SKALD Storytelling Festival
Event Type:
FestivalMonday, June 16, 2008
Workshops and competition spin yarns and share whale tales in the 9th Annual Festival at the Chicago Cultural Center June 16-21, 2008
WNEP Theater and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs present the ninth Annual SKALD Storytelling Festival, a week-long event celebrating the art of storytelling. The workshops and competitions offer adults and children (ages 9-14) the chance to try their own hand and then watch the professionals. Events will take place throughout the Chicago Cultural Center, located at 77 E. Randolph Street, from June 16 through 21, 2008.
Rooted in the oral traditions of nearly every organized society, storytelling is theater stripped of all its ‘dazzle camouflage’ and focuses strictly on the qualities of the story and the teller. The name “Skald” refers to an ancient Scandinavian poet, bard or storyteller.
Tickets for SKALD events are available by calling 312.742.TIXS (8497), visiting www.dcatheater.org, or stopping by the box office at 66 E. Randolph Street. The box office is open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m., and one hour prior to each performance. Tickets range from $10 to $25 for select events, with a $5 discount on tickets for students and seniors. Workshops taking place during the week are free, but reservations are required.
The schedule of SKALD events is as follows:
STORYTELLING WORKSHOPS FOR KIDS AND ADULTS
Monday, June 16 and Tuesday, June 17, 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
1st floor Garland Room
Admission is free, reservations required by calling 312.742.TIXS (8497)
WNEP’s Founding Director Don Hall teaches the fundamentals of “spinning a yarn” in workshops for kids at 11:30 a.m. on June 11 and 12. At 6:30 p.m., the adults get their turn when Hall and Company Member Stephanie Hoemer teach the art of storytelling and open the floor for participants to share their own stories.
KIDSKALD
Thursday, June 19 at 8:00 p.m.
Studio Theater
Tickets are $10
Ten student storytellers compete for prestige and prizes.
MAELSTROM
Friday, June 20 at 8:00 p.m.
Studio Theater
Tickets are $10.00
Six storytellers improvise stories based on audience suggestions—and the audience votes for the winner.
SKALD 9
Saturday, June 21 at 8:00 p.m.
Studio Theater
Tickets are $25.00
Ten professional storytellers compete for prestige and prizes for a panel of expert judges.
WNEP Theater has been holding the SKALD Storytelling Competition annually since 1999 and has been creating unexpectedly imaginative and original theater in Chicago for fourteen years. Guest judges of previous SKALD competitions have included the late Martin DeMaat, Live Bait Theatre’s Sharon Evans, local critic Jack Helbig, Stage Left Theatre’s Jessi D. Hill, Wild Chicago’s Ben Hollis, American Idol Finalist Leslie Hunt, and Acorn Theatre’s Kim Clark.
For more information about SKALD and other upcoming Chicago DCA Theater events, visit www.dcatheater.org or call 312-742-TIXS (8497).