Showing titles in Art of Storytelling

A rollicking conversation between British author Brian Jacques and Jon Scieszka about the newest installment in Jacques' beloved Redwall series, Eulalia!. Redwall's heroes are peace-loving mice, moles, shrews, squirrels, and their friends who exhibit human characteristics in a medieval setting. They face the dark side of the animal world, represented by rats, weasels, stoats, foxes, and their villain allies, in the day-to-day struggle of good versus evil.

Mike Daisey is a fierce storyteller, one minute hilarious, the next minute sweet, with a fine-tuned ear for digression. He circles in on his uneasy subject matter, closer and closer, until he exposes the raw heart. The New York Times calls him "the master storyteller" and he has been compared to Garrison Keillor, Spalding Gray, and David Sedaris.

This now out-of-print underground release captures the incredible energy, creativity, and hysteria of the Un-Cabaret's birth. The legendary show was hailed as the "mother-show of alternative comedy" as Beth and her friends forged a new style of comedy that was real, true, intimate, emotional, and sometimes painfully honest.

It's a special Un-Cabaret compilation of four deeply funny stories about the Christmas holiday. John Riggi tries desperately to create some kind of Christmas ritual with his family; Jenny Bicks wins an Emmy and discovers the limits of giving; Michael Patrick King unwraps an inspired piece about his Christmas secret; and Brent Forrester celebrates a spectacularly nightmarish New Year's Eve in Hawaii.

For 16 years, Donald Davis has performed during the Christmas season at Fearrington Village, a unique destination community near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Hundreds of people fill the seats in this historic barn, now converted for use as an events venue. Recorded live at Davis's December 15, 2007, performance, this audio captures the familiar and special relationship between a skilled and beloved storyteller and the audience that has sustained him year after year.

These wacky, but true, stories from growing up are about trying to figure out how the adult world works, and about having fun no matter how old you are. In this collection, Bill Harley, one of the most prolific and celebrated storytellers of our time, performs "Grownups Are Strange" (and, yes, kids are too!).

In Neat, writer/performer Charlayne Woodard shares her memories of growing up black in America in the '60s and '70s. The play focuses around the life of Woodard's Aunt Beneatha, Neat, who was mistakenly fed camphor oil as a baby, resulting in permanent brain damage. Stories of family and of time spent with Neat are weaved together with touching results.

Mike Daisey is a fierce storyteller, one minute hilarious, the next minute sweet, with a fine-tuned ear for digression. He circles in on his uneasy subject matter, closer and closer, until he exposes the raw heart. The New York Times calls him "the master storyteller" and he has been compared to Garrison Keillor, Spalding Gray, and David Sedaris.

Remember 6th grade, where the question, "Are you cool?" takes on cosmic proportions? Acclaimed storyteller Bill Harley revisits the excitement (or was it torture?) in these hilarious true (or at least real!) stories. His wacky tales capture the essence of what it feels like to be a kid, and will delight and engage children and parents alike.

Everybody knows an Aunt Edith - picky, disagreeable, animal-hating, who couldn't possibly ever have been a kid herself. Well, if you know that Tricky is Jack's escape-artist hamster, you can just imagine the fun in the story "Aunt Edith Meets Tricky." This is just one example of the potential for silliness loaded in this engaging collection, in which master storyteller and songster Bill Harley presents originals, as well as his own, unique takes on old favorites. Others include "Wacka Wacka Woo," "Soap Soap," "Is Not, Is Too," "Tara and the Magic Sack," and "Aiken Drum."

In Lunchroom Tales, Bill Harley and his band - the Troublemakers - return to the Delaware Trails Elementary School where Bill once roamed the halls as a student. They kick off their show with the song "Everyone's a Little Bit Different" - but soon, memories get the best of Bill, and he begins to recount adventures and disasters from his former days of glory (or was it torture?). Meet Mr. Hambleman, the custodian (not janitor!) and Mrs. Nottingham, the terrifying 3rd grade teacher (are teachers human, or are they a different species?), explore super cool places like the back of the bus, and enjoy Harley's engaging recreation - through song and story - of what it feels like to be a kid in school.

The entire Gospel of John presented from the ESV New Testament Bible. Marquis Laughlin has performed seven books of the Bible live, including the Gospel of John. He brings amazing emotional and theological insights to this presenation of the gospel.

This very special Un-Cabaret collection includes four deeply funny stories about Jews and Jewishness: "The Day I Got Caught Playing with Myself in Hebrew School", "Hitler's Willing Executioner, Me?", "The Ish Factor", and "Bar Mitzvah Boy".

A mind-blowing collection of drug stories, illegal-substance-related rants and raves by a psychedelic posse of progressive performers. Proceeds benefit the Drug Policy Alliance, an awesome group of freedom fighters who believe that you shouldn't be punished for what you put in your own body.

Un-Cabaret assembled the entire Emmy-winning writing staff of Sex and the City, each reading their own work for this special sold-out edition of Say the Word at The Knitting Factory in New York. Meet the writers behind the hit show and hear the individual voices that came together to create a cultural landmark.

Drawing upon his childhood memories of West Texas, artist, musician, and writer Terry Allen has created this magical, multi-layered evening in the tradition of Southern story-telling. As Allen explains, “Dugout is a love story; an investigation into how memory is invented."

Mike Daisey is a fierce storyteller, one minute hilarious, the next minute sweet, with a fine-tuned ear for digression. He circles in on his uneasy subject matter, closer and closer, until he exposes the raw heart. The New York Times calls him "the master storyteller" and he has been compared to Garrison Keillor, Spalding Gray, and David Sedaris.

The fascinating life of storyteller and humorist Mark Twain is revealed in this one-man performance based on Twain's writings. The early years of Samuel Clemens, the Mississippi River experiences, and his move to the silver mining area of Nevada are portrayed by exuberant actor McAvoy Layne; some of the most famous tales, from "The Blue Jay Yarn" to "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" are woven into the history of this most colorful author.

Whether performing his original tales or retelling an old classic, Bill Harley is one of the liveliest acts going in storytelling for kids. You'll hear a story about a little girl named Sarah as well as Harley's take on what might happen if a kid stayed up all night (something he never got to do as a child) and his version of the old English folktale "Fox's Sack."

Selected Shorts is a weekly public radio show broadcast on over 130 stations to about 300,000 listeners. It is produced by Symphony Space and WNYC Radio and distributed by Public Radio International. The radio show is recorded live at the popular New York City stage show which began in 1985 and still enjoys sell-out audiences today at the Peter Sharp Theater at Symphony Space on Broadway and 95th Street in New York City. Selected Shorts is one of the premiere reading series in New York City.