Storytelling Festival!

First of all, thanks to all the wonderful people who stopped by due to April A-Z! I had a wonderful time participating (even if I didn't make it all the way through!)

From here on forward, I would like to get active again with the blog. I would like to plan on posting three times per week at this point, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Most of these posts will be fairly simple things. At this time, these posts will consist primarily of continuing my way through the Lone Wolf adventures. But once in a while, instead of (or in addition to) the story posts, I will also write other thoughts or announcements about events.

In this case, I just want to share with you about the Ojai Storytelling Festival, which I attended this weekend. It was a beautiful weekend, with some amazingly talented people. Kevin Kling is a genius; I recommend his book "the dog says how." It will have you laughing out loud within a few pages. And then on the verge of tears a few pages beyond that--then back to laughter.

I was blown away by the masterful performance of the Chameleons. I've never seen mime-work that I enjoyed so much before. They combined the physical art of miming with a sophisticated storytelling technique to sweep the audience away.

My other favorite was the great storyteller Baba Jamal Koram, who just has such an amazing presence and connection with the audience. You feel as if he could be your own grandfather, using folklore to tell you about yourself and your people. I'm not black. There's not a single soul from Africa in my ancestry. We came over on the Mayflower. But Baba Jamal's words gave me that tradition. He gave me those stories and made them my own. Thank you Baba Jamal.

Storytelling is something I've always had an interest in. It's something I love, and a skill I hope to develop myself. This is about the fourth Ojai Storytelling Festival I've been to, and I think, after this one, I might be about ready to start trying it myself. Wish me luck!