Upcoming Performance Events


[Storytelling & Harp ] [Theatre ] [Upcoming Events for Families ] [Home]

 

I started a BLOG! Is that an event? Find out at Stories of a Storyteller

 

Upcoming Performance Events

Join Diane's email list for monthly performance updates. Send your request to: dedge@livingmyth.com

 

A Storyteller's Journey Among the Kurds

July 31st, 2010 at 9:00 am

At the National Storytelling Network Conference, Los Angeles California, 9:00-10:30 am

Special Conference arrangement for Kurdish People, those involved in Kurdish studies and friends. You can come to the presentation even if you do not register for the conference. Simply show up ahead of time at the registration desk specify that you wish to only attend this presentation - not the conference and pay $15 admission.

The performance is in the morning from 9:00-10:30 am and helps launch the conference's theme of Many Stories - One World.

Information follows.

What: A Fire in My Heart: A Storyteller's Journey Among the Kurds with Storyteller Diane Edgecomb

Where: National Storytelling Network Conference at the Warner Center Marriott Hotel, 21850 Oxford St, Woodland Hills, California (in the suburbs of LA)
URL: www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/laxwc-warner-center-marriott-woodland-hills/

When: July 31st, 2010, 9:00 am

Cost: $15 - Make your payment at the "Many Stories One World" Conference Check-in table at the Warner Center Marriott Hotel and they will direct you to the performance room.

Please plan on arriving early and come up to say hello after the performance!

TOUR DATES FOR RESTRAINTS AND PASSAGES 2010


A description of the performances is at this URL http://www.livingmyth.com/adult/theatre.php

Boston area Performances of RESTRAINTS and PASSAGES
September 16th-18th at 8 pm September 19th at 4 pm - Only 4 performances
Charlestown Working Theater, 442 Bunker Hill Street, Charlestown, MA www.charlestownworkingtheater.org/
(Mark your calendar but tix are not yet available)

Boston Area Workshop organized by Diane Edgecomb (please note date change!)
September 24th 6:00-9:00, September 25th: 10:00-4:00, September 26th 12:00-4:00 (evening dinner all together follows) led by Jola Cynkutis (Poland) and Khalid Tyabji (India) Grotowski in a Personal Stream. If you have an interest in the process that was used to develop Restraints, this workshop will explore some of those techniques.

Boston area Performance of Passages followed by discussion at Emerson College (date and time to be determined)

New York area Performances of RESTRAINTS and PASSAGES
Hamilton College, Clinton New York October 5th- evening event. (tix available by special arrangement only)

Baltimore area Performances of RESTRAINTS and PASSAGES
October 14th-16th at 8:00 pm October 17th at 3 pm at Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 West Preston Street, Baltimore, MD www.theatreproject.org/

 

In the Grove: A Summer Solstice Journey

June 18th and 19th, 2010

Our annual Summer Solstice Celebration in the Arnold Arboretum, Boston's premiere tree sanctuary

Photo by Pamela Ruby Russell

Previous events 2010


Februrary, 2010

February 20th, 2010, 9:00 am, Middlesex School, Lowell Road, Concord, MA: Short performance on the Kurds of the Middle East entitled 'No Friends but the Mountains' (repeat event) - followed by a diversity workshop and discussion on How cultural identity influences your sense of self. For previewing information please contact dedge@livingmyth.com


February 24th, 2010, Evening Dinner and Performance at the Appalachian Mountain Club - Pinkham Notch, Gorham NH. Diane presents her performance: A Fire in My Heart a Storyteller's Journey among the Kurds. Middle Eastern Meal followed by slide show and performance by Diane documenting her journey to find the last living Kurdish storytellers.For more info Pinkham Notch Visitor Center
Route 16 (P.O. Box 298)
Gorham, NH 03581

March, 2010

March 3rd, 2010, 9:00-10:15 am Diane presents a workshop at the Environmental Educators Conference on Storytelling in Nature, Science and Environmental Education. For information on the entire conference go to: http://massmees.org/index.php

March 12th - March 14th, 2010 A Celtic Evening at the delightful Pontine Theatre in Portsmouth New Hampshire. http://www.pontine.org/ Friday night at 8, Saturday at 4 pm and 8 pm and Sunday at 2 pm Diane Edgecomb and Margot Chamberlain spin tales, and songs accompanied by Celtic harp.

Celebrate Irish Culture with Storytelling, Song and the rich strains of the Celtic harp. This enchanting performance features one of the nation’s most beloved tellers, Diane Edgecomb, hailed by Publisher’s Weekly as “A storyteller in the grand tradition... virtuoso of the spoken word.” In A Celtic Evening, she brings to life Ireland’s storytelling treasures from the humorous Legend of Knockgrafton to the hauntingly beautiful Deirdre of the Sorrows. The most famous of all Irish romances, Deirdre weaves together Druidic prophecies with a forbidden passion so profound it dares to defy the fates. The performance is set against a lush background of harp music: original and traditional melodies played by the versatile Margot Chamberlain on a variety of Celtic folk harps. Enjoy an evening of humor, passion and music with two inspiring performers.

Margot and I are celebrating 20 years of weaving story and music together with these performances at the delightful Pontine Theatre in Portsmouth New Hampshire. This intimate theatre often livens up its season with the work of regional tellers and we are so happy they invited us to perform A CELTIC EVENING on the weekend before St. Patrick's Day.
Less than an hour North of Boston, Portsmouth has lovely restaurants (http://www.portsmouthnh.com/downtown/restaurants.cfm) and the charm of a small New England Coastal town. Come straight to the theatre - show times are listed below- or come early for dinner at some of their cozy restaurants and then join us for a Story and Celtic harp journey into the rich legends of the Emerald Isle.
We'll be telling beloved stories that are now our "signature pieces" like Deirdre of the Sorrows as well as new tales (The Salmon of Wisdom- a true story), songs and exquisite Irish harp music.

SIDEBAR: How Margot and I met!
Twenty Years ago Tom Megan (the composer of the score for Deirdre and later my hubby) and I were driving all over Boston and Cambridge in a heavy snow storm/blizzard looking for a harper for my upcoming performance of Deirdre of the Sorrows at Stories After Dark (a venue created by Sharon Kennedy and Betty Lehrman) - We found the best! A collaborator, an angel, a gifted and soulful player who was a composer in her own right, a friend who loved to play. She brought everything to the table and it was so Meant to Be! To make sure we didn't miss that Margot Chamberlain was THE ONE, the car we were driving broke an axle in the heavy snow so I couldn't audition any more harpers! I didn't need the nudge though - it was clear as day that she was - as they say in the stories - "just right!"

March 21st , 2010 Sharing the Fire Storytelling Conference in Providence Rhode Island, Diane presents a workshop on creating characters entitled Character Definitions. For further information on the Sharing the Fire conference which takes place the entire weekend of March 19th-21st go to www.Lanes.org

March 31st, 5 pm Screening of film BEOWULF directed by Tom Kingdon. This film was developed through physical improvisation based in Polish Theatre Lab training. Diane played Grendel's Dam as a strange bag lady who strangled the unsuspecting using discarded neckties. She also played four other roles in the film.

 

April, 2010

April 10th, 2010, 7:30 pm: A Fire in My Heart: A Storyteller's Journey Among the Kurds at Worcester Friend's Meeting House 901 Pleasant Street, Worcester, MA, Donation $10 This entertaining and insightful performance with award-winning storyteller Diane Edgecomb charts her years collecting the vanishing folkloric tales of the Kurdish people. This seven-year quest brought Diane to remote mountain villages in Turkey places usually forbidden to outsiders.

A master teller, Edgecomb will share legends from her new book, A Fire In My Heart: Kurdish Tales, never before published stories that reveal the folkloric riches of this ancient Middle Eastern culture along with anecdotes of her travels up sheer mountain roads to record the last Kurdish storytellers. The performance resonates with the humor and pathos of Kurdish village life and the colorful people that shared their lives with her.

 

Sample of Additional Past Performances

 

The Winter Solstice in Legend and Song: a storytelling and music concert ~ December 2009

Diane Edgecomb accompanied by Margot Chamberlain and Tom Megan Saturday December 19th at the acoustically resonant concert room of the Hunnewell building at the Arnold Arboretum, 125 the Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA Tickets $20 and on Sunday December 20th at Third Life Studio, 33 Union Square, Somerville MA

Description: The Winter Solstice in Legend and Song: This lively performance brings warmth and new life to the winter season with traditional Storytelling, Harp and Song. Award-winning storyteller and recording artist Diane Edgecomb draws from Celtic, Nordic, Native American, Greek and British sources, illuminating the inner meaning behind holiday traditions. Pieces include Diane’s poignant version of the Scandinavian legend: Baldur and the Mistletoe as well as the Cockney tale The Apple Man, a humorous introduction to the English wassail tradition, followed by a glass of the real thing at intermission.

Photo by Pamela Ruby Russell

 

Restraints at Emerson College Oct 30th 2009

2009 has been declared the "Year of Grotowski" by UNESCO and Diane presented her Grotowski influenced piece RESTRAINTS at Emerson College on October 30th at 8:00 pm as part of the day long celebration: General Pdf Flyer on the Emerson College event and Detailed Word Doc outlining the presentations.

 

Excerpts from Restraints highlighted at the University of Kent, Canterbury, England ~ June 2009

Excerpts from Diane's Solo piece RESTRAINTS along with a presentation of sources for the piece were at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England on June 15th, 2009. Find out more about the University of Kent event to celebrate theatre director Grotowski: Event Program Read about the trip a at Diane's blog: Stories of a Storyteller

 

Diane was introduced as "Electrically Esoteric!" at the Connecticut Storytelling Festival ~ April 2009 Her presentations included:

A Fire in My Heart: A Storyteller's Journey Among the Kurds

The dramatic story of Diane's travels gathering the vanishing folkloric tales of the Kurdish people

The Salmon of Wisdom

A true tale of a trip along California's Pacific Coast

The Workshop: The How and Why of How-and-Why Legends

Understanding and working with Pourqoui tales from every culture

 

The Winter Solstice in Legend and Song had a run at the Charlestown Working Theater, Charlestown MA ~ December 2009

 

2008--2010 Performances and Workshops of A Fire in My Heart: A Storyteller's Journey among the Kurds were presented at colleges throughout New England

 

Book Release Party at Club Passim the Legendary Coffeehouse in Harvard Square Mass ~ January 2008

A Fire in My Heart: Kurdish Legends and Songs

This performance celebrates the release of Edgecomb's first book. A Fire In My Heart: Kurdish Tales. A collection of unique Kurdish stories collected in Kurdish villages in Turkey, the book also contains Kurdish recipes, a brief history, games and a map of the region. Diane will be joined by singer and saz player Andrew Aytac. Exotic and compelling Kurdish folktales will be paired with haunting Kurdish melodies and folksongs. A master storyteller and theater artist, Diane has been called a "virtuoso of the spoken word" and won a Year's Best Performance Award from the Boston Herald. Born in the Kurdish region of Turkey, Andrew Aytac was introduced to the saz at an early age by his grandfather and uncle who were themselves traditional players and singers. He first began playing saz at age 12 and since then, has continued to keep alive this family tradition.
Read about Diane's Book Release Parties at her blog: Stories of a Storyteller

 

Diane premieres a new performance event: Tales of the Supernatural ~ Photo: Aveburwith Diane Edgecomb & Kate Chadbourne ~ August 2007

Onenota Celtic Ceilidh Festival ~ March 2007

Photo: Diane and Margot

 

Date: Performance Saturday March 10th, 2007
Storytelling Workshop with Diane Edgecomb on Friday March 9th ~ call for details

 

 

A Celtic Evening at Charlestown Working Theater ~ March 2007

Celebrate Irish culture with Storytelling, Celtic Harp, Airs, Jigs and Reels

To be on the mailing list for upcoming events e-mail us at dedge@livingmyth.com if you leave your snail-mail address you will receive an occasional snail mail correspondence too.