~ From Anthony Vinson, SOS President ~

The 2013 Southern Order of Storytellers Annual Storytelling Festival was, in a word . . . . Well, it is actually impossible to describe the festival properly using a single word. I suppose that one might try “Stupendous” or “Superlative” or even “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” – but while one or more of those might capture the scope of the event, it was the individual pieces, performances, and people that made the festival a veritable smorgasbord of story, song, and something special.

The festival kicked off on Thursday night with Stories on the Edge of Night, produced by Shannon McNeal and Stacy Beth Shulman, and held at Manual’s Tavern in Atlanta. The sellout, standing-room-only crowd was treated to an olio of thirteen storytellers. The performers were drawn from contributors to the several “reality storytelling” events that take place monthly around town, those events being Carapace, True Story, Write Club Atlanta, and Stories on the Square. Stories on the Edge of Night performers were selected after having shared a memorable story at one or more of those events during the previous year. The event was created as a showcase by which to introduce traditional storytellers to reality storytellers and vice-versa, since many of the performers were also members of the Southern Order of Storytellers.

The Bard’s Feast and Annual Membership Meeting were held on Friday evening in Decatur. After a catered dinner, outgoing SOS President Janice Butt recognized and thanked the members of the 2012 Board of Directors for their hard work and dedication; they received “Everybody Loves a Storyteller” mugs.

She then introduced the 2013 Board of Directors, including new President Anthony Vinson, who delivered a brief “State of the Story” message to members. Presentation of the Seanachie Awards followed, beginning with a special and long-overdue award being presented posthumously to longtime supporter and member, Sam Goldman. The award was presented by Feriel Feldman to Sam’s partner, Tom Ptaszynski. Next, it was announced that the recipients of the Seanachie Award for the year 2013 were Jan Cribbs and Tom Wallace.

The Friday night Regional Tellers Concert featured Anthony Vinson, Barry Stewart Mann, Eugenia Williams, and Sarah Beth Nelson. Impeccably emceed by Ann Ritter, the concert was a blend of humor, drama, history and ironic hilarity. The stories took us from the bowels of the earth to the forced busing of Florida school students in the 1970s, and provided poignant memories of Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as the unlikely pairing of wisdom teeth and weddings.

Saturday was filled with concerts and workshops. The storytelling sessions offered everything from folktales and fairy tales to ballads and bad puns. Performers included SOS founder Loralee Cooley, as well as three up-and-coming youth storytellers. All of the performers were practiced, polished and ready to perform when they took the stage, and the emcees kept the programs rolling right along on schedule. Workshops for adults were conducted by our headliner Elizabeth Ellis, and by members John Beavin and Sarah Beth Nelson. There were also two workshops for children and youth tellers conducted by Deborah Strahorn and Debbie Weston From; these sessions culminated in a children’s concert featuring performers who had participated in the workshops and emceed by SOS Youth Coordinator, Anne Wallace.

Our featured headliner, Elizabeth Ellis, set a new standard for any performers selected to appear at future festivals and events. Elizabeth attended practically every scheduled event. She also made herself available to members and attendees over the entire course of the festival. She supported and encouraged other performers and freely answered questions, offered advice and insight, and took lots of notes about all the great ideas she received in return. As Elizabeth put it, “I know a good idea when I steal it!” Her workshops were well attended and highly lauded, and her Saturday night concert was remarkable, with a combination of myths, legends, and personal stories.

And let us not forget to thank all of those who selflessly volunteered their time, talents, and hard work to make the festival a success. Led by Ticket Coordinator, Cynthia Rintye, Volunteer Coordinator, B.J. Abraham, and her equally able assistant Feriel Feldman, a small but dedicated group of member-volunteers attended to all the many behind-the-scenes details that made the festival a fun and memorable time for all. And in case you were unable to attend, SOS’s unofficial Official Photographer, David Miller, snapped lots of action photos, many of which will soon be posted at www.southernorderofstorytellers.org.

The 2014 Festival Planning Committee will begin meeting this month to start preparations for next year’s festival, which is scheduled for January 23^rd through 25^th. We are looking to do something new and different, next year – something you won’t want to miss! So please mark your calendars for January 23-25, 2014, and plan on being there.