To catch a tale: Introduction to this weekend's tellers at Cape festival

Storytellers are known to talk a lot, even consistently talking to themselves in public. They recite stories anywhere and everywhere before finally getting on stage at storytelling festivals around the country and the world and telling their stories to whomever will listen. Today through Sunday, six tellers will regale audiences in Cape Girardeau with tales, small and tall. Below, they introduce themselves to you.

The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sunday. A three-day pass is $35 for adults, $25 for college students and children 6 to 18. A one-day pass is $25 for adults, $15 for college students and children 6 to 18. A family three-day pass is $115 and allows for two adults and four children younger than 18. Visit www.capestorytelling.com for schedules and more ticket info.

Dan Keding

Storytelling is nothing new to Chicago native Keding. From personal narratives to ghost stories, Keding is known to always keep a crowd wanting to hear more. He's also known for his outstanding singing, as well as playing the guitar, banjo and spoons.

Keding has received many prestigious awards, including the Circle of Excellence Award from the National Story Telling Network in 2000. He writes a column on storytelling for Sing Out, a folk music magazine.

Beth Revelle, Karen Crout and Wilma Whitworth, from left, react to a story by Bil Lepp during the 4th annual Storytelling Festival in downtown Cape Girardeau on Friday, April 8, 2011. (Kristin Eberts)

How do you practice storytelling?

I practice in the car when I'm driving or when I'm doing odd jobs around the house. Many a time I've sat through a light at an intersection much to the annoyance of the cars behind me as I told myself a new tale that I was working on at the time. Consistent and loud horn honking usually breaks the spell.

If you weren't a storyteller, what would you be doing?

This is a hard one. Probably a teacher because I think that teachers also encourage the type of thinking in their classrooms that storytellers encourage among their audiences. If not a teacher, then maybe a dog trainer; I love dogs!

Jim May

Storyteller Bil Lepp spins a tale during the 4th annual Storytelling Festival in downtown Cape Girardeau on Friday, April 8, 2011. (Kristin Eberts)

May was born and raised in Spring Grove, Ill., a small German-Catholic farming community. His stories are said to resonate with the rural voices of the Illinois prairie.

May's stories have taken him across the United States and Europe. Chicagoans know him from his appearances on WGN's "Roy Leonard Show" and the Studs Terkel radio show. He received a 1989 Chicago Emmy award for a production of his original story, "A Bell for Shorty."

Have you ever had an experience with stage fright, and how did you deal with it?

Sure I have. But you just have to walk out there and tell, anyway.

What exactly does storytelling entail?

Storyteller Elizabeth Ellis tells a tale during the 4th annual Storytelling Festival in downtown Cape Girardeau on Saturday, April 9, 2011. (Kristin Eberts)

Listening to the audience and letting the story do the work for you.

Jennifer Munro

When one thinks of a storyteller whose stories are filled with imagination and creativity, they would most likely think about Munro. Since 1987, she has been wowing audiences with her tales. Most of her stories are based in myth, folk tales and fairy tales.

Munro attended University College of North Wales and received her bachelor of education with majors in English literature and dramatic art. Today she teaches eighth-grade language arts in Connecticut.

How do you practice storytelling?

The Rev. Robert Jones tells a story during the final day of the fourth annual Storytelling Festival on April 10, 2011, in downtown Cape Girardeau. (Southeast Missourian file photos)

I rehearse out loud again and again -- preferably before an audience who knows that I am in rehearsal mode and can offer constructive criticism. Often, if I do not have time to gather an audience, I record myself to make sure I do not skip vital details. One needs a sounding board, whether it's the tape recorder or warm bodies.

Have you ever had an experience with stage fright, and how did you deal with it?

I get nervous before every performance and wonder why I do it; I deal with it by rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing. I feel that I must know my material so well that even my nerves cannot prevent the story from flowing out of me to the audience. It's not about me; it's about the story.

Kim Weitkamp

For 18 years, Weitkamp used applied storytelling in her work with youth; eight years ago she decided to retire from youth work and take her love of storytelling on the road. She is the recipient of two Storytelling World Awards, the 2012 Leadership in Communication Award from Toastmasters and the Blue Ridge Excellence in the Arts Award.

Sam Sednek, left, and Beth Vredenburg laugh during a story by Willy Claflin during the final day of the 4th annual Storytelling Festival on Sunday, April 10, 2011, in downtown Cape Girardeau. (Kristin Eberts)

Weitkamp has produced five CDs, with the latest being "Head Bone Rattles," a collection of original ghost stories and songs. Her material has had airplay on NPR affiliate stations, Sirius Radio and radio networks.

If you weren't a storyteller, what would you be doing?

I cannot think of anything else I would want to be doing. But if this were not an option, I would be a neuroscientist. Not kidding. I am a serious closet geek and am totally fascinated by the brain. I also have a tremendous crush on Albert Einstein.

What advice would you give to up and coming tellers?

Tell, tell, tell, tell, tell and tell well. It's the best thing you can do. Tell anywhere, to anyone. It's an art. Practice makes perfect ... or at least pretty darn good.

Larry Brown

Traveling and playing folk music are some of the hobbies that Brown enjoys, but he also has huge passion for story telling. He has been doing so for twenty years, and co-founded the Mid Missouri Organization for Storytelling in Columbia.

He has received degrees, including his Ph.D. from the College of Education, Department of Education and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and currently is a full-time assistant professor there teaching human geography. Brown has pastored at many congregations over the last 30 years in Nebraska, Missouri and Indiana. He also taught at Stephens College and the Missouri School of Religion. No state is new to Brown, as he has been to all 50 states, as well as many foreign countries such as New Zealand, Honduras and India.

How do you practice storytelling?

I practice my telling either to myself or to audiences. I often try out new stories with safe audiences. But I do not memorize stories word for word, as some tellers might. Rather, I remember a set of images or sequences and to vary the story with what the situation is, the conditions, the audience, time frame, and allow for new inspiration. After a few years of telling the same story, it does eventually come to a regular form.

If you weren't a storyteller, what would you be doing?

Actually I am always a storyteller, whether teaching, preaching, leading workshops, communicating essential information or enjoying the world around me. I hear and tell stories; it is the world.

Jessica Carleton

Carleton has been storytelling professionally since the age of 12. She graduated cum laude from Northwestern University, with degrees in Theatre and Creative Writing for the Media. Since then, she has worked as a storyteller and actor in the Chicago area, performing at schools, libraries and festivals. Carleton tells a range of stories, from folk tales for children to personal stories for adult audiences.

She is also the senior writer and original ensemble member on "Green Screen Adventures," a national children's television show that adapts and performs the writing of elementary school students to encourage literacy. It can be seen at greenscreenadventures.tv.

What exactly does storytelling entail?

In my estimation, storytelling is a combination of acting, writing and listening. The performance element is the most apparent of the three. I use the term "writing" in the sense of creating a piece. Even if you didn't write the original story, you're still shaping it to fit your voice. Listening is essential, because I listen to the audience in the same way that I listen to my scene partner as an actor. Also, it's crucial to listen to other tellers. I learned to tell by listening to amazing tellers in this community, and I continue to grow as a performer and a person every time I sit down and listen, really listen, to another storyteller.

Have you ever experienced stage fright, and how did you deal with it?

I have experienced stage fright, and I love it. It's the only breed of fear that I find motivating rather than debilitating. Often fear holds you back, but, at least for me, stage fright is like an adrenaline rush -- it's exhilarating. At least that's true in most scenarios. That said, the first time I performed on stage at Steppenwolf, I was just plain nervous, not so much in a productive way. So in those high stakes moments, you just trust in your training, put on your game face, and try not to forget your lines.

jsamons@semissourian.com

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