Performing in Copley Square, Boston as part of Japan’s Haru-Matsuri Spring Festival
STORYTELLING AND HARP PERFORMANCES:
Bring something truly unique to your Garden Club with an evocative storytelling and song performance. This entertaining gathering of stories and songs of plants and their meanings range from the delightfully humorous to the heartfelt. Choose from seasonal events like Winter Solstice Story and Song or the flower-centric: Fantastical Folktales of Flowers.
Email Diane@LivingMyth.com today to discuss availability and rates
ENJOY A PREVIEW OF FANTASTICAL FOLKTALES OF FLOWERS!
Choose from the following performances:
Fantastical Folktales of Flowers!
A delightful weave of storytelling, music and song
Storyteller Diane Edgecomb and harper Margot Chamberlain celebrate flowers and the stories that have been told about them through the ages with this enchanting performance.
From the dramatic to the sublime to the wildly humorous, world stories about flowers are deeply entertaining. Retold by award-winning storyteller and theatre artist, Diane Edgecomb, along with long time collaborator and Celtic harper, Margot Chamberlain, these stories conjure a magical world bringing new meaning to favorite garden flowers. The centerpiece of the performance is the Persian legend of Nightingale and Rose. Diane’s original adaptation weaves together myths from many lands that tell how the rose got its special powers of beauty and scent. This evocative tapestry of story and song also includes the tale of the indulgent Narcissus, a Native American story about the Dandelion and a beautiful duet about the mysterious “Language of Flowers,” celebrated in Victorian times. A master storyteller, Diane entertains and enchants transforming into the characters in her tales bringing each story to vibrant life. The performance is accompanied by Celtic harp and song performed by long time collaborator harper/singer Margot Chamberlain. Celebrate flowers and the stories that have been told about them through the ages with this enchanting performance.
“I want to thank you for bringing your performance to our Wellfleet Gardeners meeting. Your music and storytelling were beautifully done and everyone enjoyed your presentation. I loved the storytelling and was happy to know that other people responded in a similar way. Thanks and we all hope to see you again. Judith Dalmas, President, Wellfleet Gardeners.
“You brought my garden alive to me in the most unusual and delightful way. I will never see a rose in the same way again!” Audience member- Pomperaug Woods, CT
Sacred Groves: Folktales and Songs of the Deep Spirit of Trees
Diane and Margot near the Birch Grove Photo by Pamela Ruby Russell
Storytelling, music and song form an enchanting weave in this story and harp performance celebrating the deep spirit of trees. Clothed in the rich metaphors of myth, these traditional tales reawaken our imagination to the deep wonder and beauty of the forest. Stories range from the humorous to the heartfelt and include Kansakura, a delicate tale of love featuring the cherry trees of Japan, The Dancing Spirit of the Birch from Czechoslovakia and Three Green Ladies, a poignant legend about the ancient tree spirits of Cornwall, England. Refreshing and lyrical each piece is surrounded by evocative music from the culture, Celtic harp and song.
“It was one of the most moving storytelling nights I’ve experienced. It reawakened in me, and perhaps all of us there, a sense of the spirit in things.” Storyteller, Jay O’Callahan
“I’ve heard this performance twice and can’t recommend it highly enough. It is magical, it is musical, it is beautiful, it is soulful, it is perfection.” Bambi Good, Brookline, MA
Midsummer Magic
Diane Edgecomb with harper Margot Chamberlain
Midsummer Magic is a story and music celebration of the Summer Solstice drawn from cultures around the world. This delightful and entertaining performance brings to life ancient legends of transformation, tree-spirits and fireflies. Midsummer Eve is traditionally a time of magic, a transition in nature, when the invisible fairy world can meet our own. Accompanied by harper Margot Chamberlain, master storyteller Diane Edgecomb brings us into a liminal world of twilight and beauty. This captivating event speaks of the deep meaning to be found in the natural world around us. The one-hour performance is suitable for adults and an older family audience.
The combination of both your talents made for an inspirational evening that moved the audience to laughter and to tears, and left us with a feeling that magic was in the air.” Director of programming, Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge MA
Winter Solstice Story and Song
Storytelling and Celtic harp to Celebrate the time of the longest nights
Celebrate the Winter Solstice with haunting legends of light, evergreen traditions, and entertaining tales surrounded by traditional and original music and song. Master storyteller Diane Edgecomb, accompanied by Celtic harper Margot Chamberlain offers a fascinating look at the enchanting stories behind winter holiday traditions. Featured stories include the beautiful Scandinavian “Legend of the Mistletoe,” humorous English Wassail traditions, and the poignant Swiss legend of the Christmas Rose. Lovely instrumental melodies evoke the warmth of the season, rounding out the event.
This special garden club performance highlights stories of unusual winter holiday plants
Why is Mistletoe placed on high at the time of the Winter Solstice? Diane’s dramatic re-telling of the Scandinavian myth Baldur and the Mistletoe takes us to the very heart of this unforgettable story. Many other wintertime plants reveal their deep meanings from the story of the first Christmas Rose (Hellebores Niger) to a humorous apple tree wassail the whole audience joins in on. Sing-alongs evocative of the season and lovely instrumental melodies round out the event.
“Your holiday program received rave reviews from our members. The unique blend of storytelling and music was very well-received by all. We would be pleased to be added to your list of references.” Lincoln Garden Club, Lincoln, MA
Master storyteller Diane Edgecomb and Celtic harper Margot Chamberlain have been featured on NPR and at storytelling festivals, coffeehouses and theaters throughout the country. Diane is known for her unique style of storytelling, where she embodies the various characters and scenes in a tale, bringing each moment alive. For this she has won the National Oracle Award for Storytelling Excellence in the Northeast as well as five Storytelling World Awards. Margot Chamberlain has performed with numerous early music groups including LiveOak, Quadrivium and the Revels. Trained as a “GentleMUSE,” Margot has played harp for staff and patients at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and other places where the healing power of music is needed. Accompanist for Diane for over thirty years, her versatile approach to harp and song brings an underlying poetic weave to support each tale. Expect to laugh, to be moved, to leave your cares behind.
Channeling Rachel Carson
a solo performance followed by a workshop where we craft our own inspiring nature stories
Diane’s newest performance tells of her own journey to bring Rachel’s dedication and ethic forward for a new generation. This inspiring story is complemented with a workshop in creating our own tales.
The workshop begins with Diane’s humorous and evocative personal tale about how she became an “insect rehabilitator” and follower of the great Rachel Carson. After the initial storytelling, Diane shares ‘Story Prompts’ that help us discover the story nuggets in our own lives. This is followed by interactions in dyads (pairs) and triads (three people together) that allow us to share our beginning tales with fellow club members. It’s no surprise that we develop new friendships and new insights along the way. In five simple steps we’ll develop our own personal anecdotes about gardens, gardening and a life close to nature just right for sharing.
We all have stories to tell and Diane’s simple steps help us uncover those story-seeds and then develop them into little gems! From tales that teach a simple lesson to humorous anecdotes to those powerful stories that tell of our own deeper connection to nature- Diane takes members on a journey to uncover the story riches from years of gardening experience.
Inquire about rates and availability for any of these performances at Diane@LivingMyth.com
