Storytellers from around the globe are ready to captivate Newnan audiences Saturday, Sept. 24, 4-6:30 p.m. at the College-Temple Storytelling Festival.
NCHS is coordinating this event, which includes five dynamic storytellers. Each storyteller performing has his or her own uniquely developed style that is sure to enthrall those in attendance.
The headliner of the festival is Irish storyteller Helena Byrne. “If you don’t get goosebumps when you hear her beautiful voice then you may need to consult a medical professional because chances are, you’re dead inside,” said Travel Ireland Magazine earlier this year.
“I didn’t want the stories to end, each one was more spellbinding than the last,” said The Celtic Connection Magazine USA. Byrne “bridges the gap between Irish legends and folk music,” says The Irish World Newspaper UK.
“We’re so fortunate to be able to bring an international storyteller of this caliber to Newnan,” said executive director Jeff Bishop. “Storytelling isn’t just for children. This should be a fun event for everyone.”
Byrne will take the stage in the gazebo at NCHS’s courtyard at the McRitchie-Hollis Museum to delight the audience with tales and music from Ireland. After her performance, guests are to journey over to nearby Temple Avenue for the second part of the program which includes storytelling sessions at two historic College-Temple homes. Accomplished storytellers Barry Stewart Mann and Betty Ann Wylie will perform on the front porches of the Temple Avenue homes. The festival winds up at the Male Academy Museum, also on Temple Avenue, where the lively storyteller Akbar will perform a concluding story that incorporates African drumming and singing. Light refreshments and mingling with the storytellers closes the event.
The festival is scheduled from 4:00 to 6:30 PM and begins at the NCHS’s McRitchie-Hollis Museum, 74 Jackson Street in Newnan.
The idea to introduce a storytelling festival in Newnan was inspired by the success and popularity of the Azalea Storytelling Festival that takes place annually in LaGrange.
“The purpose of the storytelling festival being organized by NCHS is to perpetuate the art of oral storytelling,” said organizer Larisa McMichael, who heads up the local Newnan storytelling group. “We want to perpetuate the transformative experience of storytelling and to expose our community to quality, world-class storytellers.
“This is a unique experience for citizens to be entertained and enthralled by five seriously talented individuals who have the proven ability to take audiences to other places and times via the art of storytelling.”
NCHS was able to secure Helena Byrne as the headliner because she is traveling to the Atlanta area from Ireland in September to headline another storytelling event. Byrne is a seasoned storyteller with a full repertoire of Irish stories, folklore and accompanying music. On her website, www.helenabyrne.com, it states that “Combining her love of Irish folklore and passion for Irish music, Helena Byrne regularly performs as a seanchaí (storyteller) and singer. Helena interweaves tales of the Other World and the mysterious Fairy Folk with traditional Irish songs and wonderful insights into the Irish life of days gone by.
Barry Stewart Mann, a popular Atlanta storyteller has been captivating audiences for three decades with stories from other worlds and cultures. At his website, www.barrystewartmann.com, information about his many talents may be explored. Stewart Mann performances have a certain quality and level of vibrancy that are sure to engage. He is a graduate of Harvard University with an M.F.A. in Theatre from the University of San Diego and has delighted audiences at stages across the country.
Akbar the Storyteller is also an accomplished, long-time Atlanta teller who has only become more fine with the passing of time and hundreds of performances. Akbar specializes in world stories, Brer’ Rabbit Tales and other energetic, musically-fused tales. Audiences can expect to be charmed by Akbar’s many talents as a teller, performer and musician. At his website, www.akbarstories.com, his background information includes the following, “Akbar Imhotep began his theatrical and storytelling career at Paine College. For four years, he was a very active member of the college drama club known as the J.C. PLAYERS. While studying to become a college professor at Georgia Tech, he became a member the Proposition Theatre Company and the rest is history.”
Born into the storytelling tradition of the Deep South, Betty Ann Wylie was entertained and nurtured by the captivating stories of family. Starting in childhood, she developed a lifelong love of books, oral tradition, and storytelling of all kinds. A founding member of the Southern Order of Storytellers and recipient of the Seanachie Award for Service to Storytelling, Betty Ann is acclaimed for performances filled with stories, poetry, songs, and audience participation. She has performed extensively and recorded two CDs of stories, the Parents’ Choice award-winning “Mother Goose from Morning Till Night” and “Pass It On: A
Storyteller’s Journey,” a collection of stories and reflections for adult listeners. Wylie will perform a short story by Eudora Welty titled, “Why I live at the P.O.” at the Newnan festival. This colorful, eccentric and southern story includes characters such as “Papadaddy,” “Stella-Rondo” and “Sister.”
And finally, longtime resident of Newnan and budding storyteller, Michael Scott, will warm up the audience for Wylie with a story about why as a child he thought his grandmother was a robot or the babysitting gig that got out of control. Scott, a member of the Newnan Carnegie Storytellers, is starting to make a name for himself as a solid storyteller capable of entertaining audiences with physical humor and lots of energy. He recently won second place in the Newnan Carnegie Library’s storytelling contest with the theme “Go to Town, stories of Newnan.”
NCHS hopes that with community interest and support that the festival will grow to become an annual event eagerly awaited and attended. “Our hope is that this festival will gain traction as the one in LaGrange has. That festival is solidly attended and looked forward to by hundreds each year. It attracts some of the world’s best storytellers and that’s what we would like to see happen with the festival here as well,” said McMichael.
The festival is being organized by the Newnan Coweta Historical Society to create a culturally significant event for the community that promotes and prolongs the historically significant benefits of oral storytelling.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www.eventbrite.com, by calling 770-251-0207 or by visiting the NCHS museum at 74 Jackson Street in Newnan.
Follow the Facebook event page for updates and photos.
