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St. Patrick's Day story: The World's Greatest Thief

This is a story taken from my book/CD You Don't Know Jack called The World's Greatest Thief. It remains one of my favorite stories to tell because when the secret is revealed, first there's confusion, then there's amazement.

The World's Greatest Thief (4:41 minutes)


One of the first times I was contacted by the CBC to tell an Irish story for St. Patrick's Day, I told the producer that I had a story, but it was about 6 minutes long. "Oooooh," he said. "Six minutes is a long time for radio. Can you shorten it?" I said I would try to get it down to three minutes.

So I worked on shortening the story, but I took many details out and had to practice speaking as quickly as I could without stuttering. I finally got it down to three minutes and made my way to the Old Dublin pub where the live broadcast was to take place.

I met with the host, Ms. Anne Lagace Dowson, and we chatted briefly off the air about the story I was to tell. She asked me how long it was and I proudly replied I could tell it in three minutes. "Ooooh," she winced. "Three minutes is a long time for radio. Can you shorten it?"

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all.

Telling Tales in Schools

Last Friday, I had the immense pleasure of telling stories in Our Lady of Pompei elementary school in Montreal's East End. I had three groups: Kindergartners, Grades 1-3, and Grades 4-6. Each group had about 60 to 80 kids in attendance.

It was immensely fun. The kids were very receptive and excellently behaved. I brought my laptop and my microphone to record each show, so I'll be working on those clips and will post the highlights from those shows to this blog.

Just to give you a taste, here's a sample to what my introduction to each group sounded like.

Our Lady of Pompei: Introduction (1:38 minutes)

February Story #2: Ti-Fleur and the Fiddler

In honor of Mardi-Gras (which is today), our second story for February is a Quebecois cautionary tale about the devil called Ti-Fleur and the Magic Fiddler. This story is a variation on the classic tale Rose Latulippe when a mysterious dark stranger turns up at a Mardi-Gras celebration and tempts the beautiful girl to dance with him for all eternity.

This story was told to a modest audience during a Yule fair in Montreal in December 2008. Shayne Gryn is accompanying on guitar.

I read the first version of this story in a book called Ghostwise (collected by Dan Yashinsky), as told by Chris Cavanagh. Several years after I first started telling this story, I was asked to retell it at an event. It had been so long since I had told it last that I need to review the tale, but my version had evolved so much from the Cavanagh's version, the book was of almost no help!

I hope you enjoy this story, and if you do, please pass the link along to your friends!

Ti-Fleur and the Magic Fiddler (12 minutes)


NEWS! I'll be performing a collection of Celtic tales in NDG on Saturday February 28th 2009 (my father's birthday!). Click here to visit the Facebook Event page for it.

Here's the info about that:

Ceilidh
Saturday, February 28
from 6:00 pm until 10:30 pm.
Tickets $12 for adults (children free)

The Anglican Church of St. Columba
4020 Hingston Avenue
(corner Notre-Dame-de-Grace Ave)
Montreal, Quebec
(514) 486-1753
mrogers@montreal.anglican.ca

The evening will start off with a dinner including Irish Stew and Oatbread, and a special Irish dessert. Beer and wine will also be available for purchase.

John David Hickey, a professional storyteller, will entertain us in the time-honoured Celtic tradition. Also included in the festivities will be a Celtic band led by Jim McDermott who will invite us to share in the excitement of a traditional Celtic ceilidh, including music, dance, jokes and stories.

There will be an opportunity to admire and purchase the works of skilled craftspeople at a mini-marketplace at the beginning of the evening.

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)

Neil Gaiman on Fairy Tales

On Thursday February 5th 2009, CBC's Jian Ghomeshi interviewed British writer Neil Gaiman about his upcoming book-to-film Coraline, during which they discussed the purpose and the point of fairy tales.

Click here to visit CBC's Q podcast page (February 5th, 2009).

As you can imagine, as a storyteller, I was pleased, relieved, and excited to hear such talk. Too many people in our North American society regard fairy tales, fables, and myths as only frivolous entertainment. Because they are not literally true, they are (at best) a distraction and (at worst) contain no useful information or serve no constructive purpose.

At the beginning of Gaiman's Coraline, he presents the following quotation:

“Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
G. K. Chesterton

Here's part of what Gaiman had to say about that quote:

I think what I love about that is that it talks about what you are taking away with you from a fairy tale, and what the real morals are, and what functions these things serve. And Chesterton wrote this wonderful essay in which he talks about fairy tales and he says:

"They do not tell children that there is a bogeyman out there. Children know that there is a bogeyman out there. They know that there are monsters out there. They know that there are dangerous things. What is important is to tell them that the bad thing can be beaten."

It's important for kids to be taught that, but it's even more important for adults to be reminded of that. Our lives are filled with beasts, but known and unknown. Myth reminds us that we can beat our dragons if we take a stand, hold our own, and allow our courage to fuel our actions.

In this way, stories can inspire us to move forward, take risks, and enjoy our victories. I hope as you visit this site, and when you can, come see a show, that you find inspiration in the adventures of our heroes as they face their challenges.

Two stories coming up in February!

Next week, in honor of Valentine's Day, I will be posting a new story: a love story. But this story will not be told by me, but by my gracious guest teller. My lady Sarah has agreed to have a story she told a few years ago posted on this blog. Yay Sarah!

And then, at the end of February, I will be posting a Quebecois devil story that is appropriate for the season. Come back and check out the storyblog during the last week of February.

See you all then!

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.

Upcoming Gigs and New Postings

I was chatting with a friend last night and she pointed out that posting once a month is not a good way to build an audience. Many podcasters post once a week or more, but that's a bit heavy for me. I don't really have enough material to post once a week, but twice a month might be interesting.

I've got a gig at the Our Lady of Pompei elementary school at the end of February which entails doing three shows and telling about 8-10 different stories. It'll be fun to record these shows with children and will certainly increase my repertoire of postable podcasts. In the meantime, it's likely I will post another story in January. Truth be told, I was itching to post The Month Men in December.

In February, I will be posting a love story told by Sarah, a telling she did a few years ago, called The Dark Princess. I also have a Japanese story told by Roman Pylat entitled The Boy Who Drew Cats, but I'll need his permission before I put it up.

St. Patrick's Day is coming up, so if you know of anyone who would be interested in having a storyteller to come and tell a few tales, be sure to let me know! If you like the stories posted here, please help me advertise this site and pass the word along!

January story: The Month Men

This month's story was recorded at Chateau Ramezay in Montreal with a modest audience of a dozen people.

I first heard this story years ago as told by montreal teller Molly Walsh at a Storytelling Swap evening (hosted by the Montreal Storyteller's Guild). I've told it a few times since then, experimenting with different elements and structures, and I finally got it into a format that I really like.

The ending has always been a bit tricky because there are several ways to end it, but not all of them are suitable to the audience. I had children in my audience, so I stuck with the "tea" metaphor, although the adult members of my audience seemed to understand what the "tea" metaphor could also mean. It's a good balance, I think.

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

The Month Men: A Russian story (11 minutes)


I hope you enjoy this story! Please leave me a comment and pass this story link to anyone else you think might enjoy it. Thanks for listening!