Daytime Performances

Saturday, November 26
Open Book

All performances are FREE with a Tellabration! 2011 button (suggested donation of $5 to $25).

More info coming soon!

	Performance Hall	Studio (Room 203)
1 – 2 PM	Les Kurkendaal: Making Lemonade and Kohl Miner: The Semi-Conscious Memoirs of a Negligent Native	Danielle Daniel: Connecting Through Stories and Pati Kachel: Ya Sure, I’m a Norvegin Luteran
2:30 – 3:30 PM	Felix Hampton Brown: Personal Stories and Amy Salloway: Friends, Romans, Brachiosaurs…	Vickijoan Keck: Sorfarina, Cia Sautter: The Magic Flower and David Zander: Finn in Search of his Youth
4 – 5 PM	Lane McKiernan: Food Shelf Follies and Michael Merriam: (IN)VISIBLE	Alex Cleberg Joanna Solotaroff and Elle Thoni: Tales of World Travel

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May contain adult language, sexual content and/or
references to drug use or other adult subjects.

We will have an on-call ASL interpreters available for daytime storytelling. To request interpreting for a particular performance, email events@northstarstorytelling.org with the subject line “ASL Interpreter Request.” We will only have enough interpreters to cover one event per time-slot, and requests will be honored on a first-come, first-served basis.

Making Lemonade

We all go through various trials and tribulations in life, but what counts is how you deal with them and the choices you make. Les’ mother is suffering from dementia and doesn’t remember who he is — she remembers the rest of the family, just not him. So Les is going to tell his mom some stories and hope they jog her memory.

Les Kurkendaal is a Los Angeles based actor, storyteller and stand-up comic. He studied theatre at the University of Maryland’s Munich, Germany campus, and at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Les has been touring Fringe Festivals since 2000 and has performed at the Minnesota Fringe Festival every year since 2003. Other Fringe festivals include Cincinnati Fringe, Indianapolis Fringe, the Wellington Fringe in New Zealand, Orlando Fringe, Capital Fringe and Hollywood Fringe. He has been a member of Story Salon, the oldest storytelling company in Los Angeles, for 17 years. Les can be seen in the movies Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat, Boychick, and The Lost Cause. He has performed stand-up comedy at the World Famous Comedy Store, the Laugh Factory, LA Improv and various comedy clubs throughout the U.S.

The Semi-Conscious Memoirs of a Negligent Native

From the Ho-Chunk Nation, Kohl will be telling stories from the perspective of a modern day Two-Spirit — some of them funny, most of them semi-autobiographical, all with a message. Kohl grew up in a federal housing project called Indian Heights. The Heights, or “The Frights” as local children called it, was the third world in the middle of Wisconsin. His life is filled with a wealth of characters and experiences, and he will be sharing some of those experiences.

Kohl Miner (Ho-Chunk Nation) is a playwright & performer. He was a company member or has performed with The New York City Hysterical Society, In the Heart of the Beast, The Ark Improv, The Blood & Milk Poets and American Indians in the Arts. His solo work includes; “Christopher Explained,” “Native Fruit,” “Left at Life,” “Heartflight Kohl Miner OR How my heart was hijacked by a handsome terrorist,” “Dreams of Cheerleading,” “The Trip” and “The Semi-Conscious Memoirs of a Negligent Native.” He has performed at Highways, On The Boards, Bumbershoot Wild Stage, Alice B. Theater, Josie’s Cabaret & Juice Joint, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theater, The Walker Art Center, Southern Theater and others.

Connecting Through Stories

Danielle will tell an African American Folktale and original stories about Louisiana. Her adaptation of a Brer Rabbit story will include song, movement and audience participation, and she will be backed up by guitar. She will follow this with personal tales about growing up in Louisiana and its culture, food and music.

Danielle Daniel’s career includes a wide variety of theater projects including storytelling programs and workshops. Her tours shows and storytelling programs have received rave reviews from educators, parents, community organizations, and most importantly students of all ages. She is the author of a children’s book, The Ghost of Old Man Willie; she is a recipient of a LIN Grant, a Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship, a Jerome Fellowship and a Many Voices Award from the Playwright Center; and her plays have been presented at the Southern Theater, the Pillsbury Theater, Purdue University and the Paramount Theater in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Danielle has a B.A Degree in Communications from the University of Minnesota, and completed The Kennedy Performing Arts Center’s “Artists as Educators” program through Northern Iowa University.

Ya Sure, I’m a Norvegin Luteran

Pati will sew together a story quilt of memories about her Norwegian Lutheran ancestors who immigrated to America in 1868. Her great-grandparents pioneered their way westward to homestead in Minnesota. The fabric swatches of Pati’s story quilt are the colorful and quirky characters from her family tree. She introduces the audience to her good-humored, hard-working relatives through heartwarming stories and songs about her heritage.

Pati Kachel draws from her Norwegian Lutheran heritage to creatively weave together her heartwarming, humorous life stories and songs. She has written and produced more than 30 story programs filled with colorful characters, enchanting voices and meaningful life lessons. Traveling full-time as a biblical storyteller, she also shares the personal faith stories of inspiring Christian women. Through her costumed characterizations she authentically portrays remarkable women like Corrie ten Boom, Susanna Wesley and Katy Luther. Pati is available to present her stories through The Parable Fund, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to share earthly stories that communicate Judeo-Christian values. She has been a member of Northstar since its start and of Salt of the Earth Storytellers for more than 30 years.

Personal Stories

Felix will tell stories about his life and times through drug culture and recovery, including “Red Tag Sale,” “Weird Herd” and “My Tainted Daughter.” He will also sing a song telling the story “of how I felt hopeless in America, when I was homeless and on drugs. I did not see an American Dream; I saw an American Nightmare.”

Felix Hampton Brown is a spoken word performance, singer, painter, sculptor, model, fashion designer, and educator. He was accepted to the National Black Theatre as a resident artist and his one-man show, “King, Malcolm & Me” played in various New York venues and won a comedy competition at the Apollo Theatre. Locally, Felix has appeared on Minneapolis Television Network’s “Light on the Gospel” and the Art Cunningham Show. He has also performed at various churches, reading his recently published coloring book, “The Weird Herd,” which teaches children about the dangers of drug culture. Brown recently performed in “A Fool’s Errand” at the Minnesota Fringe Festival and he is currently preparing for a new presentation of “King, Malcolm & Me.”

Friends, Romans, Brachiosaurs…

Amy graduated from college with a theatre major, a sociology minor, and a burning passion to create art that would Change The World. She imagined she’d become the protest-theater protégé of Augusto Boal, or a member of the San Francisco Mime Troupe, or, best of all, that she’d start her own activist theatre ensemble, touring in a rainbow-painted van, building sets out of tofu, healing broken communities. Instead, she found herself arguing with the director of a touring school show over her portrayal of a light bulb… Begging her cast mates at the medieval history village to please stop dropping acid before their displays of armored combat… And fighting her way through the most agonizingly awful concept for Julius Caesar in the history of Shakespeare. Come hear Amy’s stories of thespian dreams that veered a little off track — or got entirely derailed. You’re guaranteed to feel better about your day job.

Actor/writer Amy Salloway is the creator of three mostly-autobiographical solo comedies — “Does This Monologue Make Me Look Fat?”, “So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz!”, and “Circumference” — all of which began their lives at the Minnesota Fringe Festival and have gone on to tour to Fringes, theatres, colleges, festivals and events all over the US and Canada. Amy’s been a guest playwright for Interact Center for the Arts, a contributor to MPR’s “In the Loop” and CBC radio’s “Definitely Not The Opera”, and a workshop instructor for both Tellabration and the Northlands Storytelling Conference; she’s also a member of the hit narrative collective Rockstar Storytellers. For more info, check out www.amysalloway.com.

Sorfarina

Vickijoan will tell a Sicilian folktale with a feminist bent. The story of Sorfarina is adapted from an anthology of stories collected from peasant women and first published in 1870.

Vickijoan Keck is a flamboyant storyteller, actress and poet who especially enjoys telling folktales and whimsical rhymes by the likes of Edward Lear, A.A. Milne and Ogden Nash. She enjoys telling personal stories as well as putting a new twist on an old tale. She is also a fan of 55-word stories and has done workshops and presentations on that format. Her stories have been heard on Minnesota Public Radio’s “In the Loop” and seen on the Minneapolis Television Network (MTN). She is a longtime member and former president of Northstar Storytelling League. Look for her on “Sunday Fundays” at the Glacier Cafe at Lake & Minnehaha.

The Magic Flower

Told through flamenco dance, words, and gesture, the story involves the prophet Elijah, two women, one man, an eagle, and some very special flowers. This is a traditional Jewish tale, retold for a modern time and setting and through the lens of Cia’s trip to Spain to study flamenco. The story asks questions about how we treat those in our community.

A dancer and performer, Cia Sautter first learned storytelling as a child from her grandmother, who used to tell her fantastic and frightening stories from the old country. Her preference is for telling more fairy-tale like stories from around the world, and looking at their meaning for us today. With a doctorate in religion and the arts, Cia has formally studied folklore and symbolism in dance, music, and stories, and is author of The Miriam Tradition, a book on Sephardic women’s performance leadership. She is currently teaching at St. Cloud State University and United Theological Seminary.

Finn in Search of his Youth

David will tell a story handed down for two thousand years by storytellers in Ireland about the legendary cultural hero Finn McCool, leader of the Fianna.

David Zander is a retired teacher, anthropologist, and local storyteller. He tells stories each summer at St. Joan of Arc’s Children’s summer camps in Minneapolis and in the Lore and More Tent at the Irish Fair, held each August on Harriet Island in St. Paul. He coordinates an Asian Storytellers group and is currently an AmeriCorps volunteer working in a non-profit that helps Southeast Asian refugees and immigrants.

Food Shelf Follies

Lane will perform selections from his show about the intersections of hunger, gender, poverty and disability. And soup. Gallons and gallons of pea soup.

Lane McKiernan has been creating performance with words for almost two decades under a number of labels including poet, performance memoirist and storyteller. Food Shelf Follies premiered at the Minnesota Fringe Festival in 2009, and Lane has also performed solo work at Red Eye, Walker Art Center, Southern Theater, and other venues. Photo by Jay Wilson.

(IN)VISIBLE

When his disability renders Michael “invisible” in the able-bodied world, he refuses to let blindness devastate him. (IN)VISIBLE is the personal story of one man’s journey through vision loss and doubt. Rekindling his passion for the arts, Michael learns to remain independent and creates the life he wants to live as an author and storyteller, helping others along the way.

Michael Merriam, an author and storyteller, recently completed “Darkly Through the Light Waters: Twin Cities Tales,” a storytelling production, at the 2011 Minnesota Fringe Festival. He attended Nancy Donoval’s Storytelling Workshop in 2008. Michael’s novel, Last Car to Annwn Station, was published by Carina Press in June of 2011, and he has published novellas with Carina Press and Sam’s Dot Publishing, as well as nearly 80 pieces of short fiction and poetry. He lives in Hopkins, MN, with his wife and two cats. Visit his homepage at www.michaelmerriam.net.

Tales of World Travel

Local storytellers take you around the globe with their stories of adventure on three different continents. Alex fights to escape the gem scam in Bangkok and battles wild monkeys in Vietnam; Elle leaves her love of puppets behind in Minneapolis, only to rediscover it in South Africa; and Joanna goes through a trying 72 hours in South America, facing fake doctors, sea urchins and near death.

Alex Cleberg – How many answers are there to the question, “what is it to be human?” The drive to answer this question has led Alex to work as a teacher in Tokyo, narrowly escape scam artists in Bangkok, fend off a monkey ambush on the islands of Vietnam, sleep in a cardboard box on the streets of Chicago, rebuild a destroyed village in Sri Lanka, and share small business advice with woman entrepreneurs in Uganda. Alex is currently a graduate student, business developer, intercultural consultant, improvisational coach, producer and actor, husband, son and father. He performs on the stages of HUGE and the Brave New Workshop, tells stories at Word Ninjas and presents on the topic of intercultural competence. Alex’s wealth is measured in experience. He shares it with you through story.

Joanna Solotaroff is the creator and producer of Street Stories, a web series featuring narratives about the city streets of Minneapolis. She works full-time as a community organizer for a neighborhood organization and does improv at the Brave New Workshop and Huge Theater. She has experience living in Japan, Ecuador, and, most recently, Whittier.

Elle Thoni is a new storyteller and an old storylistener. When not on the Tellabration stage, she enjoys sharing stories through writing, puppetry and Theatre of the Oppressed. Elle is particularly interested in how the stories we tell affect the communities we live in (and vice versa). A recent graduate of Augsburg College, she has had the joy of working with Teatro del Pueblo, Bedlam and In the Heart of the Beast theatres. Elle’s next project: a bicycle-themed cabaret. Interested? Email Elle at elle.thoni@gmail.com.

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Northstar Storytelling League is a fiscal year 2011 recipient of a Minnesota Festivals Support grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is funded, in part, by the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.