Calendar

Stories at the Statue
of Hans Christian Andersen 2009

Central Park
72nd Street & 5th Avenue entrance, New York City
(West side of Conservatory Water) (view Google Map)
Saturdays from June through September, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

June
Monitor: Ellen Shapiro

July
Monitor: Eileen Paley

August
Monitor: Julie Della Torre

September
Monitor: Mary Ann Schmidt

Admission: Free

Storytelling is held come rain or shine. The stories are appropriate for children of six years and up.
Parents and guardians are asked to sit with their children.

Artistic director: Diane Wolkstein

This series is jointly sponsored by the Hans Christian Andersen Storytelling Center, Inc.
and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

Stories for All Ages in Battery Park City

Presented by the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy

All dates except June 6th at Rector Park
Rector Place at South End Avenue, New York City
June 6th at Teardrop Park
River Terrace, New York City
(View map and directions)
All dates: Select Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 12 noon

Admission: Free
Contact: 1.212.267.9700 or visit the BPC Parks website

Tammany Mondays at the SoHo Playhouse

SoHo Playhouse / Huron Club
15 Vandam Street (between Varick Street & 6th Avenue), New York City
(MTA subway: E or C to Spring Street or 1 to Houston Street and walk 3 blocks south)
(View travel directions or Google Map)
Second Monday of each month, at 8:00 p.m.

Tammany Mondays is a monthly spoken word variety series. On the second Monday of each month, storytellers, monologuists, poets, spoken word artists, comedians and a musical guest come to perform new material at a cozy bar with a stage. About half of the lineup each month are storytellers of various stripes.

Admission: Free
Contact: 1.212.691.1555

Lower East Side Stories

at the Tenement Museum

New York City Tenement Museum
108 Orchard Street (at Delancey), New York City
(View travel directions or Google Map)
Select evenings, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

An autobiographical storytelling series about life in New York City.

Each show features four storytellers weaving stories about a particular theme. The second half of the show becomes a "magic hat" open mike, where interested storytellers from the audience have their names pulled out of the hat to tell three–minute anecdotes and stories on the same topic.

Thursday, June 25th, 2009:

Tales of Tourists and Visitors to New York
Featuring: Peter Aguero, James Braly, Ophira Eisenberg, and Brad Lawrence

Admission: Free
Contact: 1.212.982.8420 (voice), 1.212.431.0402 (fax),
1.212.431.0714 (TTY) or lestm@tenement.org

Stories at Scandinavia House

American Scandinavian Foundation
Heimbold Family Children's Learning Center
58 Park Avenue at 37th Street, New York City (View Google Map)
(MTA subway: 6 train to 33rd Street or Grand Central Station, 4/5/6/7/S to Grand Central Station;
MTA buses: 1/2/3/4 up Madison Avenue, 1/2/3/5 down 5th Avenue)
Second Saturday of each month, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.,
from October to May (except April 18th)
Admission: Free
(Suitable for children of ages 5 and up)

The 2008–2009 season has ended. Please watch this space for the first events of the 2009–2010 season to start in October; the first dates will be posted here a few weeks before then.

Artistic Director: Diane Wolkstein
Contact:1.212.879.9779 or hca@amscan.org
 
Storytelling at Scandinavia House is made possible by support from DeWitt Stern Group, Inc. and DeWitt Stern Imperatore.

For New York, with Love

Professional Storytelling at NYU

New York University
Helen & Martin Kimmel Center for University Life
Shorin Auditorium (Room 802)
60 Washington Square South (at LaGuardia Place), New York City (View Google Map)
Closest MTA subway: West 4th Street (A, B, C, D, E, F, and V trains)
Select Sundays at 3:00 p.m. unless otherwise announced
 
 
Renowned storytellers bring a wide variety of styles and stories for children and adults to our new location.

The 2008–2009 season has ended. Please watch this space for the Fall 2009 schedule as soon as it is announced.

The stories are appropriate for families with children 5 years and older.

This storytelling series is sponsored by New York University's Steinhardt School, Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions.

Lawrence Ferrara, Department Director
Nan Smithner, Director, Program in Educational Theatre
Regina Ress, Artistic Director/Producer

Admission: $5 for adults (free for children and New York University folk)
Contact: 1.212.998.5867 or ed.theatre@nyu.edu

Storytelling at the Cornelia Street Café

Hosted by Barbara Aliprantis

Cornelia Street Café
29 Cornelia Street, New York City (View Google Map)
2nd Tuesday of each month
Swap from 6:15 to 7:00 p.m. (seven minute time limit)
Featured teller: 7:00 p.m.
Admission: $7.00 (includes one drink)
Contact 1.212.989.9319

Recent Events

Past events presented by the Center and/or their members.

Gioia Timpanelli

Stories of Lucky Children in Folklore, Memoir, and Fiction

New York Open Center
83 Spring Street (at Broadway), New York City (View Google Map and travel directions)
Friday, June 19th, 2009, from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Contact: 1.212.219.2527

Regina Ress

¡Cuentos! in English and Spanish
at the 13th Annual Community Mosaic Street Painting Festival

Presented by the East End Arts Council

Old School House
Main Street, Riverhead (Long Island), New York (View Google Map)
(Long Island Rail Road: Penn Station to Ronkonkoma, then change trains for Riverhead,
please check the MTA website for train schedules)
Sunday, May 24th, 2009, at 3:00 p.m.

Contact: 1.631.727.0900 (voice), 1.631.727.0966 (fax)
or psnyder@eastendarts.org

Sunflower Story Arts Festival

Mt. Kisco, New York
Friday through Sunday, May 22nd–24th, 2009

A new — and fabulous — storytelling festival made its debut on Memorial Day weekend in Mt. Kisco, an easy hour's ride north of New York City. Laura Simms, Regina Ress, Ron Sopyla, and Diane Wolkstein were among those telling stories on the main stage during the festival. A full write–up will be posted to our website shortly.

Contact: 1.914.248.0880

Dive into "Water" with the Editors of Parabola

Orchard House Café
1064 First Avenue, New York City (View Google Map)
Saturday, May 9th, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Master storyteller Diane Wolkstein, musician David Rothenberg, singer, Therese Folks Plair, Jeff Zaleski, Bob Doto, Tracy Cochran, and other editors and friends of Parabola Magazine joined forces to tell stories, play whale and water music, and otherwise dive into the theme of "Water" (the theme of the Summer 2009 isssue of Parabola.

Information: 1.212.371.1170 or orchardhousecafe@gmail.com

New York Stories Swap/Open Mic

92nd Street Y —Buttenweiser Library
1395 Lexington Avenue (at 92nd Street), New York City
Thursday, April 2, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.

Journey to the West

The Monkey King Marathon

La Salle Academy Annex
38 Second Avenue (at Second Street), New York City
(MTA trains: F, V) (View directions or Google Map)
Friday through Sunday March 20th–22nd, 2009

Twenty–seven storytellers from the United States and Canada joined together in this three–day epic telling of Journey to the West. Each teller explored his or her section in their own voice and style. Diane Wolkstein drew the map and assembled the honorable group to journey with the Monkey King. All thanks and blessings to those who came along!

Visit the Monkey King Epic website

Contact monkeykingepic@gmail.com
or 1.212.929.6871

Tales from the Body

Storytelling about Illness and Disability

New York Society for Ethical Culture
2 West 64th Street at Central Park West, New York City
Sunday, January 25th, 2009, from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m.

The Storytelling Center of New York City joined forces with the New York Society for Ethical Culture in presenting Tales from the Body, a half–day event in which we explored the nature, meaning and value of storytelling about illness and disability.

We were delighted to present this event so soon after the passage of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, a landmark treaty that went into effect in May 2008, which radically advances the legal recognition of the civil rights of persons with disabilities in every country in the world.

During the five hours together, we focused on personal stories about disability and illness, but also include traditional stories from different cultures.

Tales from the Body featured a storytelling concert with five storytellers — Nancy Donoval, Kenny Fries (The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin's Theory), Puma (a "talking doctor," shaman, and storyteller from the Seminole and Cree traditions), Matt Mitler (actor and director of the experimental theatre group Dzieci), and Robyn Ringler — followed by a panel discussion and an hour–long story swap (in which we invited ordinary people as well as professional storytellers to tell their tales of disability and illness, on the grounds that storytelling on these subjects can be a means of healing for everyone, "ill" or not, temporarily able–bodied or not).

Contact: Donna Minkowitz at 1.718.857.9275
or bodytales@gmail.com

Co–sponsored by the Storytelling Center of New York City,
the National Storytelling Network, and the New York Society for Ethical Culture.