The Norwegian Storytelling Festival 2009
Happy Ending
Fortellerhuset and Albatrass invited to The Norwegian Storytelling Festival 2009 in The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater). "Happy Ending" was the subject for The Norwegian Storytelling Festival 2009.
Most stories end well. We follow the main character through challenges and low times, before the ending high makes us meet the world smiling. Or is it really so?
Information
(Objekt ID 6709)| Object type | Production |
| Coproducers | Fortellerhuset, Albatrass |
| In collaboration with | The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater), Norwegian Storytelling Association, FabelAkt, Fortellerscenen |
| Audience | All, Children, Families, Youth, Adults |
| Language | Norwegian and English |
| Keywords | Storytelling theatre, Lecture, Seminar, Music, Other, Performance for children, Dialogue seminar, Conversation(s), Workshop, Fairytale, Documentary |
| Running period | May 20, 2009 — May 24, 2009 |
| Website | Fortellerhuset, Det Åpne Teater, Albatrass, Fortellerfestivalen |
Requirements to venue
| Blackout | No |
We all have dreams about how life should be. Do the dreams remove us from reality, or can they deliver reality? How do stories affect us and our expectations to life? Does a happy ending help us or does it give us dreams we can never achieve? What makes a happy ending? What is happiness? And what happens after all is over?
Some of the leading story tellers in Europe were invited for The Norwegian Storytelling Festival 2009. Capable musicians took part in a long weekend at The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) rich in events. The weekend was filled with performances, classes, a professional symposium, seminars, national finals in story telling slam and the debutante competition Spranget (literally: The Leap), professional stories, music, activities and performances for children.
THE PROGRAM OF THE YEAR May 20. - 24. 2009:
Wednesday and Thursday May 20 and 21 a course in the art of storytelling was arranged, directed towards beginners as well as experienced performers. The experienced storyteller and educator Tore Rahn led the classes for beginners while Jo Strømgren Kompani by Hanne Gjerstad Henrichsen held classes in body consciousness.
Thursday May 21 2009:
Festival opening with tasting bites from several of the festival performers, in a party performance with Kate Corkery, Peter Chand, Kasper Sørensen, Georgiana Keable, Marianne Sundal, Astri Sudmann and the musicians Jon Børge Askeland and Elisabeth Angvik. Directed by Birgitte Strid.
Friday May 22 2009:
Ordets makt (literally: The Power of the Word): Professional symposium focusing on words and power. The lecturers are Kjell Lars Berge (professor in language and literature at The University of Oslo), Arne Torp (professor in Nordic language science at The University of Oslo with language history as main interest) and Steinar Bryn (cultural philosopher and leader for Nansen Dialogue Centre, which was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize in 2009). Marit Hallen from the storytelling group FabelAkt led the symposium.
Spranget (literally: The Leap): For the fourth year in a row the storytelling festival arranged the debutante competition Spranget. Every participant told a story of max five minutes. The competition was directed towards participants aged 12-25 years. The candidates were judged by a three person professional jury.
'Happy Endings' from Family Life: This is an attempt new of the year, getting near the genre of "Spoken word". As everybody knows, family life is not pure happiness. But in the interaction within the closest relations, behind four walls, on a roadtrip in Europe and while grocery shopping the most amazing stories are born. Veronica Salinas, Torgrim Mellum Stene, Kasper Sørensen, Lars Poverud, Tore Rahn and Astri Sudmann were invited to tell some of these stories.
Mangoes on the Beach with Peter Chand is the true story about Chand's parents and their journey from Punjab in India to a new life in England during the 1950es. The story is interwoven with four traditional Indian fairytales, and touches the caste system, division, love and eternal family bonds.
Saturday May 23 2009:
Tricky Tales and Troublesome Fairies is a performance for children with Kate Corkery, in English for children aged 7 years or more.
Collapse with Georgiana Keable is a performance springing out from the question why so many large and complex civilisations have failed.
Yrkesfortellinger (literally: Professional Stories): Four persons come to tell from their work. They are all people working with endings; car demolisher Thomas London, funeral agent Terje Fossli Pedersen, nurse Ågot Bell Espeseth and lawyer Cecilie Schjatvet.
Tales from Tir Na No'g with Kate Corkery: Tir Na No’g is The Land of Eternal Youth, a place which according to Irish mythology belongs to the eternally beautiful Tuatha De Danaan people. They lack nothing, but still they feel drawn towards humans. Sometimes they find lovers among the humans, and this is the start of many a good story.
Plain of Regret with Ben Haggarty: Haggarty is known for his monster stories, and this is his own version of an Eastern European classic.
Sunday May 24 2009:
Denial: Interview performance with the young asylum seeker Sahra from Somalia. The storyteller Helga Samset led the conversation with Bente and Einar Hugo, the supporting players of Sahra in Norway.
Farlige historier* (literally: Dangerous Stories) with the acknowledged Danish storyteller Kasper Sørensen.
Final in the national story telling slam Fortellerslam of the year: The winner of the national final in the story telling slam goes on to a Nordic competition in Copenhagen. The final was led by Øystein Vestre, and the audience decided the winner.
Free family program on the outside place Teaterplassen Saturday and Sunday: The festival invited to storytelling theatre, song and games for the whole family. Tore Rahn, Astri Sudmann, Georgiana Keable, Siri Thuen, Tjodun Felland, Kristine Haugland and Raymond Sereba brought their best stories, drums and songs.
The Norwegian Storytelling Festival 2009 was supported by Arts Council Norway, the Freedom of Expression Foundation Fritt Ord, the municipality of Oslo and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs via The Norwegian Association of Performing Arts.
Sources:
Scribd, scribd.com, 01.10.2010, http://www.scribd.com/doc/15432087/The Norwegian Storytelling Festival 2009-2009-Nybegynnerkurs-og-symposium
The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater), detapneteater.no, 30.09.2010, http://www.detapneteater.no/pub/daat/forestillinger/?aid=976&cid=17&sac=all&viewall=1#daat
Utrop, utrop.no, 01.10.2010, http://www.utrop.no/Det-skjer/16552
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Birgitte Strid | – Direction (Festivalåpnings-forestilling) |
| Peter Chand | – Performer (Festivalåpnings-forestilling) |
| Kate Corkery | – Performer (Festivalåpnings-forestilling) |
| Georgiana Keable | – Performer (Festivalåpnings-forestilling) |
| Marianne Sundal | – Performer (Festivalåpnings-forestilling) |
| Kasper Sørensen | – Performer (Festivalåpnings-forestilling) |
| Astrid Angvik | – Musician (Festivalåpnings-forestilling) |
| John Børge Askeland | – Musician (Festivalåpnings-forestilling) |
| Hanne Gjerstad Henrichsen | – Pedagog |
| Tore Rahn | – Pedagog |
| Marit Cecilie Hallen | – Other (Vertinne, Symposiet "Ordets makt") |
| Øystein Vestre | – Other (Vert, Finale Fortellerslam 2009) |
| Peter Chand | – Storyteller ("Mangoes on the Beach") |
| Kate Corkery | – Storyteller ("Tales from Tir Na No’g") |
| Ben Haggarty | – Storyteller (“Plain of Regret“) |
| Georgiana Keable | – Storyteller ("Collapse") |
| Georgiana Keable | – Storyteller ("Tricky Tales and Troublesome Fairies") |
| Lars Poverud | – Storyteller ("Happy Endings fra Familielivet") |
| Tore Rahn | – Storyteller ("Happy Endings fra Familielivet") |
| Veronica Salinas | – Storyteller ("Happy Endings fra Familielivet") |
| Helga Samset | – Storyteller ("Avslag") |
| Torgrim Mellum Stene | – Storyteller ("Happy Endings fra Familielivet") |
| Astri Sudmann | – Storyteller ("Happy Endings fra Familielivet") |
| Kasper Sørensen | – Storyteller ("Farlige historier") |
| Kasper Sørensen | – Storyteller ("Happy Endings fra Familielivet") |
| May 24, 2009 – Hallen, The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) | Other |
| May 23, 2009 – Hallen, The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) | Other |
| May 22, 2009 – Hallen, The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) | Other |
| May 21, 2009 – Hallen, The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) | Other |
| May 20, 2009 – Hallen, The Open Theatre (Det Åpne Teater) | Other |