'll never catch up, but I felt as though I really had to add something to my oeuvre.
 Among the possible programs I had to choose from, the one that grabbed my heart and carried me away when I thought about a recording project was a collection of fairy tales. As much as I love fairy tales, my repertoire isn't that big. Just a few over the years have tapped me on the shoulder, smacked me upside the head, nestled in my heart, grabbed my imagination and made themselves at home with me. Of those few, I chose four. And then I took one of my groundhog stories and plugged it in as a bonus track, because it felt as though there was a groundhog-shaped space at the end. My engineer, Bart Reardon, wrote and performed a melody and variations for little bridges – palate cleansers – between the stories. I hired Itty Bitty Press in Richmond VA to capture the spirit of the project graphically and execute it on a four-panel digipak. And the whole thing turned out exactly as I hoped it would – content, package, sound. (Happy dance!)
You can find an hors d'oeurve tray of sound samples and complete purchase/download information at CDBaby.
NOT ONLY THAT, BUT...
As long as I was in the studio, I decided to record a couple of “singles,” send them out to DiscMakers short run department, create the packaging myself, sign and number each CD and issue them as numbered limited editions, available only directly from me and my venues.
“The Bob Mapplethorpe Memorial Condom Wallet” is about Jack's and my 15-year, long-distance fling. A fairy tale for grownups, if you will.
“The Janitor's Closet” is about a high school where students learn than attending extracurricular activities can result in grave consequences. (Thank you, Mary Hamilton and the Coen brothers.) “Occupied” offers a possible explanation for why, at a well-known storytelling festival, there's always one porta-potty that's never vacant.
An e-mail request and the promise of payment coming to my post office box gets you either one of these. Ten bucks covers tax, postage and handling. Such a deal!
So...
It's been a productive summer.
2011 gave me a glorious spring, two highlights of which were:
Florida StoryCamp -- I had heard for years and years that StoryCamp was one of the best conferences going. And I had wanted to attend ever since forever. But when you make your living as a storyteller, chances are you're not awash in disposable income. The only way I can attend most conferences and festivals is if they accept my workshop applications or like my audition packet. This was the year I finally made it to StoryCamp, and it was indeed everything it's cracked up to be. I was honored to be sharing the stage wtih Sherry Norfolk, Bil Lepp, Jackson Gillman, Caren Neile, Roz Bresnick-Perry. MyLinda Butterworth was chief whip-cracker, and she and an all volunteer staff put on an unforgettable three-day party. If you're a teacher, a storyteller, a librarian, or just someone who wants to hang out where it's warm in March with a bunch of friendly, smart, entertaining people -- you can't do better.
Hardly had I caught my breath from StoryCamp, when it was time to head north to Connecticut. This was my second time at the Connecticut Storytelling Festival, and it was a little bit like a family reunion, except that you usually don't make a lot of new friends at a family reunion. Besides being transported by Carol Birch and Tim Tingle, I got to perform in a showcase with Simon Brooks, who now has one more ardent fan.
And then it was ...
...summer
Jacob's Ladder -- I did my two-week residency at Jacob's Ladder in July. We worked on folk tales, and in two weeks we had thirty-six middle schoolers go from “what's this class about?” to a full-tilt storytelling concert. I wrote a little bit about it in my blog.
Penland Auction -- Jack and I didn't take classes at Penland this year, but we couldn't stay away for the whole summer, so we did a little road trip to North Carolina. First stop was Greensboro for a visit with my daughter, Alice, who introduced her mama to the joys of floating downriver in inner tubes. We spent the afternoon dangling our butts in the Dan River, barely moving as the river took us from point A to point B. How does burning zero calories translate into exhaustion? I was zonked when we got back to Greensboro.
But the real reason we were in North Carolina was to wash dishes for three days. It's the way we contribute to the Penland School of Crafts annual benefit auction. For three days we pruned our fingers in dishwater. Jack was lead pot scrubber and I was general dogsbody in the dish pit. It sounds weird, but it's some of the best fun we have all year. AND (along with 197 other volunteers who showed up for the weekend) we helped the school raise over $600K.
 Henrico Theatre -- Here's where I got to perform "Poetry Out Loud" a couple of weeks ago, right outside of Richmond. It's a beautiful little 1930's 400-seat theatre, fully restored, and they offer a variety of live entertainment for the entire community. Would this be a perfect venue for storytelling, or what?
Henrico Drama Camp --This was my fourth or fifth year visiting the drama camps at the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, sponsored by the Henrico County Rec and Parks department. Tons of fun. Storytelling for an hour. A short break. And then origami for an hour. Four times during the summer. Sweet gig.
Fauquier County Public Libraries -- I got to visit all the libraries in Fauquier County with origami workshops for their teen patrons. It was all fun, but the liveliest bunch (probably because they were preteens and not camera shy) was in Marshall, VA. (Thank you, Deborah Cosby for the photos AND the signed releases.)
  
And here's what's coming up:
Beaver Tales -- Friday, September 16 -- Beaver, Pennsylvania. Linda Goodman, Len Cabral, Alan Hoal and I will be telling stories in schools that morning, and then at 7:30 it's time for ghost stories in the park! It's free. If you're anywhere near Pittsburgh, you got cheap date options for next Friday.
National Storytelling Festival -- Friday-Sunday, October 7-9 -- Jonesborough, Tennessee. See info above.
Through the Ashes : Reclaiming Lost Power After Trauma and Abuse-- Thursday, October 13 -- Crossroads Arts Center, Richmond VA -- This is part of a 7 week series of performance showcases -- dance, music, storytelling, poetry -- based on Susan Singer's exhibit of female nudes titled "Not Barbie." Click the link for a complete program listing and ticket info.
George West Storyfest -- Friday-Sunday, November 4-6 -- George West, Texas --Reputed to be one of the best parties west of the Mississippi. And it's free!
So there you have it. That's what snoo wit' me. What snoo wit' choo?
I'd love to hear from you. E-mail me: whatsnoo@meganhicks.com.
Check out my website: meganhicks.com
Besitos --
megan
A bouquet of bristling brooms in Brooklyn.
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