The Teamaster, a short film

This is another version of the Samurai and the Teamaster story I tell. The versions are very different and my ending is unique, but you can easily see the common thread between them.

Meeting William f*cking Shatner

Wil Wheton tells the story about the first time he met William Shatner.

Guest Story: Second Chances

This true story was told by Jennifer Ansell-Clark (email) at a storytelling event called Confabulation. The theme was Second Chances.

I'll let Jen do the rest of the talking.

WARNING: There is some strong language in this tale

Second Chances (7:35) written and told by Jennifer Ansell-Clark

A Sample Clip from Northern Exposure

Riding with the Winds

So... I don't know if you remember, but back in early June of 2012, I had the immense honour of appearing with Concerto Della Donna in McGill's Pollack Hall during the Northern Exposure fundraiser. I was called to take part as the storyteller to tell the classic Norwegian tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon (image taken from çizgili masallar zaman blog, artist Mercer Mayer). The hall was almost filled to capacity with over 500 people in attendance.

This was the most ambitious thing I have ever attempted and even up to hours before the show itself, I wasn't sure I was up to the task. Fortunately, everything went smoothly and we got through it. My heartfelt thanks to maestro Iwan Edwards for his infinite patience and passionate guidance, and to my beloved Sarah for calming me down and helping rehearse the piece until I got the timing right.

Then this past weekend, I was sent the recording of the entire show, including the piece I worked on with the choir. Due to restrictions with rights and such, I can't post the whole thing, but I can post a clip (which is 2 minutes of the 30-minute piece). In this piece, the heroine is traveling with the East Wind in the hopes of finding her prince who is trapped in the castle that is East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

In this clip, you can hear myself telling the tale along with the 17-member Concerto Della Donna. On Stradivarius violin is Caroline Chéhadé and on cello is Michael Nicolas. The piece was composed by Marie-Claire Saindon and the maestro was Iwan Edwards.

May: Birthday Month of Doooom!

Including my own birthday (May 4th), I know so many people having birthdays this month that a friend has titled this month to be the Birthday Month of Dooooom!

But today specifically is my friend LC's birthday, so to honor the old man, I've decided to post a recording of his telling of the classic Rudyard Kipling story called The Cat Who Walked By Himself. The recording volume is a little off because LC kept moving in front of the microphone, but he comes in quite clearly all the same.

The Cat Who Walked By Himself -- Told by Laurent Castellucci (16:32 minutes)

Oinklets Three Be a Classical Intellectual Feast

Just in case you ever wondered if Fairy Tales could ever be intellectually or literarily challenging.

The Dead Don't Pay, with SFX!

Halloween is only a few days away, but unfortunately, I don't have a new ghosty story to share with you. Instead, I was contacted by my friend Rikki who has been adding sound effects to one of my previous postings The Dead Don't Pay.

The original recording was done before a live student audience somewhere in Montreal back in early 2009.

UPDATE: This track is currently featured on my new CD called "Did You Hear That?"

So I invite you to rediscover this story with the SFX that Rikki has added. Enjoy!

Guest Teller: Ian Ferrier

Back on October 3rd 2011, I hosted Montreal's first Story Slam called Conte SLAMtastique Storytelling. It was held at Shaika Cafe in NDG and we had over 30 people attend our first event. Very encouraging!

Our first guest teller was local poet and spoken word artist Ian Ferrier. I had met Ian a few times in the past year at other spoken word events, namely his own evening called Wired On Words. Ian has also interviewed other storytellers and performance artists that I admire, so over all, I was a fan of his work.

Ian showed up with his guitar and amp in tow, ready to astound and amaze. His performance was unbelievable and the crowd was greatly impressed. He performed two of his own pieces: Blue Train and Emma's Country. I saw quite a few teary eyes at the end of his second piece, so the crowd was obviously moved.

With Ian Ferrier's permission, I want  to share the first piece he performed. This is taken from his CD "What is this Place" (which also contains Emma's Country).

Blue Train -- Written and performed by Ian Ferrier (7:35 minutes)

Guest Teller: Ivan Coyote's "Hair Today" and Stuff

This past Christmas, there were more than a few books by Ivan Coyote being wrapped and unwrapped by a twinkling tree in our houses. I picked up a CD from Ivan last November when I saw her at the Ottawa Storytelling Festival and I've been playing it for many of my friends. I need to pick up her other CDs too.

These two YouTube videos have Ivan telling a story that I heard her tell at McGill University in Montreal in 2009 (although this specific performance was in San Francisco). I have this story in one of the books I got for Christmas, but I have no recordings of it. I hope you enjoy it.





Do I sound like a fan? You bet I am, but there's something dangerous about listening or reading too much Ivan. You'd think as a storyteller myself, enjoying Ivan's work would inspire me to continue developing as a teller. Part of me wants to produce more shows, write more books, record more CDs, and just perform more often.

But instead, the opposite happens. The small, insecure part of my artistic self sees someone as great as Ivan E. Coyote and wants to just give it all up. What if I never get that good?

It's silliness, of course, and I beat down that voice and go back to working on become that good someday. There are a few things I need to work on: I need to write my own stories (both folktales and personal, anecdotal stories), I need to promote myself more, and I need to develop a show that has more to offer than just straight telling (I'm working on that already with Shayne by adding more music to the telling).

The SweLL Company has put a clip on YouTube that features Ivan (see below). I like it's format and theatrical aspects, so I need to develop something similar for my own stories. I'm imagining a dark stage with a couple of spotlights for me and the musicians, with a backdrop of animated images that suit the story. I can see a few artistic mediums flowing together there.

Guest Teller: Doug "The Ferryman" Thew

A few months ago, my bardic brother Doug Thew asked for permission to tell a story that I'm well-known for telling. I was flattered and honored to be asked and agreed immediately. The story is not mine to keep, but I'm always happy to hear that other people are actively passing these stories along, keeping them alive.

Doug was asked to tell a story at Sammy and Greg's wedding reception in Ontario. I didn't know the newly wed couple very well, but I did know a great many people who were there, so I asked my sweet friend Marie to record the performance.

Marie used her Blackberry to record the telling of this story, so the quality isn't very good, but you can clearly hear Doug's telling of the story. Initially, I just wanted to hear how Doug would deal with this story, but it also amused me to no end that Doug would know that I was listening (in an ethereal, big-brother way).

Upon listening to the recording, I was so impressed at how Doug made this story his own. This wasn't Doug telling my story: this was The Ferryman telling his story. I was in awe, but it also reminded me that I've gotten a bit too comfortable with my version of this story. It wouldn't hurt the tale to change it up once in awhile, to experiment with a tale I know very well.

So before I pass this story onto you, I would like to thank Doug for honoring me with such a fine retelling of this story. I hope you enjoyed telling it as much as loved hearing it, brother.

Love and Madness as told by Doug "The Ferryman" Thew(9:31 minutes)

Guest Poem: Peach Creamed Honey

A month ago, I attended a spoken word event called Wired on Words (hosted by Ian Ferrier) at Casa Del Popolo. I met up with my friend Ruthanne who told me about the event and I met her friend Amal El-Mohtar. Amal is a poet from Ottawa who has recently published a book of poetry called "The Honey Month".

After hearing her read from her book, I immediately purchased a copy and I love it. With her kind permission, I have recorded a poem from her book called Day Two. What's cool about this collection of poetry is its origins (from her website):

28 days there are in the month of February, a cold month in our part of the world, a month in which the summer seems an endless dream one had once, long ago. We should not be tricked by the frost, for it was during the dreaming month of February that Amal El-Mohtar composed The Honey Month, a book that tastes and smells of sun. Each day she uncapped a vial of honey, letting the brew inspire the words that became this book. Amal offers us much more than poetry and prose, however. Her words wrap around us like spiderwebs, gently pulling us into the web she weaves, where honey girls tempt and tease us, where things lost return and sorrow paints the leaves. This is a colourful book, but it is by no means a frivolous one. Remember, not all honey is sweet.

To read more about this book and its authoer, please visit Papaveria Press. The music is called La Vibora by The Paperboys from the The Road to Ellenside album.


Day Two of The Honey Month (3:14 minutes)

Guest Teller: The Debate

It is with great pleasure that I get to feature a fellow storyteller on this blogcast. Laurent Castellucci (aka LC) is a comedian, actor, writer, and storyteller based (mostly) in Montreal, but he has been known to travel hither and yon.

Back in April 2010, during the 92 Degrees of Foolishness, LC was invited to share a couple of tales with us that night. There is a bit of an ick with this story because there are hand gestures that, due to the limits of sound, you cannot see with the naked ear. Without seeing the gestures, the story loses a good chunk of its meaning.

To fix this problem, here are the gestures:
1. The Bishop holds up three fingers. Joshua holds up one finger.
2. The Bishop gestures in a circular manner above his head. Joshua thumps his chest once with his fist.
3. The Bishop pulls out a cup and a piece of bread. Joshua pulls out an apple.

Enjoy! Also, please remember that LC will be telling tales with us at Hurleys Irish Pub on the last Sunday in June! You do NOT want to miss that evening of tales!

The Debate (7:14 minutes)

CBC's Wiretap: David, Goliath, and Superman

CBC Radio has a show called Wiretap with Jonathan Goldstein that I've been enjoying over the past year. Wiretap is a series of monologues written and performed by Montreal's own Jonathan Goldstein, as well as listening to bizarre telephone conversations he has with his friends and other invited guests.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I find it tremendously funny. I found myself bewildered in the first few episodes of Wiretap, unsure if this was for real or if it was comedy before I realized I was enjoying it.

Recently, the last couple of seasons have been but up on the site as downloadable MP3s, so I've been catching up on episodes I missed. There are two episodes that are exceptional that I'd like to share with you:

David and Goliath (22:24 minutes)


We Are Not Supermen (25:31 minutes)

Guest Teller: The Boy Who Drew Cats (Roman Pylat)

 The second story post for October 2009 is by fellow Montreal teller Roman Pylat. I have always adored Roman's stories and the raw power of his voice. This story was recorded during a fundraiser I helped organize for the Montreal Children's Hospital back in 2005 called "Through a Child's Eyes".

This story is quite popular, and you can find many versions of it on the Internet. I have told it several times in the past year, but I have yet had a chance to record it. Hopefully, I will have several recordings of by the end of this month!

My heartfelt thanks to Roman for giving me permission share this story with you on this site. I hope you enjoy it!

The Boy Who Drew Cats (18 minutes)



Also, on Monday night, I had the enormous pleasure of enjoying an evening of stories from Allan Shain and Kim Kilpatrick called "Kissing That Frog: Disabling the Disability Myth". Such wonderful stories from two talented tellers from Ottawa. Loved it! But, if you don't mind the ego booster, when I went up to thank both tellers, Kim recognized my voice and remembered my "You Don't Know Jack" performance in the Ottawa festival from four years ago. I was floored and pleased to peaches.

There are English and French tellers performing all this week for the 10e Festival Interculturel du conte du Quebec, which the final English show being at Hurley's pub on the Sunday night. I'll be telling tales there, as will many others. I'll running all over the city, trying to take in as much of the English and French shows as I can.

If you can make it out to any of these shows, don't squander your opportunity! You will not regret it, mark my words.

June Story: Black Fly

This song was recorded in 2007 in Montreal in an excellent cafe/bakery called Le Gryphon D'Or (specifically at the corner of Monkland and Royal). I can't remember why I wasn't there, but Sarah, Dylan, and Jack were definitely in attendance (I will be posting their stories later this summer), as well as the rest of Jack's band The What Four (or the Four Hoarsemen, or The Golden Oldies, or Groupe Du Jour -- They can't decide on a name).

The song was written and orginally recorded by the late, great Wade Hemsworth and was animated by the NFB (specifically Christopher Hinton) in 1991 (watch the animated version at the NFB website). Whenever Jack turns up at an event or a storytelling evening with his guitar, I always ask him to play it.

So since June tends to be black fly month, I present to you Black Fly by Wade Hemsworth and performed by The What Four.

Black Fly (2:49 minutes)

February Story: The Dark Princess

This story was told in the River's Edge church in NDG during a fundraiser we had put together for the Montreal Children's Hospital called Through a Child's Eyes. Unfortunately, the fundraiser was a flop because, although we advertised lots, we had an audience of 6 people.

But the storytelling itself was fantastic. It was video recorded and miked, so we got a DVD of the performance afterward as a keepsake.

So in honor of the upcoming holiday of Valentine's Day, I offer you this story told by Sarah A. Comrie (originally penned by Richard Kennedy). We hope you enjoy it.

News: This story was published on my new CD "The Bard's New Hat". Read more about it on my website.

The Dark Princess (15 minutes)

The Passing of Toby Kinsella

Last night at storytelling, I got the news that my friend Toby Kinsella passed away the Sunday previous in Ireland after a relatively short battle with cancer. He was diagnosed with a malignant tumor that had formed around the base of his spine back in August 2008, and although there were some successful operations, the cancer had spread too quickly to stop it's rampage upon this gentle and talented man.

Toby was a musician and storyteller who lived and loved his passions. He could play over 40 different instruments (often several at the same time!) and managed to combine his musical talents with storytelling to great effect. He performed in schools, festivals, pubs, everywhere, anywhere. He was well-known in Montreal, but also across Ireland.

He is one of my many inspirations to becoming a storyteller myself. He always gave me honest and encouraging advice and always pushed me to put my fears aside and live my artform. I will always be grateful to him for his kind words.

So as a tribute to Toby (and with permission from his daughter Isabeau), I am posting one of his musical stories, which is a collaboration with his son Django.

King of Fools: Toby Kinsella and Django Doucet (3:08 minutes)


Good night Toby... Until we meet again.

Update: You can share your Toby stories at http://musicalstories.blogspot.com/. This blog was set up by Toby's children Isabeau and Django.