A Trio of Storytellers: Wise and Wilful Women
I have been working as a storyteller for more than 25 years now. Mostly the preparation work is solitary as we search for or create the tale that wants to be shared.
In 2012 I teamed up with 13 storytellers to share a day – long performance of the Saga of Grettir the Strong. How I relished the chance to share a story with my peers. More recently I have teamed up with Mary Hays for our performances of key portions of Grettir’s Saga. That was immensely satisfying. (We are not finished with that work yet and plan bring it to life again – wait for more details as opportunities come forward.)
For the past 4 months I have been working in a trio of three peers to create a performance in story, telling of the lives of three weavers of social change; Lady Isabella Lougheed, Nellie McClung and Mary Scot Widner. Two of the women portrayed are well known and the last is the grandmother of our fellow storyteller and dear friend Mary Hays. Betty Hersberger tells the stories of Nellie McClung, and I have been honoured to delve into the life of Lady Isabella Lougheed. These women lived in Calgary’s Beltline district though not all at the same time.
The process of creating this piece has been filled with surprise and risk taking.
We decided to include Joyce Doolittle as one of our mentors and launched into an improvised performance for her of our Wise and Wilful Women after only one planning session and exchanges over email.
From that trial performance day we have moved forward in many ways, taking a look at the nature of our characters, discovering what kind of message we wanted to convey, and finding a way into and through the arc of story. Joyce reminded us to “kill our darlings” to listen deeply to one another and to allow for stillness.
We called in other mentors such as Jane Fleming to give us feedback on our performance and then give a performance before an enthusastic audience at Lougheed House for Jane’s Walk on May 2. Included in the audience was not only Trudy Cowan who spearheaded the restoration of that wonderful historic house but Former Premier Peter Lougheed’s wife Jeannie Lougheed, her daughter and grandson. What an honour it was to deliver our stories to them and to the generous group of listeners who gathered to hear us.
Now we will take the performance to Garrison Green Senior’s Lodge, to Edmonton’s Storytelling Festival May 23rd and to Historic Calgary Week listeners on July 29th.
The story grows richer and we gain new insights every time we deliver it. Thanks to all including the kind staff of the Lougheed House who have enabled us on our way.
