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Four Voices… meet the performers!
Kristin Ward (director/producer) is a belly dancer, storyteller and theatrical artisan who never outgrew her childhood love of fairy tales. By exploring common archetypes in stories that stretch beyond barriers into the human experience, Kristin hopes to celebrate cultural differences while discovering the similarities in between where everyone – regardless of background – can belong.
Kate Pavelle is a Pittsburgh-based novelist and storyteller.
She learned to use a gas mask in first grade. She fired her first AK47 in her sixth grade civil defense class. Her first dog was a wolf hybrid stolen from the Czechoslovak border guard. Her high-stakes, high-adrenaline childhood leaves her searching for the next exciting thing.
Kate’s quest resonates through her mystery thrillers and romances, matched only by her drive to share the fun with her readers. She once knew the hunger of being a political refugee and the terror of being pursued by government agents. Her husband and children cheer her on as she imbues her characters with her own struggle for survival, excellence, and world domination.
Learn more about her work on www.katepavelle.com.
Anjali Soi is an Indian Classical and Flamenco dancer and she has taught, performed and choreographed numerous dances for concerts, festivals, corporate and nonprofit events, competitions, weddings and dance programs. She has trained with acclaimed Bharatanatyam artists V.P. and Shanta Dhananjayan and Saroja Vaidyanathan as well as flamenco artists Mariya Tarakanova and Anna Menendez. During her college years, Anjali was a folkloric dance performer with the Pennsylvania State University International Dance Ensemble and was also a dancer for Pitt Zisha during its founding year. Anjali enjoys creating dance events and performing with local artists and together they have created well-received and highly appreciated dance events in the Pittsburgh community.
Sarah McKee is a Pittsburgh native and a lover of the art of storytelling. She has narrated several audio books for various authors, and has served in her church as a Bible storyteller for their children’s ministry. Sarah is proud to continue this career at her first Pittsburgh Fringe Festival, and wishes to thank God and her family for their love and support.
Christina ‘Versatyl’ McNeese is a Comedian & Multimedia Performance Artist. She is the Creator of ChicksBurgh Comedy, Versatyl Vizionz and “A Walk in My Shoes”. She has worked collaboratively and individually on a wide variety of socially engaging interdisciplinary projects for over twenty years. Visit her website, www.christinamcneese.com for more information.
Bibliography and Resources
Here are links to just some of the resources that helped me with the development of Many Voices… One Story. Much thanks to the creators and fellow folklorists who helped me along!
Web links:
http://www.edenvalleyenterprises.org/blhrc/educational/cindtour/world.html
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0510a.html
http://www.indianmirror.com/history/mythological-stories/shakuntala-page1.htm
http://www.ala.org/offices/resources/multicultural
Pattanaik, Devdutt. “A Tale of Two Shakuntalas”
http://devdutt.com/articles/a-tale-of-two-shakuntalas.html
Books:
Jacobs, Joseph. More English Folktales 1894.
Kalidasa. The Recognition of Shakuntala. Dover Thrift Editions, 2003.
Franz, Marie-Luise von. The Feminine in Fairy Tales. Boston: Shambala 1993
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Alfred A Knopf 1976
Estes, Clarissa Pinkola PhD. Women Who Run with the Wolves. New York: Ballantine Books 1992
And…..
Interactions with Audience members at performances for POWER and Women’s Center and Shelter. (organised by Anjali Soi)
Collaborations with fellow originating cast members Kate Pavelle, Christina McNeese, and Sarah McKee
StorySwap Fringe – Call for Storytellers
Submission period has ended. Thank you for your interest!
Hello and Good Wishes,
Great news for all of you spoken word groupies out there. StorySwap has reserved three performance spaces in the upcoming Pittsburgh Fringe Festival being held March 31-April 2, 2017. Shows run from 5:00 pm to 11pm. Friday evening and 11am-11pm Saturday and Sunday. We are pleased to invite you to offer a performance proposal. Storytellers of all backgrounds, walks of life, and performance styles are encouraged.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, the Pittsburgh Fringe Festival supports adventurous and exploratory performances showcasing uncensored artistic expression in a professional environment to equally as adventurous audiences. The Festival is a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.
Please read the following description and instructions very carefully. It contains important details and requirements that must be met in order to participate. That said we want to encourage everyone to consider a submission. StorySwap is willing to provide what assistance can be afforded by the group.
You must submit your proposal by February 12. Chosen participants will be notified the following week.
An audition tape, head shots, biography and promotional information may be required at a later date.
As a performer you are included in the general fringe marketing efforts. The Fringe promotes the festival and mentions specific shows in social media and press releases. Each performance has a full show page on the fringe website, and 1/4 page in our printed Fringe Guide that describes specific show features. Performers will be featured on the Story Swap Fringe Facebook event page, and are strongly encouraged to do their own flyering, promoting, and sharing as well.
The performance venue may be an actual theater, a classroom, a storefront or anything in between. Each space has at least 20 seats and as many as 100 seats. It may be very close to the program deadline before a venue is final. Each venue is shared with other participants. Assume no available storage space.
The Fringe festival takes care of the box office. This year, festival passes will be promoted above individual tickets. The participant guide will list all passes/tickets and payout information. Participants will receive a stipend based on their show attendance, approximately 3 weeks following the Festival.
In order to keep individual costs down, and focus on the storytelling aspects of performance, minimal technical support will be provided. We will have basic lighting and a small sound cube suitable for music and mic to fill an intimate venue. You are strongly encouraged to bring your own stage manager sound board operator. There is a 2 hour tech rehearsal for each performance. The rehearsal time is set at the discretion of the Festival. Please forward any questions through your StorySwap representatives rather than contacting the venue. You must make any specific requests for assistance or equipment very clear in your proposal. There are no guarantees.
All performers accepted into the Festival need to be available for the entire duration of the event performances and the tech rehearsal during the week. If availability is limited for whatever reason, please include that information when submitting your proposal. Performers may choose to be involved in more than one production. Individuals are responsible for ensuring that no scheduling conflicts prevent or interfere with any performances. The Fringe does not adjust any scheduling to accommodate performers appearing in more than one production.
StorySwap has reserved three 90 minute time slots, which include set up and tear down. Your proposed performance should run between 45 and 60 minutes. You may also submit a joint proposal that includes two or more performances by individuals working together. When a proposal does not consume a 60 minute time slot the time slot, you may be required to share the slot with another individual or joint performance.
Each assigned 90 minute slot includes 15 minutes to load in set up everything required by the entire performance. The house opens on time no exceptions. Likewise, there are 10 minutes to load out after each time slot. Once again, there no exceptions. You are required to work with other performers in an assigned time slot to meet these requirements.
An official run time is required as part of your Technical Survey for each performance slot. Penalties may be incurred for any run over in your actual performance time.
Each time slot carries a $30 non-refundable participation fee. A single performer in a single performance slot must pay the entire fee. Performers sharing a time slot are required to contribute according to the number of performers participating.
Shared production expense: We share this cost with you, us and the other participants. Pittsburgh Fringe, LLC paid on average an additional $500 per company for expenses like equipment, venue rental, security, techs, and marketing.
Call for Artists!
“Regardless of the interpretation, the Cinderella stories examine the test of the
human spirit. “Yeh-Shen,” “Chinye,” “Nyasha,” “Rough-Face Girl,” and
“Cenerentola” all successfully move from victim to heroine because of their
goodness and innocence. Jealousy and cruelty are repeatedly punished.
Cinderella reminds us that compassion and sensitivity will be rewarded.”
– http://www.edenvalleyenterprises.org/blhrc/educational/cindtour/world.html
Moquette Volante artist Kristin Ward is looking for three female performers of varying cultural backgrounds to collaborate on and perform in “Four Voices, One Story” for three performances during the Pittsburgh Fringe festival the weekend of April 14-17.
The performance will explore and celebrate cultural similarities and shared archetypes by bringing four different versions of the classic “Cinderella” tale to life, told as one in alternation by women of four different backgrounds. For casting, a background of knowledge in your native folklore is a plus, but a willingness to research will be a fine alternative. In essence, I am looking for strong, diverse spoken word performers with great ideas and a willingness to collaborate.
If cast, you will be listed as an originator on the project. Payment will be a cut of the ticket proceeds after Fringe expenses, and if desired you will have an opportunity to continue as a main cast member and collaborator on future funded projects.
Have a question? Email kward@moquettevolante.org
Application Deadline: January 29, 2016
Cast will be notified the first week in February, and officially announced at Tea, Tales and Taksim on February 6.
Library Performances
Performances are available to fit varying budgets. Approximate run times are listed below, but can be adjusted through adding or subtracting tales to fit venue and audience needs. Designed for a mixed family audience, the shows are suitable for all ages, kindergarten through adult.
Tales and Dance of Scheherazade – $200, one hour
Meet the clever and mysterious Scheherazade as she invites the audience on a journey into her world of storytelling and Middle Eastern Dance. Tales both well-known and obscure to Westerners such as Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Rescuing the Moon, and the Anklet are brought to life through movement, dance, and spoken word.
Moquette Volante – Sultan Interactive, $360 One hour
Based on availability, Scheherazade is joined by the commanding but curious Sultan, or her playful sister Dunazade to add depth to the tales of Arabian Nights and other Silk Road Folklore. As Scheherazade spins her web of storytelling, audience members are invited into the tales as non-dancing characters, allowing them to have a moment of fame as well as entertain friends and family who watch them.
Moquette Volante – Live Music, $800 One to One and a half hours
The audience enjoys Tales and Dance of Scheherazade with the added magic of live music, woven throughout the tales. Longer presentation includes a Q&A with the musicians where audience members learn some basic Middle Eastern rhythms as well as more about the process of creating the stories they have seen.
Library Workshops
Media : Middle Eastern Dance, Storytelling, $200, one to one and a half hours
Each workshop works best with a maximum of 20 participants, with plenty of room for them to safely move around. Participants should wear comfortable clothing that they can move around in. Footwear is optional; those wearing flip flops or clogs will be asked to take them off for safety. Ground or floor must be cleared of harmful debris.
Basics of Middle Eastern Dance (all ages; works best with ages 8+, or younger children accompanied by adults. Also fantastic for Teen nights, as belly dance helps build positive body awareness and confidence.)
Session begins with a gentle warm-up to loosen the muscles and prepare for the movements involved in Middle Eastern Dance. There will be a brief discussion on the history and rhythms that characterize Middle Eastern Dance. Then participants will learn some of the movements, such as snake arms, and shoulder and hip isolations, as well as a basic debke, an Arabic social dance.
Dance Me a Story (ages 8-up)
Session begins with a discussion on the basic components of a story – the who, what, where, and when, as well as Beginning (exposition), Problem, Action, and End (Resolution). Participants will then warm up with various “character” movements, and learn ways to show conflict and resolution through body language, movement, and facial expressions. Guided in small groups of 3-5 students, participants will be able to conceive simple stories of their own and develop these original tales into dance performances.