Adventures in Storytelling

Flat Stanley and The Patchwork Players

2008-04-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

Do you know about FLAT STANLEY?

Flat Stanley is a character in a book (one that has been around for a long time!) who among other things, after he gets squashed flat by a bulletin board, goes on a trip to California in an envelope. It's just too expensive to take a plane.....A creative teacher decided to give their class the chance to send Stanley on a trip and asked the family member or friend to take Stanley on an adventure, take photos and mail them back to the class. This has resulted in the Flat Stanley Project. Take a look at some of his adventures: He has been to Paris, to the Great Wall of China, to the Oscars..... www.flatstanleyproject.com

Patti's niece, Amanda, in Dallas sent Flat Stanley to visit us a couple of weeks ago, so we decided to take him on some California storytelling adventures. Here is the note that went back to her class:

Dear Amanda and Cass,

We sure had a good time with Flat Stanley when he visited us in San Diego, California. He went along on many adventures.

You know that your Aunt Patti works as a professional storyteller, so Flat Stanley got to go along with me on several storytelling days.

The first was at the Vista Public Library. There he helped to do a storytime for preschool children celebrating Earth Day. You see the photos of him on the Earth ball and outside the library.

Next, he went along with Aunt Patti and her storytelling partner, James to another city and
library, almost on the Mexican border: The Chula
Vista Public Library. There is a photo of Flat Stanley and Aunt Patti and James outside of the
library, and then on stage with a group of kids
who helped act out stories. They sent their
greetings to the kids in Dallas.

On our way back home, we stopped off in Downtown San
Diego so Stanley could visit the Maritime Museum. There he saw the Star of India (a great old fashioned ocean ship) as well s one of the ships that was used in filming The Pirates of the Caribbean. He liked going into the museum and getting on one of the model ships himself (more his size).

The next day, Aunt Patti took him along to downtown Oceanside, where I live, to see the Oceanside Pier. The Pacific Oceans is about 5 miles form our house. He liked watching the surfers as well as seeing a whole bunch of cheerleaders who were getting ready for a competition.

His next great adventure was to go along to a special event at LEGOLAND California. James and I were telling stories there for a fundraising event to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis. This is a disease that makes a lot of people sick. LEGOLAND lets this event happen there in order to help out. We told stories to the children who were at the event. The children either were also walking to raise money to help the people with MS, or were volunteering themselves, or had a family member who was sick. They all loved to hear the stories. Flat Stanley also liked to help out a good cause.

LEGOLAND is one of my favorite places. James
and I tell stories there every Halloween for the Brick or Treat event. You can see some fun photos of Stanley as we brought him around the outside of LEGOLAND and the area where the MS Walk was taking place. He especially liked to have his photo taken with one of the Giant LEGO guys as well as the Chixfilet cow.

On our way home, we stopped at the Carlsbad Flower Fields, a place where they grow beautiful flowers every spring. You can see Stanley with the flowers in the background.

We hope that your class really enjoys hearing all about Stanley's adventures and learns something, too about how big of a country and world we live in.

Thanks for giving us a chance to help out!

Hope to see you this summer,

Love, Aunt Patti

Spring is Here!

2008-04-07T13:37:00.001-07:00

We dodged a bullet last month. On our trip to Hawaii ,we flew Aloha Airlines. We returned home safe and sound, and on time! Which is more than we can say for 9,000 other travelers who were stranded in Hawaii when Aloha closed it's doors this week. We missed it by that much. Luckily we were able to get back to our regular adventures here on the mainland. Good thing too as we have been busy since we got back.

James has been expanding his skill set of late. He is looking to enter the exciting world of Voice Over work. To that end, he attended a two day seminar on how to be a successful voice over artist. During that time, he was able to do a short demo tape. You can hear some of James' bits, including his original story, the Looky Loos, and the short Tale of a Tail, at: http://voice123.com/jamesnelsonlucas and keep your ears out. Someday soon, you may hear James on a commercial near you. James has also taking to tutoring kids part-time. He has two fifth graders that he is helping with math and reading. He is bringing his JamesaStoryMagic skills to bear in this new venture. On math days, he performs a bit of prodigious prestidigitation, that is he does a couple of magic tricks. On reading days, he tells a tale or two. He uses these bits to engage the kids, and to help illustrate concepts being discussed. He also took some leisure time to participate in one of his favorite social events, The Fish Club Odin. That is a gathering of those of Norwegian descent, and friends. Periodically they gather in Viking costumes to dine on cod, sing songs, tell stories, read Norse poetry, drink Aquavit, and generally have raucous good time.

Spring is here and in Southern California that means wildflowers! Patti took time out to go to ou

t to the dessert, in Indio, to take in the colorful sights. Despite the idea that the desert is just tan and sand, during these spring months following some hard rains, there is now a carpet of amazing flowers. Wow, wow and wow! Takes your breath
away with all of the beauty.

Patti also did some Bi-lingual storytelling with her Spanish speaking partner, Panchita. And more of this to come...including helping to open a new Border's Bookstore down near the border in National City CA.

Along the way, we had time for some Patchwork Player gigs. We were off to a school on Camp Pendelton Marine Base to three assemblies of “Bring Stories To Life”. We told some of our favorite stories, such as, the Queen and Jester, and of course Baby Coyote. With so many parents in Afganistan or Iraq, these kids can use all the time away from stress that they can get. This is the same school where Patti does some social work.

We had a chance to tell stories up in Pasadena in celebration of Lights Out Night on March the 29th, a night around the world where people turned out their lights at home and gathered with others in public settings. We were the storytellers, telling “Not Too Scary Stories” at one of the libraries in Pasadena, close to the Rose Bowl. We told The Roosters Claw, The Golden Arm and other spooky tales. It was a lovely event, and we came home with some new energy efficient light bulbs, too. Can’t beat that.

We also made a couple of trips to The Center for Children (www.centerforchildren.org/). This is a residential facility that helps troubled kids and teens. We were invited there by Sundiata Kata (http://sundiatadrums.com) the drummer we have been working with at Children's Hospital for the last two years. Our first trip was for a drumming circle. Over two hundred people, residents and visitors, gathered to play drums in a big circle. This was to kick off a new study aimed at codifying the connection of recreational drumming and reducing stress. Sundiata and his associates led the crowd in a variety of rhythms and dances. It was a morning full of amazing energy. We had a great time playing a couple of Djembe drums.

Our second trip was to tell stories to the residents there. We spent time spinning some yarns and having the kids help us to bring the stories to life. We told “Caps for Sale”, “How Baby Coyote Learned to Howl,” “The Queen and the Jester” and “All Is As It Should Be.” As one staff person said, they were really engaged and interested....if they weren't you,d have known it. And that is the truth. What a joy to share the support of these kids along with the dedicated staff who are there for them each and every day.

We're now in the countdown time as we work in school based programs. Right around two months before school's out for summer and we get ready to roll out Library Summer Reading programs. Let's hear it for fun with stories!

Storytellers in Paradise

2008-03-08T18:44:00.000-08:00

Mid-February took James and his wife Sia, and Patti and her husband, Dick to Maui for a week. We had an amazing and FABULOUS trip. This was mostly a vacation for fun, as well as a celebration of James and Sia's twentieth wedding anniversary.

Of course, everything is grist for the mill for storytelling. We had many adventures that may bring stories to bear in the long run. Among the most exciting her snorkeling at a place called The Aquarium, and a fine luau called The Feat at Lele with coordinated food and dance for four different Polynesian cultures. We also went to the top of the extinct volcano Haleakela to watch the sunrise, and then going on a twenty-eight mile all downhill bike ride, all the way to the beach. Glorious, and a little dangerous, but we all felt great once we reached to bottom.

We really enjoyed visiting some historic sites, including the Ioa Valley where there was a bloody battle the ended in the uniting the the Hawaiian islands. Breathtaking views, and some culture villages. We took advantage of the chance to tell a traditional story about how the god Maui was able to capture the sun in his fishing net on Haleakela, and talk the sun into taking a longer time going across the sky so that we would have time to do all the things that we want to fit into our busy lives. As we were telling stories and mugging for photos a cute young couple came up and asked if we would take their photos. We said “Of course, but only if you well us a story.” The man immediately agreed and told us the true story of them coming to Maui for a college football bowl, but getting engaged that week. They were adorable, and we took their photos.

We also found a Hawaiian version of one of our favorite stories “Too Much Noise”. In this version, the granmother “Tutu” was the wise woman who advised the many about how to deal with his crowded, noisey house. We LOVE to find different cultural versions of the same stories. Just as people travel, so do stories.

And so “Aloha from the Patchwork Players”. And see you in paradise.

Seniors love Stories,too!

2008-02-02T12:01:00.000-08:00

As storytellers, people often assume that our main focus of work is with children. Certainly we tell a lot in libraries, schools, daycares, places where there are a lot of children.

But one of our favorite venues is places where Seniors gather…Sr. Centers, retirement homes, nursing homes. Last week The Patchwork Players had the chance to tell stories to a group at the Senior Center in Escondido, CA. We were brought in by one of our favorite programs, The Adult Literacy Department from the Public Library in town. These folks are charged with providing opportunities for adults to learn to read as well as enrich their reading skills. The core of our audience was the weekly Sr. book discussion group, pictured with us here.

The audience was enthusiastic and really enjoyed the tales of Trouble, Trials and Tribulations that we told for them, mostly traditional folktales form around the world. As one woman told us, “Seniors love stories, too!” Don’t we know it.

We also appreciate that storytelling is a field where no one tells you you’re getting too old, and better think about retiring. Heck, the more grey hair you have, the better as a storyteller. We’re both working on getting as much grey hair as possible. And we are looking forward to telling stories for many, many years to come.

Patti is especially inspired by her father-in-law who turned 95 this week and is still going strong sharing stories in sermons, and also on the bus form the retirement center going to the grocery store. As soon as he gets on, the bus riders clamor “Have you got any stories for us?” And, he always does! May you always have a story to tell, and one to hear.

Happy New Year

2008-01-05T09:41:00.001-08:00

Well what a year 2007 was! If you saw our Year In Review slide show (next blog entry down, click to open) you got an idea how busy we were. Since we posted last we closed the year out with some really fun stuff.

We did several school assemblies where the audiences had a great time. One fifth grade boy even remarked that we “Rock Hard!!”, while others very much wanted to know when we would be back again. We always love assemblies, we enjoy ourselves and we regularly get feedback from the teachers that the kids are mesmerized.

We also celebrated the holidays with our friends and colleagues at the South Coast Storytellers Guild . It was an evening of fellowship, good food and great stories.

The end of the year was not all work for us, however. Patti took some time off to spend the holidays with family in Minnesota, while James was off to Santa Rosa, California and Park City, Utah to do likewise. So both of us got to celebrate a White Christmas. For Patti this was a return to her days growing up and living in Minnesota while it was a new experience for James. However we both agree that it is fun to visit the snow...we prefer San Diego Winters, which reminds us of a poem about San Diego:

San Diego.

Where Spring comes in the Summer,

and Summer in the Fall.

Fall it comes in Winter time,

and Winter not at all.

When the Patchwork Players reunited, we finished off the year at First Night Escondido . First Night is a wonderful, family-friendly New Years Eve celebration. There were ten stages and craft locations, as well as tons of roving entertainment. They had everything from rock bands, to a circus, to a fourteen foot walking tree-man. We were glad to share our stage with the magician Dick Dale , and ventriloquist Joe Gandelman .We did two shows and still had some time to enjoy the sights and sounds all around us.

So on to 2008, the year we will see our first Children's book; How Baby Coyote Learned to Howl. Our illustrator is nearly done with the art, so it will not be long now before we have books to share with the world. We also anticipate another busy Summer at the Libraries with our programs: Stop Bugging Me: Brothers, Sisters and Other Annoying Creatures, and Urban Legends: Rumors to Reality. The year will also be chock-a-block full with a host of other fine events and programs as well. Watch this space and your e-mail alerts for what is exiting and new in the adventures of The Patchwork Players Story Theatre.

Patchwork Players 2007 in Review

2007-12-09T20:44:00.000-08:00

Make a slideshow!

Holiday Wishes

2007-11-26T14:11:00.000-08:00

Make a slide show, scrapbook, or ecard

Thanksgiving Week

2007-11-24T20:21:00.000-08:00

The Golden Compass

So what do storytellers do as we are driving around the countryside on
our way between gigs? For one thing, we listen to stories and books
on CD (we used to listen to books on tape, before finally being able
to update to a new car!)

The latest things we have been listening to is "The Dark Materials "
series by Philip Pullman, the first book of which is coming out in a
week as the movie "The Golden Compass". Take a look at the website at
http://www.goldencompassmovie.com/ We first had the chance to run
across this series at last summer's ComiCon convention in San Diego
where many of the pop culture hits and trends for the next year are
rolled out. We had the chance to get our photos taken in front of a
blue screen before we ever really heard of the books or the movie.
Now, having nearly completed the third book in the series, we have a
lot more respect for the photo of us along with the armored bear. As
it turned out, this is the movie poster for this fun movie. Take a
look at the real one at Cinemablend

This is one of those movies that although the heroes are children, is
really much more of an adult/young adult romp through fantasy,
theology and metaphysics. We enjoyed it, hope you do, too.

As for some of the gigs we drove to in the last week were to the Downey Library, Hope Elementary School and to the Bowers Museum.

We were invited to the Downey Library to tell Spooky Ghost Stories. It looks like the Halloween season can stretch into the Thanksgiving season these days. We had a blast there with a terrific audience. On the way out James noticed a couple of gold records in a display case. We stopped to take a closer look to find that they were actual gold records form the Carpenters! We had never seen real gold albums in person before. It turns out that the Carpenters went to High School in Downey. Who knew? So Richard Carpenter donated the records and a bunch of memorabilia to the library for display. Oh they interesting we see and learn on the road.

The next day we performed two assemblies at Hope, a local Elementary School. We told some our tried and true World folk
and Fairy Tales, and a few new ones too

Saturday night we were at Tellebration, an international storytelling event. We told Middle Woman by Orson Scott Card, as well as being joined by a bunch of other great area teller. This was an adult oriented show, but there was a bunch of engaged young folks there too. Once again James emceed the event.

Today James returned from a successful private for a special eight year girl, her friends and attendant parents. The parents had glowing comments and were amazed that he was able to hold the rambunctious kids attention.

Big Patchwork Players News! We are in the process

of putting together a children's picture book. We are having a wonderful creative process with our artist Jezreel Lopez. The book is based on our favorite show closer; Baby Coyote. Expect to hear more about this project. We hope to have our published book ready next Spring

Busy Fall

2007-11-14T06:09:00.000-08:00

Welcome true believers to this episode of Adventures in Storytelling. Well the fires are dying down. But the damage will live on for years. Again, we were safe, however we know too many who were directly affected. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

In the meantime we finished this year's Brick or Treat at LEGOLAND As always we had a great time telling to families and hanging out with old friends. Brick or Treat is a great event where kids get to come and trick or treat in a fun and safe place. We do our hit and run storytelling style we call “Gotta Minute? Here a Story”. We are also “ATMO”, which is theme park speak for atmosphere. That means that we are a part of the show just by walking around in our costumes. Kids love to have their pictures taken with us. We look forward to going back again next year.

The next day we told Urban Legends ant the Oceanside Library. They had a very nice stage set up for us that looked like a street in Big City USA. We set the show up as we were two people sitting at a bus stop swapping “true” tales. We told some classic and some lesser known legends. We all know some. Some are so well known all you need is the end line. Who knows...”The call is coming from INSIDE the house!!!? That gig got us a nice write up in the local newspaper

We then went on to do Not Too Scary Stories from San Diego to Palm Springs. We love this program. Fun for old and young alike, we offer a jolt here and there. Some spooky tales, but nothing to scare the little ones too much. We tell a bunch of the same tales we tell at San Diego Children's Hospital. So these are tried and tested tales.

We had a great honor a few weeks ago. We were guest lecturers for a class on storytelling at the University of San Diego. This is a class comprised mostly of school teachers and librarians who are working on their CEU's. We talked about our process and how to tell stories tandem style. We included some snazzy class participation bits that were well received. It was gratifying to get some very positive feedback from the participants. We know that some of what we taught will make it back to the classrooms to the edification of an unknown number of youths.

We rounded out the last two weeks with a set of

Ocean Stories, a Jewish book festival and a Hanukkah show.

The Patchwork Players were on hand at the San Diego Jewish Book Festival to tell stories to the young ones. We always love doing that show...and, as always, we left with an armload of books. To brush up on his Yiddish, James got a book titled 'From Shmere to Eternity'. A very fun read.

We went to the Children's Museumat La Habra to help promote their Ocean Adventures exhibit. We told some of our favorite ocean themed stories with an eye to conservation of our natural resources.

The next day we told (early) Hanukkah stories. We were called in by our local synagogue Congregation, B'nai Shalom, to share a few of our favorite Hanukkah stories. Some of our favorite come from the “mythical” town of Chelm, where all the citizens are fools. Also, many of the stories feature a favorite: potato ladkes! Yummy! We were followed by a troupe of talented young folks performing traditional Jewish folk dances. What a great show!

Lastly, we took a great step in Patchwork Players history! We have been working on a children's book called 'Baby Coyote' for a while now. For those of you who have not heard us tell this tale, it is the story of a baby coyote who does not know how to howl. This week we hired an artist, Jezreel Lopez, to work on the book. We are very excited to take this next step and are looking forward to having a finished product this next spring. Watch this space for further updates.

Telling stories takes us to interesting places all the time....some we visit in the stories, while other times we get to actually travel in person. All of the places are part of our magical story gathering journey.

2007-10-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

Fires burn through the southland of CA….the impact on two
storytellers—thoughts from Patti and James

This past week has been a heart-wrenching one for all who live in San
Diego County CA…..a nightmare of wildfires have raged throughout our
region, brining terror, confusion and heartbreak. But also have
brought the community together in powerful ways.

First we should say that our home wasn't directly threatened, nor were
we among the approximately half million people who were ordered to
evacuate.

However, an event of such a magnitude leaves no one untouched, even if
we are so thankfully still in our homes, with all of our belongings
(precious and clutter alike) intact.

What ways did these fires impact two local storytellers? Here are a few things:

We worried. Worried about friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues,
people form work. The phone lines were abuzz (although we tired to go
along with keeping the cell phone lines available for those who were
evacuated as well as for emergency service workers. We shared news
gratefully of who has heard from whom, who were should call or try to
get a hold of, who we just had to wonder about and pray for.

We were glued to the TV set. As work was canceled for many over the
week, the TV and the Internet became a lifeline for news. We watched
with horror, hope and fascination.
What are they saying now? Anything new?

Canceled work…ah yes. There were phone calls and emails with all of
the customers and contacts for scheduled gigs. This was the full week
before Halloween. Usually one of the busiest of the year for
storytellers. We had a school program schedule for a school in a town
that was on evacuation, another two assemblies at a school which was
now on the week off…. actually all 422 public school districts in the
county canceled school for at least the week. No school, no
storytelling assemblies. Patti got a call from her contact saying that
she had been evacuated! Patti set off down the road to go to an Orange
County women's group gig, but only got two blocks down the street when
she got the phone call that this event was also canceled. The area
surrounding it was now going into evacuation. And later that night,
the highway leading there and back was closed due to fires. Patti
could have gotten stuck with no way to return home.

Also, we were schedule to be guest speakers at a university course….
also no university classes….This one was rescheduled for net week. A
couple of the others will also be scheduled again once ''the dust
settles"….this time literally. Other library programs for this
weekend and early next week called to say they were defiantly on, and
were we okay?

"Are you okay? Did you have to evacuate?" These were the opening
words of very conversation this week. And so many of those in our
lives had stories to tell of evacuation, or getting the call to be
ready. Of spending nights at church, or at the university or a
shelter. Of heading up north to LA or Orange County to be with family
or friends.

We thought through, if we had to go, where would we go. And were so
grateful that there is family and friends who we know we could have
called.

And what would we take if we only had a few minutes? What are the
most important things? Our file of important documents, bills,
computers are "no brainers" as are medical records…. but then the wall
of photos? And how about the thousands of books that we have in every
room of our house? Oh my, to lose our books. THAT would be the
irreplaceable loss. And how about the family heirloom antiques: the
Hoosier cabinet from my husband's grandparent's farm, or the captain
ship's wheel from James's grandparents? How about all of the
treasures brought back form travels overseas, especially China? The
DVD's, the CD's ,The quilts? And the costumes and props that fill
half of the garage? What a nightmare to even contemplate. But it was
all staring us in the face.

We also spent the day at one of our regular jobs at a children's
hospital on Friday. And besides telling stories tour regular kids,
spend a chunk of times telling stories to children of medical and
support staff form the hospital who came to work with mom or dad
because no school and no other options for their safe care.

Patti is now preparing for going back to her other regular job with a
family counseling agency who will be responding to the needs of
communities, clients and students throughout the county…lots of crisis
response in the planning, and thing unfolding in a strange and
uncertain manner. Who will need help, where and when?

How did we spend out newly found "free time" this week? There was
some manic cleaning…our DVDs and CDs are now newly organized, props
and costumes have been put into order.

We also spend some time planning and getting ready for next summer's
Summer Library Reading program. We wrote copy, started fliers, filled
out applications and even spent time at Sears getting publicity photos
taken. Theme for next summer: "Catch the Reading Bug @ Your Library,"
for teens "Metamorphosis @ your Library." Work that has to happen at
some time. Why not spend some of this time getting it done?

So on Sunday we head back to LEGOLAND CA, for the last day of their
annual Brick of Treat festival…..the park was closed for several days
and reopened to not very large crowds as parents continue to worry
about the air quality and are warned to keep kids inside. The park is
open though and so we don't lose that money, too. But as we head off
for that gig, the smoke is thick in the air….how do you tell stories
for most of the hour for five hours when you can hardly breathe? The
services all say that our city has air that is unhealthy for sensitive
populations. And so, great day to bring your kids outside to a park!

When they talk about he cost of the fires, at this point estimating
over a billion dollars, do they include the amount of money that
people lost form not being able to work? We don't know.

We do know that we are thankful for the firefighters, the volunteers,
the police, and everyone who pitched in to do their parts. It takes a
village to deal with a fire, and this large village will be dealing
with this one for years to come.

Fall Has Fell...

2007-10-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

This year we celebrated International Talk Like a Pirate Day at Sea Shanty Festival aboard the historic Star of India What with upcoming Pirate gigs, (this Thursday at the Torrence Public Library in Los Angeles) we need to stay in Pirate ship shape. Heck, we were even invited on stage to help sing It's Fun Being a Pirate. A ditty that we look to incorporate into our shows. Notice Patti's lovely new pegleg. She will start a fashion trend.

We also told some of our favorite Love and Romance tales for a very special wedding reception up in the dessert. The weather and the food was very good. The couple, parents and guests reported that they were delighted. What better way to celebrate and start out married life than by listening to the wisdom of the ages through storytelling

We rounded out the month by flying to Lodi
California to tell at an extravagant fund raising
party for the Lodi Public Library . We love libraries. Black ties, suits and lovely dresses (plus some cool casual looks) everywhere. There were also other tellers there to tell for the
crowd; Olga Loya and a popular local Sacramento duo, Mary and Robin Aurelius. The event

featured great gourmet food, wine form local vineyards, and storytelling between the courses. The patrons stayed at their tables set up throughout the library, while the
storytellers rotated around. This is their seventh annual event featuring storytellings. . In between courses, the storytellers had our own table to chat and swap storytelling experiences. The only problem with this was stopping chatting enough to go do the next storytelling set. Hooray for The Lodi Library Foundation for creating a wonderful storytelling venue, and for the audience being so enthusiastic.

And now....we move into October with all of the scary and not so scary story programs. Happy Halloween, and don't forget to look under the bed before you turn out the light.

Summer fun, Super Fall

2007-09-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

Whew boy did we have another busy summer! We went to twenty different libraries with our “You Be The Detective” program all over Southern California. The librarians were pleased to see us engage the audiences; entertaining them and calling them to engage in some critical thinking too. The Patchwork Players also made their sixth return engagement at the San Diego Renaissance Faire. We always have a blast there. We also ran through six weeks of the Prime Time Family Reading p rogram. This is a remarkable program where we tell a story from a book that will be provided to the families. We then lead the kids and parents in a discussion on their thoughts and feelings about the story, with a special focus on Humanities “values-laden”
questions and opinions..

The Patchwork Players were also seen at the Yarning and Yakking, Tales and Snacking evening program hosted by the South Coast Storytellers Guild.. Storytellers and musicians from around the

southland came to perform for a multi-generational audience. James again expanded his speaking experience by emceeing the event. Some of our best teller friends; Dave Chittenden, Jim Lewis, Laura Beasly, Doris Hand, Linda King Pruitt and Adrianne McMillan were there. Tellers, musicians and MC were all well received.

There was also the time we told True and Not so True Tales of California program we told for an Elementary school. And James told Wild West tales to a Girl Scout day camp. Plus the Patchwork Players brought tale from the seven seas to a summer day camp and also told ocean stories to a group of kinder care kids. Later, James traveled to Reno Nevada to tell tales at a very special six year old's birthday party.

In the middle of all that Patti took two weeks in Mexico for an immersion Spanish language course. Can bilingual telling be far behind? (Patti says, it's still a long ways away, but she is improving!)

For those looking to future Patchwork Player events, here we go. Next week James and Patti will be telling Love and Marriage stories for a wedding reception. Again James will handle the emcee duties. We will be telling Pirate tales at a library in Torrance. . In October we will again be back at LEGOLAND for several weekends celebrating Brick or Treat for Halloween. Also, for the season; we will be telling scary and Not too Scary Stories and Scary Urban Legends programs throughout the area. In November The Patchwork Players will be at the San Diego Jewish Book Fair and a Hanukkah celebration at Barnes and Nobel as part of a fund raiser for a local temple. We will be bringing Ocean Tales to the La Habra Children's Museum. Add to all that the International Tellabration event And tNovember brings the L.A. Storytelling Festival. And in the pipeline for December: The fun, fantastic and family friendly New Years Eve event; First Night Escondido.

Summer Reading

2007-06-28T11:46:00.001-07:00

Summer Reading is now in full swing. What is Summer Reading? Every summer the state libraries have a themed summer reading program to encourage youth to...well...read during the summer. This summer the theme is “Get A Clue @ your library”...a detective type thing. So we developed a program called “You Be The Detective”; stories and riddles to get the kids thinking and excited about reading. We tell stories with a question and a clever twist. Along with stories, we pose some smart riddles to the kids. Those kids are really on top of things. They are great at solving mysteries and puzzles. We have nearly twenty “You Be the Detective” shows booked over the summer. So far it has been a blast.

Our favorite riddles? Here goes.....

What gets wetter the more it dries? (a towel)

What goes up a chimney when it's down, but can't go down a chimney when it's up? (an umbrella)

What sits in the corner and travels around the world? (A postage stamp....or maybe a suitcase.)

One of the delightful discoveries that we have been making is that if you ask kids to put on their detective hats, eyes and ears, they are able to make some really interesting deductive answers.

AND we have also been delighted to know that although the kids know some things about detectives and mysteries from TV and the movies.....reading mysteries is alive and well with some of the most popular being Encyclopedia Brown, Nate the Great Detective, Cam Jensen (girl detective with the photographic memory...just like a “camera”....) and (surprise!) Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.

Are you reading this before the middle of August 2007? If so, there still is a chance to catch us at a southern CA library near you. Take a look at our on-line calendar at http://www.my.calendars.net/patchworkplayers

Patchwork Players Alert!

2007-04-26T09:57:00.001-07:00

\
Join The Patchwork Players at the Seaport Village Busker Festival; that means that there will be a bunch of great acts; jugglers, musicians, magicians etc., vying for a summer long contract. We will put on a great show, but are not above asking our fans to come down an fill the ballot box with our name. When we win you can bring you and yours down to Seaport Village all summer long to see our shows. Hurrah! Shows are ongoing all day May 12^th & 13^th, from 11:00 to 4:00. On Saturday we will be on the Boardwalk by the Scandinavian and Trails West shops. On Sunday we will be by the carousel. Look for us to tailor our shows to reflect the telling area. We know a fun time will be had by all. And remember The Patchwork Players when casting your vote!

2007-04-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

Spring has Sprung!

Patchwork Players audiences continue to grow and we are jumping like rabbits to keep up with the demand for our tales.

Since our last blog we have been planting storytelling seed throughout the southland. The Patchwork Players have been seen at a Diversity Dinner in Encinitas and birthday parties

We have also performed at Festivals in Murrieta and Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside on the same day (both of which received press in the local papers) WHEW!

Along the way we squeezed a bunch of Library shows from Temecula to Carlsbad.
We also started a couple of very fine educational programs. The first is the Reading is Fundamental program. Patti and James each have told to half-a-dozen assemblies for elementary and middle school kids in Escondido thanks to a project sponsored by the Escondido Library Literacy Program.

Next we kicked off a Prime Time Reading program in National City. There we perform tales and engage students and parents in critical thinking discussions about the tales told. Oh yeah, they get to take home the books that we shared so they can read them at home, too. This program is presented bilingually in English and Spanish so that everyone can participate. Very cool!

On top of that Patti has continued to perform at Family Literacy Nights, and will be performing with our storytelling friend Panchita Acevedo at the California Center for the Arts for classes from area schools.

And James’ Mad Science presentations march on with kids thrilling them with the fun of science that comes to life, in a very NOT BORING way. So, we guess you could say, we’re pretty busy.

Keep an eye on this page as May flowers and Summer starts to simmer…We are especially excited as we continue to book our summer library reading program show “You be the Detective” at libraries from Ventura down to south San Diego County.

Look for us at a library near you! Keep us in mind for summer picnics, family events, birthday parties and other places that could just use some stories.

Family Fun Festival

2007-03-05T18:19:00.000-08:00

Sunday February 25, 2007

Oh, do we love telling stories at museums….and one of our favorites is The San Diego Museum of Art. On a quarterly basis, this museum with a fine permanent collection and a wonderful rotation of nationally and internationally known exhibits, opens up at no cost for their Family Festival. This features tours, music, hands on art for kids as well as….tahdah! The Patchwork Players telling stories in the galleries.

There is always a different focus: Maxfield Parish, Andy Warhol, Mexican Art, Indian Art, and our favorite, that makes great use of the collection—the Asian Festival celebrating Chinese New Year.

So what happens at one of these events? Take a look at our photos….people young and old, families and individuals gather and stream into the museum and the area out front to immerse themselves in art. And what about the stories? Well, museums are filled to the brim with stories! Some of the paintings, photos and sculptures are specifically illustrating stories. Some remind us of stories we already know, while others just beg for new stories to be created.

The Asian gallery has some of the most precious statuary of bodhisattvas, Buddhas, teapots, and clothing like amazing silk robes, weapons, and a small replica of a temple. Here’s the blurb from their literature: “Bringing back popular works, while introducing new and rarely exhibited works, Tastes in Asian Art explores the diverse tastes of different social groups—the imperial ruling class, scholars, warriors, and common people—and features a separate section devoted to religious art, as well as a new section dedicated to Persian art.” Telling stories there is such a privilege. We love it. Come on down the next time and share the fun. Watch their website for the next date http://www.sdmart.org/ (or email us and we’ll let you know.)

For James, the museum in Balboa Park (near downtown San Diego) has a special interest. James’ younger sister, professional artist, Kristina Lucas, designed the gorgeous tile that decorates the fountain right in front of the Museum of Art. Here is a photo of James and the fountain (as opposed to James and the Giant Peach which is a different story).

Stay tuned for more adventures in storytelling!!!!

Happy Holidays from the Patchwork Players!

2006-12-12T20:59:00.000-08:00

Can it really be since September that we last blogged? Oh, we have traveled some miles and told some stories during the last three months! Here are the highlights:

October is always the busiest time of the year for us as storytellers. We get so many calls saying “Do you tell scary stories?” (Of course our answer is YES!) We returned for the third year to
LEGOLAND California’s Brick of Treat event.
Stories and magic fit right in with the wonderful decoration and kid-friendly atmosphere at LEGOLAND. It is old home week when we get a chance to connect up with other entertainers who also return to LEGOLAND from where ever they are for this fine event.
The South Coast Storytellers Guild continues its Adult Storytelling program, in October hosting “Things That Go Bump in the Night” concert. James did a great job as MC, again (as well as in November at the Worldwide TELLBRATION concert.) We also got to be really scary pirates at the Oceanside Public Library REALLY Scary Halloween night.

November brought us up to the LA Storytelling Festival as volunteers, having a chance to see old and new friends and hear some amazing stories. We were also featured at the San Diego Jewish Book Fair. This is a chance to share some of the hot off the press new Jewish books (plus take some home….can you really EVER have too many books?)

Over Thanksgiving weekend we had a true life adventure! During our travels on the coast, we happened on a stranded dolphin in a small cove. Our spouses and we helped protect and move the dolphin until a rescue vehicle arrived. This may just be the stuff of another “Storytellers to the Rescue” story.

James launched on a new venture this fall by becoming a Mad Scientist with the local Mad Science organization. His favorite part of this work is getting to do assemblies and special events as Yosemite James, and getting to explode things and teach kids about how exciting science is.

Then there have been scores of additional classrooms, school assemblies, library programs, preschools, and retirement communities. We continue as staff storytellers every Friday at the local children’s hospital, and James has hooked up with the Magic Guild of San Diego which holds monthly meetings.

Patti is working again with a counseling agency as well as Center ARTES from Cal State San Marcos. We are both waiting to hear how the Arts Funding in California is going to be spent in the upcoming year.

New Years Eve will bring us back again for the 4th year to First Night Escondido, an alcohol-free family event in Escondido. It has been a good year for s1torytelling….but then again; any year is a good one for storytelling. Happy New Year

One Crazy Summer

2006-09-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

When we last met we told of Patti’s journey back to Minnesota. As always there is more to the story, both before and after her trip.

Since we were at Legoland’s Pirate Shores, the Patchwork Players have been all over the map. Here’s are quick travelogue:

Huntington Beach Library, Festival of Folk Tales…a fabulous gathering of over a thousand kids and parents, all about the joy of reading.

The Patchwork Players told Patriotic stories at a summer program in Brea for the 4th of July…red white and blue and actors form the audience!

Private 70th Birthday It was a surprise party, and she was delighted, as were friends and family young and old

Mystic Gyfte Street Festival in Vista, California. There were a host of fine musical acts including Highland Way and, one of James’ all time favorite bands; Strange Woods (James has been a fan for 25 years). James went as a patron, to relax after an earlier gig. Then the folks of Strange Woods realized it was taking too long to set up their equipment, so they handed James a mic and asked for a story. The Patchwork Players and Strange Woods shared a stage some five year ago, so they knew our work. So James regaled the crowd with a story called “Middle Woman”. And when he was done the band was ready to go. Once again: storytellers to the rescue

American Cancer Society Camp for kids. We told stories at a day camp for children dealing with cancer age 4-10.

Patti told at two Girl Scout Camps: up in Yorba Linda—around the world in five days, and at Balboa Park—Fairytale Camp. As a long time Girl Scout, Patti always loves the chance to support the scouts.

Patti was at a Family Literacy Night in Escondido at the Public Library there. She was part of their learning about science summer program, where she share the “story answers” to some scientific questions like why do we have tides and how come the sun hurts out eyes when we look directly at it.

We were also back again for the San Diego Museum of Art Family Fun Festival. Always a wonderful event, designed to get families to see the museum as a fun place to go. In the past we had been asked to gear our stories to match the current, featured exhibit. On this day that exhibit was Andy Warhol’s works. There was some question as to how accessible Warhol is to a family audience. So they asked us to spread the stories different galleries. We told in the American Classics, Asian and European Masters Galleries. We managed to tailor our stories to each exhibit. We even came up with good story for the Warhol gallery; Stone Soup, which we told in front of his Campbell’s Soup Cans. We also share some of the story behind why Andy decided to paint Campbell’s cans. A good story to be sure! And everywhere we go our fans are popping up. One mother, with a 11 year old boy in tow, entered the museum and spotted James. She turned to her boy and said reassuringly “See, I told you it would be him”. Further conversation reveled that they had seen us at LEGOLAND and were hoping to see us again. There were also a bunch of other folks who were proud to announce that they had seen us before. Afterward, a kindly pair of septuagenarian ladies said that our show “was wonderful to behold”.

The Patchwork Players were invited back for the fifth time to tell at the San Diego Renaissance Faire. Renaissance Fairs take us back in time. Not just to the renaissance, but to our past as well. The very first time we performed as The Patchwork Players was at a Renaissance Faire. We have tried to make it to at least one a year since then. Going to Faire can be like going home. Those who frequent faires, or Faire Folk, are like a big family. Vendors and performers bring their kids along, and they camp on site. We saw many old friends, their sprouting children. And some great acts: Marlowe’s Shadowe, Sound and Fury, A Fool and His Lady, among others. We also had had very appreciative audiences. You see, at Renaissance Faires, the talent, that’s us, is allowed to pass the hat after each performance. You can tell right away from the tips whether they like you or not.
Then The Patchwork Players traveled from long past Renaissance era all the way to a futuristic Spaceport at...
WorldCon 64 , a gathering of 10,000 Science Fiction Fans from around the world met in Anaheim. If you saw the season closer episode of Psych, or the movie GalaxyQuest, you have seen a loving parody of what a real Science Fiction Convention looks like. Patti has been to a few over the years and James has been to about 100 in the last thirty years. James has wanted some stage time at a major Science Fiction Convention for almost as long. So we were very pleased when we landed a slot on the main entertainment stage in the Spaceport Lounge. During the five days of the convention that stage hosted everything from dramatic readings, singers, harpists, pianists, magicians, TechnoPopFusion bands, The Prancing Pony Players, to The Patchwork Players Story Theatre. We came on right after The Prancing Pony Players. Good news for us, we had been hearing about them from both the Science Fiction and Renaissance Faire communities. This troop of Hobbit costumed, young ladies perform a musical parody of Lord of the Rings. We really enjoyed their show. Another added benefit was the hanging out with stage manager Nick Smith. He is a well known Los Angeles area storyteller, and long time buddy of ours.
At last, Nick gave us a glowing intro and we took the stage. For the next fifty minutes we performed some our favorite tales and capped the show off with the story “Middle Woman” by Orson Scott Card, which we tell with his permission. We ended the show with that piece because Orson Scott Card is much beloved by science fiction fans, so we knew the telling would be appreciated in that crowd. After, Nick let us know that we had done an excellent job.

Poinsettia Kinder Care—a fun time with the little ones. What is more fun than a whole batch of 3-5 year olds pretending to be sneaky monkeys?

And libraries, libraries, libraries! God bless the summer reading programs which take a theme and libraries around the region all use the same theme over the summer. This year’s them focused on animals “Claws, paws, tails and scales”…which gave us a lot to work with. We were able to do performances from as far south as Point Loma Library, to up in Los Angeles and over in Riverside County. The animal tales were a great hit. We especially appreciate a young 10 year old fan who yelled to us in the parking lot “You guys rock!”

Things calm down now for a bit as schools get rolling back into their rhythms, and we start to get ready for Halloween and “Do you know any SCARY stories?” Yes we do. Stay tuned for a report on the scary and not too scary stories in store for October.

Patti & Kids

2006-09-13T13:26:00.000-07:00

Last month I got to spend a week in Minnesota and Wisconsin being Aunt Patti, the storytelling aunt. I brought with me my new toy: a small digital recorder where you can record and then upload to your computer and burn a cd from that. I thought it might be fun to try recording some stories with my nieces and nephews (6 of them ages 1 year to 8 years old.) I was confident that the school-agers would like this: especially my sister's kids get to tell and read ad LOT of books and stories. What I was surprised was that the 3 year old (and a half!) boy was among the best storytellers there. He loved helping me tell the Gingerbread Man ("first you take a knife and you cut it, then you put on sprinkles for the cheeks. Then red sprinkles for the hat. No, green sprinkles!" ) On story after familiar story, we was so happy to say his parts "And I'll huff and I'll Puff" Somebody's been eating my porridge" "Run, run as fast and you can, you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man".) He has been read to and told these stories, mostly by his grandpa, since he was a baby. He was very happy to "correct" if I said it wrong. "No not the little old woman and the little old man. The BIG woman and the BIG man." At the end of each story he delighted in saying "Now play it" and we listened back to the story to his (as well as all the kid's delight.)

The other amazing recording experience I had was when the 7 year old suggested we should make up a story about a Elephant with the hiccoughs, I started in and then made a loud hiccough sounds. My 13 month old niece immediately copied the sound. I thought oh that was just a coincidence, so I said it again with the same results. We told this story 3 times. It finally occurred to me I should try to record her doing it and she did it on cue for the recorder. This little tike was sooooo there for the telling of this story and doing her part. After every one had a chance to record over several days (classic stories, literary tales, and a bunch we made up ourselves) I told them that I would go home and burn a cd with these stories on them. The 6 year old asked "Then will you sell us a copy, Aunt Patti?" Yes, I think I will. I would sooooo recommend this process. It was gold, and will make such a great keepsake for them all to have of their sweet little voices telling stories.

Ahoy Mateys!

2006-06-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

Ahoy Matey! One of our favorite venues and amusement parks LEGOLAND CA ( http://www.legoland.com/California.htm ) had a sneak preview of a new attraction mid-June. Pirate Shores, a series of fun, water rides and activities is now open to the public. The Patchwork Players joined a number of our favorite entertainers, plus some new friends in introducing this new attraction. We donned our pirate garb and headed out for two rollicking days of telling pirate tales, getting our photos taken, getting squirted by riders on pirate ships and telling and hearing some hilarious pirate jokes. Where did the peg legged pirate go for breakfast? …..I-hop! Why can’t kids go see the scariest pirate movies? Because they are rated AARRRRRR. We especially enjoyed meeting members of a local pirate guild The HMS Stranglehold crew ( http://stranglehold.kagusa.org/pirates/ ). They, in addition to being “real pirates” also have members who dress up as Klingons. Oh, we love the world of entertainers. We hope you get a chance to get over to LEGOLAND sometime soon and play with the pirates. It was a great time.

Patti then joined the Girl Scouts of Yorba Linda in Orange County CA for Around the World in Five Days at their day camp. Nearly 450 girls from Kindergarten through grade 6 were there making crafts, earning badges, and hearing Patti tell stories from Asian. Each day the camp featured guest artists and performers from around the region. They were enthusiastic volunteers and pretty good actors, too. They especially enjoyed helping to bring to life Lon Po Po, the Chinese Little Red Riddinghood story. Patti was a Girl Scout in Minnesota all throughout her school years, and so has a special warm spot in her heart for this terrific young development program.

Over the next five weeks, summer reading programs in the public libraries start with a vengeance. Start tuned for news on Animal Tales: Let’s Act It Out.

Summertime!

2006-06-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

The Patchwork Players blew out the barn doors this first weekend of June ‘06

Patti is a part of a team of creative folks that bring arts to the schools under the SUAVE program. Now we come to the end of the school year, and so on Thursday, Patti bid a fond farewell to two of the primary school classes she has been working with all spring. James was able to go along and help to tell a tale or two. It was very touching to see how much the kids had connected with Patti. She spoke to their creative, intuitive and analytical brains. This was very evident in the ‘thank you’ and ‘farewell’ notes they wrote for her. They also loved having James come in to add a bit of his own special energy point of view. After the presentations, kids lined up to get James’ autograph. Storytellers are like Rock Stars to these kids.

Friday was a GO-Go day. We started at our regular Friday gig telling stories and doing magic for kids in the hospital. Well, not just the kids, we are there for family members and care-givers too. It is so rewarding to be able to make a difference in the lives of folks who are in crisis situations. You may have noticed we do stories and magic. Both have their place. Especially for some of the older kids; When they hear “do you want to hear a story?” they think Little Kid Stuff. But if we say “want to see a magic trick?” their ears perk up. That gives us entrée. Or as our storytelling friend, Harlynne Geisler, puts it “establishing your street cred”. Once they have seen a trick or two, they know we are cool, and may be ready for a story or two.

Straight after that we jetted up to Hacienda Heights, some 120 miles from our morning gig and 85 miles from home. We were invited to tell Renaissance Style Tales at “A Knight Of Reading”… A kind of a school ‘camp out’ in the multi-purpose room at the school. We followed a pair demonstrating the gentlemanly art of swordsmanship. They were so cool with all their great rapiers, epees and sabers. All we had was a foam LEGOLAND sword. However, we soldiered on. We told Too Much Noise set in a castle, The Jesters Challenge, Rapunzel and The Three Wishes. The kids loved it. After we did a Q & A and those 4^th & 5^th grade kids had some great questions.

Saturday, Patti taught a workshop at the 16^th annual READ/San Diego Tutor Conference. She had the chance to encourage and offer some “Tried and True” methods for using storytelling and audience participation with children, families and adult literacy learners. Much of the material also works well with ESOL (English for Speakers of other languages) students.

Then in the evening it was back up to Orange County for The Wild, Wild West; A story concert presented by the South Coast Storytellers Guild. The evening was superbly put together by Mary Ann Newtion. James was the Emcee for the evening and was pleased to introduce the first tale called “The Moisture Accelerator” by none other than The Patchwork Players! This story is based on a real life rainmaker named Charles Hatfield who brought rain to San Diego. We weren’t the only ones to tell stories from history that evening. Adrienne told the tale of a ‘different’ kind of pioneer woman, Ah Toy, an entrepreneur who lived in the gold rush days. Doris Hand told a moving tale called Follow the Bugle. She crafted her story from the diary of army wives stationed in the Wild West, where their husbands had been sent to protect the railroad. And Mary Ann Newton told The Best Whip in the West.

Now as Mary Ann will tell you, a Whip is what Stagecoach drivers were called, and she told the tale off the most famous Whip of them all; Charlie Pankhurst; A tale of adventure, intrigue and a surprise or two. Keep a look out, you never know when history will be made right before your eyes.

Dave Whiting and Diana Spirithawk both shared wonderful Native American stories. David and Diana are some-time storytelling partners, and full time life partners. They both have a deep respect for, and connection with the Native American world, and they brought stories they have told at Pow-Wow’s. Diana told a moving tale called La Loba, and David told a funny and powerful story called Coyote and Spiderwoman. Thanks to you two for helping us stay in touch with that part of our heritage.

When it comes to not so true tales, we can always count on “Uncle Larry”, Larry Goldberg. As usual, Uncle Larry set the audience up with a bit of poetry, just to sucker us in we suspect, then he hit us with Once Upon A Swine In The West. A disturbingly funny tall tale of rugged frontiersmen and their quest for romance.

We were also treated to the wry and witty telling of Dave Chittenden. His story was not about the Gold Rush, but about the Black Gold Rush…Oil that is, Texas Tea. Dave told Hydrocarbon Man Makes An Offer…get it? Oil. Hydrocarbon…well Dave is an engineer by training. Now, we would like to categorize Dave’s story. Was it True Tale, Myth or Legend? As with most of his stories, it’s hard to figure. What we do know for sure is that Dave is always a pleasure to hear tell.

Now James modestly didn’t mention much about his highly skilled MC work. He spent a huge amount of time gathering some short stories, jokes, songs and other connectors that assisted the audience in smooth sailing transitions between these often VERY different types of stories and moods. One person remarked “You are the best MC in the whole world.” Perhaps a slight stretch, but he did a darned good job!

Sunday was soirée day! Patti and James joined other artists, school personnel, and supporters of the arts at a reception for Center ARTES at the Museum of Music Making in Carlsbad CA…just down the road from our house. Did you know that CA is current 50^th in terms of spending per student on the arts in the schools? Scandalous…and the folks gathered are part of a groundswell movement working to change this. Stay tuned to hear about new initiatives, plus, we are all crossing our fingers that the state budget will put back some of the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been lost on the arts in schools.

So were we tired? You bet….and getting ready to head up to Utah for a much needed vacation. Then, it’s back for SUMMER READING PROGRAMS in the libraries…oh the fun never stops!