Shared Gypsy proverb 

                  (from Meg Gilman)

We are all wanderers on this earth. 

Our hearts are full of wonder, and 

our souls are deep with dreams

Calendar:                         

        January

12 - Warrensburg School K-5

14 - Lewis and Clark Performers' Showcase

16 - Jacksonville School - Family Reading Night

Catholic Schools' Week

30 - St Peter and Paul, Alton IL, K-8

         February

1 - Notre Dame High School "Fine Arts Day" in St. Louis, MO Freshmen-Seniors

2- St. John the Baptist School K-8, Smithton, IL

8 - Riverwind Meeting in Hartford, IL

17 - Morris Elementary in Cahokia, IL Fine Arts Day

21 - International Reading Meeting/St. Louis evening event

          March

2 - Koch School/St. Louis MO, 3 sessions

3-6 Riverwind Whirlwind Weekend with Dianne de Las Casas

10 - Madison County Teachers' Institute - Edwardsville, Il. Showcasing Stories 'n Stones

16-19 - Bethlehem, IN to attend "Going Deep" a workshop that delves deeply into fairy tales

23 - Mt. Olive Elementary - Family Reading Night

30 - Walker School/St. Louis, MO Family Reading Night

         APRIL

2 - Starved Rock State Park near Ottowa, IL for Stories 'n Stones presentation

12 - Meeha Elementary School

26-30 - Northland Conference for board meeting and attending workshops.

         MAY

3-6 - St. Louis Storytelling Festival Under the Arch

20 - Highland Gamesm in Springfield, IL

Summer is starting to book up nicely. If you'd like to book Taleypo the Storyteller email her at: markinsella19@hotmail.com

Note: I look forward to hearing from you.

 For more programs offered by Taleypo the Storyteller and Stories 'n Stones go to "About Marilyn"

        Fallen Leaves

                                                     Fall was a busy season with many tellings at schools, libraries and special events. It was especially nice to go back to High Mount  School in Swansea. It had been many years  since I was there. The building went under about as  many changes as I have, since my last visit.

My biggest challenge this season was my all day workshop for hospice staff at the Kings House in Belleville. It was a glorious day both outside and in. I wrote a rather lengthy "memoir" on the workshop "Patchwork of Memories - a retreat" on my Teacher/teller Page, but you can click HERE to read all about it.

I visited two small towns in Illinois - Pawnee, a little town that sits in the heart of Illinois where told at the library and Moweaqua where I told in the blazing sun for their September Festival. There was another interesting telling in Urbana. It was an adult group at the Verde Museum. The audience was filled with people who loved stories! And Prairie Grapevine in Springfield had me tell some of my favorite ghost stories at their series. While I was there, I was interviewed at  the local radio station. Of course, I slipped in a  couple of stories!!

The National Storytelling Festival in October was great fun. It rained, but the tents kept us high and dry. If you'd like to know more about this granddaddy of all festivals, click HERE.

In January, I organized the Lewis and Clark Performers' Showcase in Edwardsville. Twenty performers from jugglers to vents, to puppeteer, to storytellers to magician to musicians performed for the librarians. Many walked away with their summers booked! To get the latest Performer's Booklet that is on the Lewis and Clark System's Booklet, click HERE to go to the website and then click on "Youth Services" and then on the "SWAYS Performers Booklet."

       Voyage to Book Island

That's the I-READ theme for the libraries in Illinois. I'm developing a new puppet play "Treasure on Book Island" and story programs specifically around the idea of islands, treasures, pirates, etc. Larry and I will again perform as Stories 'n Stone as we present Survivor on Book Island. If you'd like to see in detail what I have planned for this summer, click on my flyer, HERE. If you'd like to see what I'm proposing for the Missouri libraries, click HERE.

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See what's new on my website:

New versions of some of my favorite folktales are on my "Fabulous Folktales" page.  They include:

• The Demon Goat -  a baaaad story to go with an old song.

• The Devil's Bridge - a French story adapted to Southern Illinois

• Red Shoes for a Real Princess - an original story

• The Gingerbread Man -  a Christmas version complete with links to other webpages

New study guides under my "Teacher/Teller Pages"   include:

• Ishi, The Last of the Stone Age Superheroes -  the story of Ishi,  Coyote Brings Fire, and Rabbit the Arrow Maker along with ideas for the classroom

• The Artist Way - High School Classroom  ideas based on Julie Cameron's book on unlocking one's creativity along with ideas for using the story "The Magic Paintbrush.

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   Riverwind Whirlwind

             Weekend

will be on March 3-4, 2006, at the Lewis and Clark Historic Museum (Camp DuBois) near Hartford, IL.

Dianne de Las Casas will be our workshop leader. She will do her highly acclaimed marketing workshop called "Wild About Marketing". Here is what she has to say:

 Story Biz – Manage your career with panache and pizzazz. Dianne gives great tips on office organization, time management, optimizing office function with the use of technology, and how to run your performance career smoothly.

For more information on Dianne and her workshop just click on her name. Dianne and her family were victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita! We hope to get Dianne jobs while she is in this area. If you have any contacts for schools or libraries, please let me know. Several of the dates have been spoken for...so call soon!

I have a favor to ask my readership...can you please forward this newsletter to any edu-entertainer that you may think would benefit from this marketing workshop?

There is a Sunday performance at the museum from 1-3 in the afternoon. Telling at the Riverwind Story Celebration are the Riverwind Storytellers and featuring Dianne de Las Casas. This is a free event open to the public.

For information on the workshop and the Sunday event click HERE for the Riverwind Whirlwind Weekend Brochure.

Northland Storytelling Network

        

The Spring Conference in Madison WI is just around the corner - April 28-30th to be exact.

They have a terrific line-up of workshops from master storytellers from across the Northlands region...and beyond. I'm planning on being there. I hope to see you there, too!

As the IL rep on the board, I put out a quarterly newsletter...just click on I'll. Tell Winter Spring to see what's going on in and around our fair state.

     

Another way to keep up to date on events and workshops in Illinois is to put the NSN Illinois webpage on your favorites. All you need to do is to click HERE and then save in your favorites for future reference. It's a good idea to hit the refresh icon once you return to the site to get the most up-to-date information.