The Wondermakers

Oct 17 2008 - 12:30pm
General Admission $5

Through the use of theater games, creative dramatics, comedy, improvisational techniques and audience participation, students learn the "ingredients" that go into a good story and will be inspired to create their own stories, poems and plays.  This highly interactive program features The Wondermakers, actors/improvisers who have studied at Second City Toronto and Chicago and at City Limits NYC.  Part of the Fredonia Storytelling Festival.

This event is presented primarily for school groups, but is open to the public as well.  $5 admission collected at the door.

A Master Class with Willy Claflin 

$25 Workshop Fee
Fredonia Storytelling Festival

"Mother Moose, Mother Moose, where have you been?
-- I've been to the kitchen and back again
"Mother Moose, Mother Moose, what did you do there?
-- I made the whole universe out of thin air!"

As Maynard Moose says, "It's one thing to make a universe out of thick air.  But to make a universe out of thin air, you have to stir and stir and stir!"  Here is a fool-proof recipe for cooking up your own original stories.  We'll make lists of problems and characters (human and animal), cut them up and shuffle them, pick random combinations and set our protagonists out to seek their fortunes!  Our main characters will find that their first two attempts to solve their problems both fail, and success won't come until the third final attempt. (This way our tales will have a good middle, as well as beginning and end.)

Once we have our unexpected plots in hand, we'll turn to a series of games and exercises designed to add detail.  What did our main character hear, see and smell?  What was she/he thinking about during the unfolding adventure?

Finally, we'll move to the telling itself: how can we learn to tell the tale in a confident fashion, without having to memorize every word?

Students are guaranteed to come away with a new tale to tell.

Willy Claflin & Maynard Moose

Featuring Maynard Moose 

FREE Admission (ticket required)
D.R. Barker Library Community Series

Acclaimed storyteller Willy Claflin and his sidekick Maynard Moose entertain the kid in all of us in this afternoon of storytelling at its funniest.  Part of the Fredonia Storytelling Festival.  Sponsored, in part, by the D.R. Barker Library and the Fredonia Teachers' Association.

Although admission to this event is FREE, tickets are required and may be reserved by calling the Box Office at 716-679-1891.

Featuring Willy Claflin

With Dennis Collins and Doug Manly

General Admission $10

An evening of storytelling for adults ... Hosted by Doug Manly and featuring acclaimed storyteller Willy Claflin, this evening of wild and witty stories is guaranteed to tickle your funny bone and make you laugh out loud!  Several regional tellers also will be featured with stories ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous.  The ticket includes a reception with the storytellers and light refreshments following the performance.  Part of the Fredonia Storytelling Festival. Sponsored by Ann & Doug Manly.