Going Deep 2008

We had our second Going Deep Storytelling Festival from April 10-13 at the Storytellers' Riverhouse in Bethlehem, Indiana. What a nourishing experience!

The first night, Olga Loya regaled us with the incredible Aztec Creation Myth. We wallowed in the names of unfamiliar gods and goddesses, in their several aspects and moods. We wailed with the Hungry Goddess, we joined the parade in the middle of the story, we held our breaths as a little man danced on a god's palm, we laughed and sighed and enjoyed ourselves completely. Here's a picture of Olga next to the altar she created in the performance space:
Afterwards we ate crepes and sipped wine and talked, before going off to dream of the images.

In the morning, our workshop was rich in reflection and discussion of the story, of Olga's research, of how our own stories inform our lives and vice versa.

As promised, the afternoon was free for massages, palm reading, and a special participatory dance/art activity.

That second evening, I (Priscilla) told Queen Berta and King Pippin, an almost unknown Medieval French story of stolen identity, treachery, and big feet (the original story is entitled Berte aus grans pies, literally "big foot Bertha," but as I explained to the audience, if I'd called it that, they would have expected a farce instead of a delicate story of nobility--in Medieval times, it was a sign of being high-born to have large feet). The story must have struck a chord in the listeners, because the discussion afterwards and in the morning workshop was intense.

The third evening, Megan Wells entranced us with Helen's Troy, the story of the Trojan War from Helen's point of view. We sat with fair Helen in the tent on the shore, worried with her about her beauty, joined her in rash acts and sage decisions, and understood her better than we ever had before.

That night, we dreamed of all the images in all the stories, and after breakfast came back for the last wonderful workshop with Megan, a combination of discussion about the story and its sources as well as of story structure and process.

We feasted at the rich banquet of long traditional stories and returned home sated--at least for a while. Stay tuned for information on the Going Deep Storytelling Festival 2009!

Going Deep reviews

I'm going to post my own thoughts on Going Deep: The Long Traditional Story Festival. In the meantime, I highly recommend reading Hope Baugh's reviews. I've linked here to the overview. Don't miss her three following posts about each evening. I love reading Hope's reviews, because she lets her whole self shine through, without letting the posts be self-indulgent.